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Ban'ya Natsuishi's Postmodern Haiku
Ban'ya Natsuishi does not exist, at least not physically. It is the penname for Masayuki Inui, acclaimed haiku author and enthusiast. Over the span of 26 years, Natsuishi has won awards and honors such as First Prize in the 1981 Haiku-kenkyu competition and the Modern Haiku Association Prize in 1991. His book, A Future Waterfall exemplifies his philosophy for haiku and life in a compact form, which shattered the western view of haiku. For Natsuishi, the world is limitless and so is haiku. The two are fit perfectly for one another; Natsuishi just twists and turns the world of haiku through his lens of abstraction, connection, and symbolism in order to create a masterfully dream-like landscape.
All of the haiku presented in this essay are from Natsuishi's A Future Waterfall . In it, he finagles time and existence, producing an abstract universe where everyone can partake in its newness and similarities.
Page 7:
Under the sky's vortex,
I play with
crystal spheres
The book begins ominously, a vortex churning up above, while the narrator plays with something it clearly shouldn't be. He has opened up another dimension and universe and our world is being swallowed through the gate. Natsuishi sets the tone and setting for the rest of the book. It is almost as if he causes the reader to be sitting in this new dimension while reading the book and allowing Natsuishi to guide him and show him the characteristics of the new world. With this opening haiku, the tone and hopes of the reader as well as a new world is about to be unraveled before his eyes.
In Natsuishi's universe, our conceptions of existence are challenged and bent by his will. He certainly has his own unique style and I mean no disservice in claiming a similarity to other post-modern writing.
Page 8:
Shoved off the stairs--
falling I become
a rainbow
As the second haiku of the book, this is the reader's first experience in Natsuishi's "world". It's clear he's going to be playing by his own rules. Even for a translated haiku, there is a high degree of unnatural rhythm of this haiku. The second line especially accents this. One would expect a pause between "falling" and "I", naturally. Instead it is run together in the haste of the action. In addition to this, there is the bizarre comparison of falling down stairs and a rainbow. Because of the environment of Natsuishi's surrealistic world, I imagine a rainbow trail appearing behind the falling body tracing his violent path down the stairs.
Page 11:
Over the rooftop
gravestone shop
radio waves fly
It is very common of Natsuishi to use common things in unpredictable forms in his haiku. Once again, the nature of the new world leads me to see the radio waves as physical objects. Natsuishi wants the reader to see the waves that are there all the time, invading the body and filling the not-so-empty voids in the world. I see this haiku as a tongue in cheek warning about radio waves and the unknown harm they may cause a person if they are exposed in excessive amounts. The harm technology may cause is another common theme in contemporary Japanese art and postmodernism.
Page 30:
I diarrhea
electric wires, birds, fireworks
and clouds
Perhaps the strangest haiku in the collection, this haiku presents post modernism at its highest output. The everyday and the occasional coexist and demolish reality, yet somehow make a perfectly twisted sense.
Page 51:
A dragon has sunk
into the Atlantic Ocean
autumn heat
Page 52:
Fountain of Saint Anna,
Mother Mary and Jesus:
dark rain
Page 22:
To the irreversible
and ischemic Galaxy
I would return
Page 45:
In Rome every—
where oratory
and the full moon
And while Natsuishi creates this new dimension, the reader soon comes to realize that it isn't actually an actual physical space. It is, in fact, our world deconstructed and reconstructed, morphed and manipulated by Natsuishi into a surreal environ of confusion, familiarity, and culture. Space and earth collide, Jesus and Mary exist along with dragons, cities and landmarks of the world are filtered through Natsuishi's lens. He begins to persuade oen into thinking that it is all real. Why can't summer heat because by a dragon's submergence into the ocean? What if the galaxy is withering from an obstruction in its flow? Why can't any of this happen in our own reality?
In reading interviews with Natsuishi and his essays, it becomes clear how he comes to his conclusions, and his view of haiku. A strong proponent of the global nature of haiku, Natsuishi holds views that haiku's adaptation to different geographies and cultures will revise past traditions, but there are constants. Haiku is not about seasonal elements or nature anymore, but is about the similarities that we don't or can't notice. Dreams, death and other aspects of humanity are the new trademarks of haiku, and Natsuishi uses these almost 100% of the time. These two comparisons represent haiku by Natsuishi with seasonal elements, but not in a natural way. They are very human, and show personified characteristics.
Shinozaki Keisuke pg. 44 A Hidden Pond
Sunrise and moonrise
within the sound of the waves—
a weeping cherry
Natsuishi, pg. 23
The moon runs after the sun,
I after you,
Land of Winds
The moon and sun are used in both of these haiku. In the first, they symbolize the passage of time, streaming endlessly over ocean. Natsuishi presents them as humanistic creatures; the moon forever seeking the sun like it is seeking a soulmate or some unreachable goal. Yet, the longing of the moon makes it think that it can reach the sun. There is a common sadness or melancholy in both, the passage of time makes the cherry weep, and the desire to unity makes the chase of the moon after the sun unbearable and eternal. In a poetic sense, the first is much stronger and full of drama in a moment. The second gives a sense of motion, as time passes and the cycle continues, while giving the actor's an unattainable finish line. I find the second to be the better haiku, for its sense of action, and relativity to the humanity of the scene.
Natsuishi, pg. 43:
Above the sea
lightning violates
the Galaxy
Basho, pg. 58 The Master Haiku Poet:
Waiting for the snow,
Wine lovers' faces--
A flash of lightning
The first poem seems full of action. Lightning is the aggressor, disrupting the stars, as the sea tranquilly observes. There seems to be a power and tension stronger than a normal storm, almost as if the lightning is summoning an apocalyptic force down into the sea. In the second haiku, the scene is calm. Lovers watch and wait for the impending snowfall, but are shocked at the lightning which precedes the peaceful snow shower. I believe the second haiku is much more poetic. There are more players, wine, lovers, snow, the waiting, and the lightning, which add up to a more interesting and dramatic scene. The first overwhelms with mystery and danger, but Basho presents a feeling of love and mutual experience that is much more impressive.
Because of this humanity, Natsuishi believes that haiku is made for every culture and is not mutually exclusive to any culture. It belongs to the world now, just like every other art has spread in its own time. In one interview, his internationalism is made very evident: "There are no small or minor languages." and when asked about the definition of "World Haiku" he gave this response, "It is nothing less than everything important to the human race. A single word or a short message may be the first and most indispensable discourse for any culture. He also notes in an essay about the importance of world travel and his haiku writing. Without the inspiration of the world around him, Natsuishi would not be able to incite this global haiku movement.
A Future Waterfall takes the reader on a journey to a familiar landscape with unfamiliar qualities. Ban'ya Natsuishi shows the reader that they share a world, and that all that varies is the view. Humanity is not just human things, but the entire universe around them. Interpretation is what Natsuishi does best, and he does not limit his moments to the present, but takes the reader to the past, the future, and to mysterious points that the world may never reach. |
