Title: Dissection of the Haiku Tradition  (4)

                                                                                   Food and Beverages

When I had arrived in New York twenty-something years ago, my first place to live was a college dormitory.  I was
surprised to see raw broccoli at a salad bar at its cafeteria.  Of course, I ate uncooked vegetables before moving to the
United States.  But, they were mostly tomatoes, cucumbers  (both are summer kigo) and lettuce (a spring kigo).   
Recently, at a reception, my Japanese client whispered into my ear, “We eat raw fish.  Americans eat raw broccoli.”

hanabie no ikari  sôsu ni renbo seyo     

                               cherry blossom chill
                              let’s fall in love

                 with Ikari sauce

                                                                        Toshinori Tsubouchi  (1)

Ikari (anchor) is the brand name for bottled Worcestershire sauce. The company was incorporated in the late nineteenth
century.  Like Del Monte ketchup here, Ikari has been the household name in Japan.

During the first few years in the Untied States, I missed minor things such as my favorite comic magazine and a familiar
brand of yogurt.  In the winter of 1989,  after several years away from my native land, I returned to Tokyo.  At the busy
cross section in downtown,  I was swept up by the sea of black-haired people.   I suddenly realized how uniform my
home town was.  

              oitachi no nitari yottari aisu tii
                         our personal backgrounds
                          not so different—
                          iced tea
                                                                       Madoka Mayuzumi (2)

While growing up in Japan, I watched dubbed American TV programs and Disney movies.  I read translations of Winnie
the Pooh, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings.  I thought I was exposed enough to the Western culture.  
But my first American boyfriend showed me how much I had yet to learn.  At  2 am on Saturday morning on the way back
from a party, he said, “Let’s go and have an omelet.”  This was a habit of his.   I was not accustomed to eating
“breakfast” before going to sleep. He confessed he had never met a person who wanted a bowl of ramen noodles for
“breakfast.”  Eventually, he married his high school sweetheart.

              biiru kumu waga honmyô o tsugu beki ka  
                              pouring beer
                              should I reveal
                              my real name
                                                                    Kidong Kang (3)

This haiku starts with a normal, every day scene.  A couple of businessmen decide to have beer after work.  They pour
beer for each other and clink their glasses.  Then, the poet begins to ask himself whether he should tell his real name.  
Kidong Kang is Korean-Japanese. If you want to know more about Kang, please read the excellent essay by  Ikuyo
Yoshimura (4).

I had a friend in high school who was Korean-Japanese.   At the ten-year high school reunion, I learned his real Korean
name for the first time.  He explained he had wanted to avoid unnecessary bullying and discrimination.   He himself did
not feel genuinely Korean in his teens.  He was born and raised in Japan.  His parents were both born in Japan.  He had
never been to Korea until he was grown and started working for his father.    Studying the language of his grandparents
did not have a high priority when he was young.

Sometimes, it is helpful if a reader knows the history and background of a poet.  At the same time, I strongly believe
haiku should not be limited to only one interpretation.    There is no “correct” way to interpret  my haiku.

                      slicing
                      longitude and latitude
                      into the peach
                                                                      Suezan Aikins (5)

I write haiku to present a tiny slice of my world.  I  knead, stir-fry, steam or boil the ingredients.  I may use a hidden spice
which I keep secret.    In real life, I am not a good cook.  But I wish I could be a master chef in the haiku kitchen.

              yudôfu no kakera no kage no atatakashi
                      shadow of a piece
                      of steaming tofu
                      the warmth
                                                                Minoru Ameyama (1)

Recently, I watched a Japanese drama about an extended family.  A dinner scene was in every episode. A program with
a lot of eating scenes seemed to have high rating in Japan.  

This past Thanksgiving, I visited New York, my old turf.  An Italian-American friend prepared a feast.  Though he does not
live far from his parents, he hasn’t been to their house for Thanksgiving in the past twenty years.  With a shy smile, he
said, “My family is not truly comfortable when I bring my boyfriend.”

When I was about ten years old, I told my mother she did not have to cook breakfast for me anymore.  I declared I would
eat toast instead of steamed rice and miso soup.  My older sister continued to eat breakfast the way my mother had
always served it.

The next theme in the series will be holidays and observances.




(1) Gendai no Haiku  (modern haiku anthology)  edited by Shôbin Hirai, Kadokawa  Shoten, 1982    
(2) Beemen no Natsu  (My summer at B-side), haiku collection of Madoka Mayuzumi, Kadokawa Shoten, Tokyo, 1994
(3) Shin-se-ta-ryong (Personal story), haiku collection of Kang Kidong,  Sekifu-sha, Fukuoka, 1997
(4) “Kidong Kang:  The Haiku Autobiography of a Korean Japanese”, Modern Haiku, Volume 35.1, Spring 2004, www.
modernhaiku.org
(5) Haiku World, edited by William Higginson, Kodansha International, Tokyo, New York, London, 1996

All Japanese translations by Fay Aoyagi.

Essay 4