＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
There is a TV program called “Prevato” with Masatoshi Hamada as MC. Originally, it was called “Who’s the Entertainer You Can Use? Pressure Battle!” The name of the program was “Haiku”, “Watercolor Painting”, “Eraser”, and “Cooking”.
Entertainers challenge themselves in various genres such as “haiku,” “watercolor painting,” “eraser stamps,” and “cooking,” but the highlight of the show is the “haiku” challenge.
The highlight of the show is “Haiku”, in which the “Meijin” Tomio Umezawa (Meijin 10-dan), Hideo Higashikokubaru (Meijin 10-dan), and Toshifumi Fujimoto aka Fujimon (Meijin 9-dan) are the top three haiku poets.
The next to join the fray is Hikaru Suzuki, who made a name for herself with her quiz show, “King of Tokyo University. She is a 20-year-old student in the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo.
She has risen quickly, being promoted to “special student” in her second appearance.
Her haiku are “light haiku” with a “fresh verbal sensibility” and are also “musical” and “pictorial”.
Her haiku were as follows.
(1) Subject “Hatsumode no Osaisen” The sound of money offering and the first dove into the blue sky
＜賽銭の音や 初鳩 青空へ＞
(2) Subject “Mt. Fuji as seen from Tokyo” To Fuji me in the classroom, white plum blossoms
＜教室の 私を富士へ 白き梅＞
(3) Subject “Spring Extra” Center Street, Newspaper Extra, Spring Rain
＜センター街 滲む号外 春の雨＞
(4) Subject “Spring Travel Plans” The opening of the pasture like a clown’s gallop
＜道化師の ギャロップのごと 牧開（まきびらき）＞
(5) Subject “Fresh Fish Shop in Spring” Pizzicato of Akashi Mebaru
＜昼網や 明石メバルの ピチカート＞
(6) Subject “Coffee” While I was drinking a can of coffee inTokachi , I saw a horse colt standing up.
＜馬の仔の 立ちて十勝の 缶コーヒー＞
I think that the fourth clause in this section would be difficult to understand without the author’s explanation or Mr. Natsui’s commentary.
The author’s explanation: “I wanted to describe how the animals that had been locked up in the stables rush out of the stables when the pasture opens, and there is a famous classical song called ‘The Clown’s Gallop’ (*) that reminds me of the regular clapping of hooves. I made this song with the image of the beginning of spring in mind.
(*) Author’s note: “The Clown’s Gallop”
The second piece “Gallop” from the orchestral suite “The Clown” by the Russian composer “Kabalevsky
Mrs. Natsui’s commentary: “The point of evaluation is the pros and cons of the effect of the long metaphor ‘The Clown’s Gallop’. I did not expect such a development. Since two thirds of the poet has been used as a metaphor, there is nothing left but to play hardball with the seasonal words. That is what “Makibiraki” is all about. After a long winter, spring has come and cows can go out to pasture. The image of cows and horses galloping out of the barn is a “gallop,” and they are happy and playful. And they are all happy and playful. You can see the feet and hoofs of the cows and horses rejoicing in the spring. The idea of combining music and images together like this is also brilliant.
We hope that Hikaru Suzuki will continue to display his overflowing talent in “Prevato Haiku” for our enjoyment.