Nicky Bachtold • Nicky's Haiku •

Masajo Suzuki used love as her main approach to writing haiku. Masajo was a very passionate person, and her Haiku is full of her passions; for men, for life, for her pub and for writing Haiku. Masajo is a very interesting author to me personally, because of her bravery and honesty in all her Haiku. Masajo was not restricted with the sense of tradition that most Japanese women succumb to. She had a very interesting love life and wrote freely about it. Masajo divorced her husband after his mysterious disappearance in 1935. When her older sister died, Masajo was obligated to marry her dead sisters husband at the age of thirty. Masajo was very young and not in love with her sister’s husband but it was her obligation to be his wife. Many of the Haiku Masajo writes gives the sense of obligation she feels toward him, but lack of love. Masajo fell in love with a Naval officer she met at her hotel in 1936. Her Haiku describes her lifetime love so beautifully. Through her writing Masajo is able to free herself from all of her lifetime obligations and traditions and creatively expresses her true feelings. By challenging her Japanese traditions via Haiku, Masajo courageously became one of Japan’s best known haiku love poets. Love Haiku: Masajo Suzuki’s Lifetime Of Love, suggests in the introduction “each haiku Masajo wrote was a mini-drama of her life, because it was from her real experience.” I believe that is why I enjoy Masajo’s haiku so greatly; Her Haiku is so real and from the heart, yet romantic and sad in the same sense. Masajo also held true to the defining elements of the season in her Haiku, by doing so kept her own spirit in the Haiku, but at the same time left a glimmer of tradition. More than anyone It is this man I love On the withered grass This haiku is so compelling. I imagine two people so in love, they are on an afternoon picnic, sitting beside one another enjoying the day and their surroundings. They chat and talk about their lives together their future. Sitting on the withered grass talking about their future. What is so compelling in this is that fact that Masajo really didn’t have a future with her lifetime love. They only had each other for a short time. They had to savor their time together because it was always taken away by obligation, to his family and to hers. On withered grass signifies the winter Water birds— Talk of divorce From the woman Water birds – signifying winter. The interpretation on this Haiku suggests Masajo tried to talk about divorce once, but failed. As far as I know, it is always from the woman’s side to bring up the subject of divorce. Masajo is suggesting that in her culture, men must have never discussed divorce. Why? I am sure the woman provided for all their needs. Men did not consider whether the woman was happy or not. It was mostly about providing for the man. It is a very male dominated culture. I am sure there were many instances that the woman did what was expected of her, but lived a miserable life. How sad that must have been, living with a man she did not love and her heart always being somewhere else. Masajo must have been so disappointed when her sister died. What a huge responsibility. Marrying your sister’s husband, and raising their children. I can understand from a woman’s perspective how devastating that had to be. How hard it must have been especially for Masajo, since she was such an individual anyway. I detest the man Yet I long for him— Willow leaves falling I suspect here that Masajo has just found out that her officer is married and has children in the states. How disappointed she must have been, but not surprised. It has disappointed her because even if she received a divorce, he would still be obligated. Yet she still longs for him. She knows both of them have so many obstacles, yet she is so in love with him, he is her soul mate. She just can’t stop thinking and longing for him. And she cannot stop seeing him. Willow leaves falling represent the autumn Luck with husbands Is something that eludes me— Autumn kimono Here Masajo is reflecting on her past experiences with men. Her first husband mysteriously disappears, and she end up getting a divorce. Her second husband is left over from her dead sister, and she does not love him. She must have reflected on that quiet often, wondering how things turn out the way they do. Wondering if this was her destiny. I am sure there was a lot of sadness that came from these moments of haiku. Summer kimono sash— My destiny in my hand In my own hands The interpretation describes how Masajo relies on herself for her fortune. I believe this Haiku reflects Masajo’s independence. Masajo is her own woman. She makes her own money and relies on no one to do it for her. She takes care of herself and is proud of that fact. She works hard to make her fortune. Her destiny is her own to make and no one else’s. Knowing how independent Masajo was it must have been very difficult for her to fulfill her obligations towards her husband. It must have been a constant struggle. Wanting to do her own thing, yet having traditional obligations that wouldn’t allow it. Firefly light: I step off the path Of womans virtue The interpretation suggests that Masajo had stepped off the path of being a good mother and a wise mother and had no idea what will happen with her future. Masajo is so unhappy with her life being full of obligations and having no control. This haiku is so powerful. It describes temptations that we all have in our life at one point or another. The firefly light goes off and on signifying what could happen to your future when you step of your path. In Masajo’s case she was challenging her virtue as a woman. I feel she was feeling guilty about having a lover. Feeling that she has let down the children and her husband. Once on my fate Today in the withered field I stumble again I sense that Masajo is maybe feeling a little sorrowful about her fate. She describes stumbling in the field not being the only time. She has stumbled on her fate once before. This Haiku has a sense of longing to it also. Longing for what could have been. Longing for a different direction. Wondering what life could have been if only. The withered field brings another sense of coldness to it being a winter seasonal word. Winter mist— Memories of embracing And being embraced I sense a cold winters night and Masajo is curled up writing haiku, wishing she could be with her one true love. She is remembering how is he feels and smells while wrapped up in his arms. She is also remembering how her body feels when she is holding him. She can’t be with him but wishes she could on this cold winters night. I sense of feeling of loneliness and sadness. Unable to die I comb the mass of hair in my hand Fireflies I sense Masajo is combing out her long hair in the summer and reflecting on how she wishes her life could end. I’m sensing she is old and ready to go. She wants to be with her love since he has passed on, but cannot because she is unable to die. This is a sad haiku it makes me feel Masajo is ready to be finished with things. She is ready for completion. First sunrise— I wait with a fluttering heart As if in love I imagine Masajo loved to wake and write haiku with the first sunrise. She is expressing how much she loves the first sunrise – as if in love. Waiting with excitement to see the sunrise again, not getting enough of the sight she waits anxiously to view it again. I sense it is a big warm summer sun that she is anticipating. —Nicky Bachtold