Fukushima ふくしま
Nagase Tōgo 永瀬十悟 Fukushima ふくしま 2011 Kadokawa Haiku Award 2011 年角川俳句大賞
translated by Emiko Miyashita and Michael Dylan Welch
激震や水仙に飛ぶ屋根瓦 gekishin ya suisen ni tobu yanegawara
severe earthquake— roof tiles flying to the narcissus
打ち続くなゐのハンマー砂あらし uchitsuzuku nai no hanmā sunaarashi
the endless hammering of earthquakes— sand storm
凍返る救援のヘリ加速せよ itekaeru kyūen no heri kasoku seyo
freezing cold— rescue helicopter, hurry up, hurry up
無事ですと電話つながる夜の椿 buji desu to denwa tsunagaru yo no tsubaki
I’m alive, talking on the reconnected phone . . . night camellia
淡雪や給水の列角曲がる awayuki ya kyūsui no retsu kado magaru
light snow— a queue for drinking water bends at the corner
戻らない子猫よ放射線降る夜 modoranai koneko yo hōshasen furu yo
the kitten still missing . . . the fallout into the night
産土を汚すのはなに梅真白 ubusuna o kegasu no wa nani ume mashiro
what is violating our guardian deity? pure white plum blossoms
燕来て人消える街被爆中 tsubame kite hito kieru machi hibakuchū
swallows arrive and people disappear from the town radiation exposure
大なゐの後の春泥生臭し ōnai no ato no shundei namagusashi
after the earthquake the spring mud smells fishy
ちちははの墓石は無事牡丹の芽 chichihaha no hakaishi wa buji botan no me
father and mother’s tombstone is intact— buds on a peony
県境にとどまる宅急便と春 kenkyō ni todomaru takkyūbin to haru
at the prefecture border delivery trucks and spring waiting
パンジーに水遣り忘れ震災後 panjī ni mizu yariwasure shinsaigo
forgotten to water the pansies . . . after the disaster
流されてもうないはずの橋朧 nagasarete mō naihazu no hashi oboro
washed away the bridge that is no longer there in the mist
春の月家は余震に耐へてをり haru no tsuki ie wa yoshin ni taete ori
spring moon— our house is bearing the aftershock
残る子と避難する子と花種蒔く nokoruko to hinansuruko to hanadane maku
a child remaining a child leaving we sow flower seeds together
復旧の貨車三十輌梨の花 fukkyū no kasha sanjūryō nashi no hana
thirty cars in the restored supply train— pear blossoms
誰も居ぬ花の校庭放射線 dare mo inu hana no kōtei hōshasen
an empty schoolyard surrounded by cherry blossoms radioactive rays
しやぼん玉見えぬ恐怖を子に残すな shabondama mienu kyōfu o ko ni nokosuna
soap bubbles . . . don’t pass on the invisible fear to our children
蜂笑ふ手に負へぬもの飼うべからず hachi warau te ni oenu mono kau bekarazu
a bee smiles never keep anything you cannot handle
避難所に春来るキャッチボールかな hinanjo ni haru kuru kyatchbōru kana
spring comes to a refugee camp . . . playing catch
風評の苺せつなき甘さかな fūhyō no ichigo setsunaki amasa kana
rumors of contamination the strawberry’s painful sweetness
牡丹園瓦礫置場となつてをり botanen garekiokiba to natte ori
the peony garden has become a depository for debris
仕事場の更地となりぬ柿若葉 shigotoba no sarachi to narinu kakiwakaba
my workplace becomes an empty lot persimmons in young leaves
みごもるといふ知らせあり虹かかる migomoru to iu shirase ari niji kakaru
news of her pregnancy the rainbow hangs in the air
山河青し沈黙の声聴きにゆく sanga aoshi chinmoku no koe kiki ni yuku
mountains and rivers so green, I go to listen to the voice of silence
With his collection “Fukushima” (ふくしま) on the topic of the March 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster, Nagase Tōgo (永瀬十悟) won the 57th Kadokawa Haiku Award (角川俳句賞). This award, dating from 1955 and offering a first prize of ¥300,000 (about $3,700), is the most remunerative competition in Japanese haiku. Prizes are given annually for a titled unpublished collection of fifty haiku. Previous winners include luminaries such as Murakoshi Kaseki, Suzuki Eiko, Tanaka Hiroaki, Yuki Noriko, Yamada Mizue, and Ōishi Etsuko. Popular poet Mayuzumi Madoka won the Kadokawa’s Encouraging Award in 1994, which launched her career. The 2011 judges were Ikeda Sumiko, Masaki Yūko, Hasegawa Kai, and Ozawa Minoru. Nagase was born in Sukagawa City, Fukushima prefecture, on March 29, 1953, and still resides there. Writing haiku since his twenties, he joined the Kikkō (桔槹) haiku group in 1988 and is now a dojin and involved in its haiku magazine. He is a member of the Association of Haiku Poets. His honors include the 56th Fukushima Prefecture Literature Award for Haiku (judged by Kaneko Tōta) and the 10th Kikkō Award.
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