Today is 19 August. It is Haiku Day! Actually, haiku is very popular and booming in Japan these days! Maybe it's a boom all over the world too? Do you know what haiku is? Haiku is a Japanese traditional form of poem based on seasonal words and the five-seven-five (17 syllable) syllabary. Kigo are seasonal words. First of all, I will introduce the summer seasonal words (kigo). What is your image of the summer? Hot days, sweat, fans, air-conditioning, sea, rivers, bathing, swimming pools, clouds, thunder. Food and drink are also seasonal terms such as ice cream, iced coffee, watermelon, peaches, melon, beer, somen noodles. There are also insects such as cicadas, ladybirds, flies, mosquitoes. Now I would like to introduce a few summer haiku. 'Natsu arashi (summer storm), the blank paper on my desk, jumps all over.' This haiku was written by Masaoka Shiki, and the seasonal term is natsu arashi (summer storm). Secondly, 'Furusato ya, yoru mo saharu mo bara no hana (Home town, where you can drop in and touch the roses.)'. This haiku was written by Kobayashi Issa, and the seasonal word is "rose blossom". And thirdly, remembering my own school days, “ Hiyakeshite Dochiga kageka Wakaranai (I had a sunburn, and I didn't know which one was a suntan or shadow)”. Suntan is a seasonal word. I encourage you to make one. Please write a haiku about your love stories, your failures, the summer memories, and so on. I’m looking forward to hearing your haiku. If I can make a nice haiku, I would like you to share it.

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