Words are a Double-Edged Sword: Why I Weave Words 'As They Are'
The month of the rainy season, hanging in the sky of Kamakura (Kyoshi Takahama)
The other day, I visited the Kamakura Kyoshi Tatsuko Memorial Museum. This is a small archive run by the family of the haiku poet Kyoshi Takahama and his daughter, Tatsuko Hoshino. Inside, the museum is filled with haiku written in the hands of both father and daughter. It is a hidden gem known to those in the know, where haiku fans from all over the country are said to lose track of time as they gaze at the exhibits.
On this day, a woman who is the great-great-granddaughter of Kyoshi and the great-granddaughter of Tatsuko made time for me. Listening to her stories in a room while looking out at the beautiful garden was a truly luxurious experience.
She is a wonderful person with a transparent, calm demeanor. While she has an unadorned atmosphere, she spoke so happily about the 'true faces of Kyoshi and Tatsuko' that we don't know.
Kyoshi Takahama, who advocated 'objective sketching' and 'kacho fuei' (poetic spirit of flowers and birds) and laid the foundation for modern haiku. His style is grand in scale, as if looking at a single beautiful sketch. On the other hand, in the haiku of his daughter Tatsuko, one can glimpse strength, surprise, and resolve welling up from within, hidden behind her innocence. Capturing daily life through her own eyes and expressing it in her own words—there was a sensibility unique to a woman there.
Tatsuko wrote her first haiku at the age of 23. It was at the suggestion of her father, Kyoshi.
Playing house, the rice and side dishes are all horsetails (Tatsuko Hoshino)
Upon encountering this haiku, Kyoshi was surprised by his daughter's unadorned boldness and extraordinary talent. At this moment, their relationship transcended 'father and child' and was elevated to 'master and disciple.' And just as Kyoshi had foreseen, Tatsuko rose to prominence and became a leading female haiku poet of the Showa era.
My name, Tatsuko, given by my father, looking up at the moon (Tatsuko Hoshino)
From this haiku, a deep love for her father and a strong determination to 'live a life worthy of this name' come through directly. I felt that the spirit of haiku built by Kyoshi would be passed on to Tatsuko, and then to her descendants, transcending time into the future.
Kyoshi Takahama and Tatsuko Hoshino. Through these two poets, I learned how wonderful and noble it is to honestly express one's own emotions and thoughts just as they are.
At the same time, I also feel that this is an era where it is difficult to honestly express one's true self.
People criticize, attack, or hurt others with words and writing, saying, 'Because it's what I think and feel.' Or, a post written without malice ends up rubbing people the wrong way and causing a massive backlash. Now is an era where a trivial remark can be fatal.
Words of vanity hidden within beauty.
Words of pretense mixed within strength.
How should we discern words that speak the truth?
When I think about such things, I become afraid to express the words I feel just as they are. I wonder what I should do.
Perhaps we embellish our stories or evade our true feelings precisely because we are anxious about conveying our own thoughts, feelings, and ideas.
Trying to make myself look bigger by comparing myself to others.
Saying things against my will because I am too concerned about the other person.
Acting like a fake self because I want to be recognized by those around me.
I feel that all of these stem from a lack of trust in oneself and a lack of love for oneself. Perhaps it is because we are unable to care for and accept ourselves that we cannot cast a gaze of love toward others.
As someone who weaves words, I will look at myself and share the moments that move my heart just as they are from now on.
To do that, I must first love myself and warmly embrace the words that well up from the depths of my heart. I want to convey my own unique words, which begin there, in a straightforward way.
Kotori