[For seniors] April haiku. Exciting

Work experience in a hospital as a physical therapistNakamū
I worked as a physical therapist at a general hospital for about four years. I’ve supported a wide range of patients, from those needing emergency rehabilitation to those doing rehabilitation at home at a comfortable pace. As a writer, I’d be happy to share health-related information with many people. Thank you, and I look forward to working with you!

April is the season when cherry blossoms reach full bloom, evoking a sense of new beginnings.

As this time of year makes you want to step outside, why not express its beauty through haiku? Haiku is a traditional Japanese art that captures the changing seasons and puts personal feelings into words in a 5-7-5 syllable form.

For older adults in particular, it can be an enjoyable activity that sparks new discoveries and conversations while reminiscing about fond spring memories.

Let’s enjoy a lively haiku time together, feeling the seasonal charms of April.

[For Seniors] Haiku for April. Exciting (11–20)

At the flower pavilion, blossoms overlapping, a fragrance lingers.

Tei Oikawa was a haiku poet active in the Showa era who, by founding the Azalea Women’s Haiku Circle, contributed to the emergence of many women haiku poets.

This haiku depicts the Flower Festival in April, with the flower pavilion lavishly adorned with blossoms, from whose overlapping layers a lovely fragrance wafts.

It paints a vibrant scene that includes the sense of smell.

The repeated use of the character for “flower” is also noteworthy, emphasizing the image of flowers blooming in layers.

It’s a technique that stages the scene not only through the meaning of the words but also through the visual appearance of the characters.

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kappamaki

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Little sparrows, out of the way, out of the way—horses are passing.

I would like to introduce Kobayashi Issa’s haiku: “Little sparrows— make way, make way, a horse is coming through.” Kobayashi Issa is one of the representative haiku poets of the Edo period.

Many older people may be familiar with him.

The sparrows that appear in the haiku are said to lay eggs in spring, which tells us the poem was composed in that season.

It brings to mind a scene of tiny sparrow chicks playing on a warm spring day.

In it, we can feel Issa’s gentle heart, as if he were warning them kindly that a lord or samurai on horseback is coming and it’s dangerous.

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Nakajima Junko

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Flowers at the gate, quietly white—clouded with spring.

Here is a haiku by Sekitei Hara, a representative haiku poet of the Taisho era.

“Mon no hana shizuka ni shiroshi hanagumori” describes the beauty of flowers blooming on a softly overcast spring day.

Hanagumori is the seasonal word, referring to the thin clouds that cover the sky around the time cherry blossoms bloom, giving it a hazy, dull appearance.

These days, it’s not uncommon to notice flowers blooming along the roadside while out for a walk.

Living with that kind of perspective is lovely, isn’t it? It might also be fun to compose a haiku from flowers you find while taking a stroll with an older adult.

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Nakajima Junko

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