Quote:
Originally posted by Lee Gurga:
Curiously, there is a Japanese haiku poet that has made a career of hippopotamus haiku. (I can't recall his name, but if anyone is interested, I can get it.)
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Hi Lee,
Thanks for joining us! I hope you're having fun.
Anyway, are you thinking of Tsubouchi Toshinori perhaps? (Pronunciation note for everyone, Ts, like the end of "its," Tsoo-boh-oo-chee, four syllables; last name first in Japanese.) Natsuishi Ban'ya has a translation of one of his more famous pieces in an online essay:
sakura chiru / anata mo kaba ni / narinasai
Cherry blossoms are falling--
you also must become
a hippopotamus
Actually, I'm not sure about Ban'ya's "must become" here; the Japanese "narinasai" is a medium-level polite way of saying "please become" (or "please turn into"). It's the sort of expression a Japanese woman might use to her husband--especially with "anata" for "you." (The Japanese use different words for "you" depending on whom they're addressing.) So I'd almost prefer something like
cherry blossoms falling --
honey, you too, hurry up
and become a hippo
But that may be coming on too strong, LOL!
Anyway, Ban'ya's essay is actually rather interesting, especially his comments on season words as "keywords of animism." So folks, if you've got a moment, you might want to check it out too,
HERE .
Great fun!
Steve C.
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Editing back: bad link!
[This message has been edited by Stephen Collington (edited October 15, 2008).]