The clear day in the rainy season
the madder red of the twilight appeared
and vanished instantly
I came across this poem by Takahama Kyoshi on the website Masterpieces of Japanese culture.
Kyoshi was the editor of the haiku magazine Hototogisu, which promoted a more traditional style of haiku compared to other contemporary schools which were not following the pattern of seventeen syllables at that time. Kyoshi also highlighted the symbolic function of the kigo (the season word), even though the more modern trends were already tending towards season-less haiku. He was active during the Shōwa period of Japan.
Haiku by Takahama Kyoshi
Picture by Kevin Hou
This haiku poem is part of the Naviar haiku music challenge, where artists are invited to make music in response to a weekly assigned haiku poem. Participation is free and there are no limitations in the songs’ length or genre.
You have seven days from the posting of this haiku to submit your track. For information on how to make a submission, visit the Naviar Haiku Music Challenge page.
Submission deadline: 12th June 2019