In the distant hills

In the distant hills

A patch where sunlight touches

The withered meadows.

                                                             – haiku by Shiki (trans. by Donald Keene)

 

Haidan – May 2016 issue

Since January 2016, Old Pond Comics is published in Japan. I’ve been working with Emiko Miyashita, a haiku poet who is writing a monthly column on haiku translations for the new journal Haidan. Every month, Emiko sends me three haiku and I provide a haiku-cartoon to accompany her article.

The publisher sends me copies of the journals, but only months after publication, so Emiko occasionally sends me pictures of what the article looks like as soon as she gets her copy.

Here’s a photo of the May 2016 issue showing beautiful Japanese items on her desk. She gave me permission to share this.

Haidan (May 2016 issue). Photo by Emiko Miyashita.

 

Here’s the comic:

In the distant hills

A patch where sunlight touches

The withered meadows.

— Kyoshi (haiku translated by Donald Keene)