A machine gun
the low moon
round and resounding
Saitō Sanki (1900 – 1962) was a dentist who discovered his passion for haiku poetry in his mid-thirties when his colleagues at the hospital in Soto Kanda convinced him to write a haiku for a collection. Later, he became one of the most important exponents of wartime haiku: he was imprisoned in 1940 during the government’s World War II persecution of controversial artists, and was officially forbidden to write until the end of the war.
This haiku is included in The Kobe Hotel, a collection that depicts the author's wartime experiences in Kobe, the struggles of ordinary people to endure war, defeat and occupation.
Haiku by Saitō Sanki
Picture by Rosie Sun
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 January 2022
hiroshima once / never again a light so bright / stones melting and men