English translation of the prose
AI-assisted English translation of the prose; quoted poems remain in Japanese. The Japanese original remains authoritative.
Originally published:
Japan Romanticism Poetry Forum — Spring, Uzuki
April 19, 2025 (Reiwa 7)
Report and commentary: 河内裕二, Japan Romanticism Academia
Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai opened on April 13. This is the sixth world exposition held in Japan. The Osaka Expo of 1970 received 64 million visitors, an astonishing figure ranking second in history after the 73 million who attended the 2010 Shanghai Expo. According to the Japan Association for the International Exposition, this Expo anticipates 28.2 million visitors. Since each of the five previous expos other than the Okinawa Ocean Expo attracted over 20 million, that estimate seems reasonable. The event lasts six months. Expos have an astonishing power to attract visitors. Even Universal Studios Japan, ranked third worldwide for theme-park attendance in 2023, received around 16 million visitors over a full year. The theme this time is “Designing Future Society for Our Lives.” One hundred and fifty-eight countries and regions are taking part. What will the main attraction be? Construction costs apparently amount to twice the original estimate; will this prove to be a meaningful Expo?
The poetry gathering was held at Miura Workers' Civic Center from 1:30 a.m. on April 19, as the original states. Those attending were 三宅尚道, chairman of the Miura Tanka Society; 加藤由良子; 嘉山光枝; 嶋田弘子; 清水和子; 羽床員子; Seishu Hamano, chairman of the Japan Romanticism Academia; and Jun Hayama—these eight, together with 河内裕二.
山桜薄紅の花開き
メジロ止まりて花蜜吸いしか 光枝
The poet is 嘉山光枝. There is a familiar expression pairing plum blossoms with a bush warbler, but is the bird we often actually see perched in a plum tree not a white-eye? Perhaps white-eyes are not especially wary, for they appear in front of people too. They often sip nectar from plum, cherry, peach and camellia blossoms. Their vivid yellow-green coloring adds a beautiful accent to the flowers. A white-eye in a mountain cherry: the poem portrays a beautiful spring scene.
雨あがる鳶影おとしゆうゆうと
校歌に歌いし今朝は清明 由良子
The poet is 加藤由良子. Perhaps she noticed a moving shadow on the ground, looked up and saw a black kite flying. The sight of a kite soaring leisurely through the sky is familiar in Miura. Seimei means clear and bright; among the twenty-four seasonal divisions, it falls around April 5. The poem conveys the feel of spring air. The school song mentioned is that of Miura Municipal Misaki Elementary School, with words by 北原白秋 and music by 山田耕筰. Its lyrics include 「清明富士を天に潮ひびく港わが丘ぞ輝く三崎」. Knowing this gives the poem still more flavor. According to 三宅, fifth-year pupils at Misaki Elementary School recently wrote a script about 白秋 and performed a play, and this school song was sung at its beginning.
物言わぬ母の瞳の中にも桜
流れて通う施設への道 潤
This is Jun Hayama's poem. When Jun took Jun's mother to a short stay at a care facility, cherry trees were blooming outside the window. Jun does not know whether she recognized the blossoms, but the poem expresses Jun's wish that she might at least have seen their beauty. The words “桜流れて” are striking. It is not simply that cherry blossoms are reflected in her eyes; the flowing of the blossoms is reflected. This adds movement and lingering resonance to a quiet scene. What flows seems to be not only blossoms but time, memories and many other things in life. Along with the beauty of the cherries, the poet's complicated feelings reach us. After creating a dreamlike atmosphere, the poem ends with the realistic description “施設への道.” It is a wonderful poem, poetic while also expressing the weight of everyday life.
すぐそばで娘の寝息聞く幸せに
母は朝まで寝ずの番人 和子
This is a poem by 清水和子. Her daughter came to visit, and they slept in the same room. But the poet could not easily fall asleep; concerned about whether her daughter was sleeping properly, she watched over her all night. This apparently happened in real life, and she made a poem of that experience. It is a warm poem overflowing with a mother's love for her child. The verbal choice “寝ずの番人,” with its touch of humor, is superb.
残された月日の短さ肉体の
褪せに構わず五月晴れ 成秋
The poet is Chairman Seishu Hamano. The final phrase, “五月晴れ,” leaves a vivid impression and resonance, heightened by its being shorter than the prescribed syllable count. May's fresh greenery is usually portrayed positively for its natural beauty. Here, however, it is an object of anger, contrasted with the poet's faded body to express the irrepressible anger and irritation within him. Nature continues its radiant life without giving any thought to his suffering. Though he knows nothing can be done, he does not want simply to accept it. This is a poem of strong attachment to life.
我が短歌口語文語が入り乱れ
整理のつかぬ脳内模様 員子
This is 羽床員子's poem. As one considers different words and turns of phrase in order to express something within a fixed sound count, colloquial and literary language can become mixed before one realizes it. Anyone composing tanka will probably experience this sometimes. The content seems quite ordinary, and for that very reason the final phrase shines all the more dazzlingly. This must be the poet's calculation, yet “脳内模様” is not an expression just anyone could devise. That single expression overwhelms us.
自ずの「ありがとう」紡ぐ「ありがとう」
ギスギス心の処方箋なり 弘子
The poet is 嶋田弘子. Perhaps the word “ありがとう,” through which we express gratitude to others, has a mysterious power. The poet says that speaking it seemed to soothe a heart that had grown tense and abrasive. The poem departs from the regular meter, but perhaps because of what it expresses, it feels neither unnatural nor jarring. The way “自ずの” and “紡ぐ” modify “ありがとう,” however, is distinctive and somewhat difficult to interpret.
紅蓮の炎すべてを包み祈りさへ
重ねし月日焼き尽くしけり 裕二
This is my own poem. There had recently been much news of fires. Seeing flames blazing in the reports, I felt fear, but also emptiness at precious things burning to ash and a sense of human powerlessness. Guren means a bright-red lotus, and fierce flames are called guren no honō. Yet guren also means the Red Lotus Hell. In that case it is one of the Eight Cold Hells: the cold splits the skin of those who fall there, and flowing blood makes it resemble a bright-red lotus, hence the name. It is interesting that guren can be associated with cold.
物の値はじわじわ上がりボクシング・
ブローの如く卯月にひびく 尚道
The poet is 三宅尚道. His poem concerns the recent rise in prices. He compares their gradual increase to a boxing body blow. “卯月にひびく” is an individual touch. Rising prices for essential foods, especially rice, have become a problem. Yet if prices fall too far, producers suffer instead, which makes the issue difficult.
There were several poems departing from regular meter at this gathering. Each had an expressive purpose, and we could feel distinctive effects unavailable within the fixed form. If the intention remains unclear, however, breaking the meter becomes no more than a disturbance of rhythm that jars the reader. I realized that expressing something by departing from rhythm is several degrees harder than expressing it while observing the rhythm.
The nine tanka and the quoted school-song lyric are retained in Japanese. This English version translates the report and commentary. The source writes “午前一時半” (1:30 a.m.); the time has not been silently changed.
Original wording, author credits, notes and source materials are preserved there.