Baseball Haiku

Mizuhara Shshi () 1892–1981

Mizuhara Shshi was the eldest son of a doctor who ran a clinic in Tokyo. After getting his own medical degree in 1926, he began teaching at Showa Medical College and practicing in his father’s clinic. In 1932 he became medical adviser to the Imperial Household, retiring from medicine twenty years later. He liked to visit Buddhist temples and to attend baseball games.

Shshi started writing poetry as a student, beginning with tanka and moving on to haiku. He became a follower of Kyoshi and the conservative branch of haiku. He continued to use the traditional form and seasonal reference after breaking with Kyoshi to form his own group, but leaned toward the lyrical and romantic. He believed one should use the imagination in haiku, and not just record objective observations of nature. He criticized Shiki’s idea of word-sketching from nature, by ridiculing the image of a poet, notebook in hand, following after a cloud’s shadow. His style involves being open to a wide range of subject matter and using theatrical or dramatic effects. His best haiku have a cinematic quality: “the huge dog / rises to greet the guest / May darkness.” His baseball haiku also reflect this concern with action and mood to create drama.

night game

our team’s good luck heralded

by the lightning