haiku

A haiku is a famous style of Japanese poetry that consists of three line verses with a 5-7-5 syllabic formation. Recently at one of my elementary schools, there was a school wide project for all the students to write their own haikus. The principal asked me if I would like to write one as well, since he thought the students would be very happy to read a haiku written by me. Of course, I gladly accepted the challenge! 

The topic for our haikus was to be "summer," and I received the invitation to join the project right after my wonderful weekend at Yama Matsuri- so I knew exactly what to write about! I wrote my haiku about Asa Yama, which is the 2 a.m. segment of pulling the yama wagons around town during the festival. As I sat down to write and my first thought was the sounds- beating taiko drums, chanting, and laughter. Next I thought about the sights- flashes of brightly colored hapi coats as we ran up and down the streets. Last, I thought of the chilly April air, it was so cold and yet we all had a blast pulling the yamas around all night. It surprised me how quickly I was able to write my haiku, the images just came spilling out. Japanese festivals- what an inspiring event! I wrote it first in English, then was able to translate it into Japanese with no problem and the syllable count even worked out fairly easily! 

太鼓のどんどん、

法被が青と赤、

夜涼し。

Hear the taiko's boom,

Blue, purple and red hapi,

Through the chilly night.