Miura Tanka Society: January 2021

January 2021

As a tanka society, it's probably quite old. The Miura Tanka Society: January 2021 has been around for seventy-four years this year. It is located on the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Jogashima.

On New Year's Day, thirty, we head to the restaurant inn 'Deguchi-so' by car, driven by the master, Mr. Mikami Shoji. Accompanying us is Mr. Kawai Hiroshi, acting vice-chairman of the Japanese Romanticism Society. The members of the Miura Tanka Society: January 2021 who contributed tanka are Akayama Hikaru, Katō Yuriko, Mikami Shoji, Sakurai Aya, Mikami Ryoue, Shimoda Hiroko, and Shimizu Kazuko. To these, Mr. Kawai Hiroshi and Seishu Hamano are added from the Japanese Romanticism Society.

Now, in the midst of the ongoing severe outbreak of the coronavirus, gatherings are difficult. But the poets who have decided to come together are in high spirits.

Standing at the field where the first sunrise appears, I bow I pray for the end of the coronavirus infection. Hikaru

My son has returned home unexpectedly, as if by chance, The sound of a whistled tune brings back the time. Yuriko

Seventy-four years have passed since the tanka meeting, I walk through the two collections of tanka from Miura. Shoji

Even if time passes a hundred years, it is still dear, How can I bear to see my parents and elder brother pass away? Naoaki

Waiting in silence for the light of day, Only I know the time when we parted. Aya

Standing on the tactile blocks on the station platform, It is made known where the place is for the disabled. Ryoue

It is autumn. It is a descriptive song. It is read aloud with a flowing tone. Trees, colors, and animals. In their movement, the fallen leaves drift. In English, there is the word 'drift,' which conveys the sense of floating and falling, not quite the same as 'drop,' 'fall,' or 'scatter.' The line 'dance and scatter' comes close to that feeling.

While listening to the 'Aimyōn' song, I go out into the night, The autumn moon is high and bright. Yuriko

Despite the infection numbers exceeding five thousand, By eight o'clock, the morning drama begins. Hiroko

Today, as usual, the sun sets without a reason, I gaze at the rising rice cake and wait. Kazuko

In the heart of the severe winter, the cold camellia blooms, Its petals scatter, waiting for spring, dear you. Hiroshi

The song on the right particularly moved everyone. It was the song of Ms. Shimizu Kazuko, a member of the society, who lives in a home called 'Eden's Garden' and is ninety-one years old this year. She was unable to attend today due to being stuck. The person herself, quietly baking a rice cake that she cannot receive at the home, is waiting for the right moment. What is she really waiting for? A family member? Or something that brings her satisfaction? No, it is what the poet Yūya said, 'Not thinking of yesterday or today...' But no one says it aloud, yet it is not something that is not relevant to others.

At the time when even the name is forgotten, he comes drifting, A man coughing in his hometown. Tsuchiura

Tsuchiura is not dead from the coronavirus. But, suffering from lung disease, he appears in his hometown with a frail step, coughing. The feeling that this is a suitable place for death has not changed, whether now or in the past.

After finishing, I presented the five tanka by Mr. Kawai Hiroshi, the acting vice-chairman, for the study session.

After the tanka meeting, there was a New Year's party in another room. With local fish, sea urchin, and the finest tuna. It is the very heart of the famous Misaki Port. After that, by the seaside. Across the water, Mount Fuji's sacred peak rises. Looking at the distant horizon where the evening calm is settling, with a slightly drunk gaze. Holding tightly to the sorrow of the still beating heart.