蜻蛉釣り今日はどこまで行ったやら
tombo tsuri kyou wa doko made itta yara
my little dragonfly hunter
I wonder how far
he has gone today...
—Chiyo-ni
(Tr. David LaSpina)
(Print by Mori Shunkei)
Chiyo-ni is writing about her dead son. You can feel her sorrow as she uses a simple line, one that that she must have used many times while he was alive when he would run with his friends and she would wonder where he was. With him gone, the innocent question of his whereabouts takes a sad and wistful tone, strong enough to bring tears to your eyes.
The question takes on a double meaning when we consider that the path through the afterlife for children was said to be an extremely difficult one, even with the help of Jizo-sama, the Buddhist saint with a red bib you see dotted across Japan even today who is said to help children in the afterlife in their journey to be reborn. How far has he made it in the afterlife?
Don't miss other great haiku in the Haiku of Japan series!
#1–10 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #1
#11–20 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #2
#21–30 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #3
#31—40 — Haiku of Japan :: Collection #4
#41 — Falling Camellia
#42 — Snow Falling
#43 — Morning Glory Shack
#44 — My Father's Face
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I post one photo everyday, as well as a haiku and as time allows, videos, more Japanese history, and so on. Let me know if there is anything about Japan you would like to know more about or would like to see.
 | David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. |