Hideki Ishikura, studied French literature at Tokyo University. He writes traditional Chinese poems in fixed forms and has written over 30,000 works in Chinese in over 300 forms during the past 12 years. Since the people of Japan uses Chinese letters in their language, this process allows them to easily study and write Chinese poem. Listening to his recitals is amazing, interesting and gripping. The tercets he writes are equally educational and uplifting.
The following is a prime example of his tenacious gift and writing style with the application of humor to enhance the interpretation of his works:
A poet lacking talent
Beats a chicken and insults a dog-
A great grudge against Muse
I had a friend to read this tercet and he stated that is exactly what he felt like doing after reading a poem he does not understand. But what about this one I asked? He started laughing because this was one of the funniest tercet he had ever read. Naturally, one is able to see the humor in this piece; how does a poet insults a dog and such things?
Equally serious are the words of this next poem and the philosophy behind the theme. This poem takes the mind back to nature and things that are natural:
Eating flowers and drinking dew
When she sings her lips
Breathe a butterfly's dance
Here Ishikura plants an image in the mind of the reader regarding nature. Obviously, the question is who, what, or why? The imagination is allowed to investigate all dimensions. One must realize that there is a voice in everything under the sun; equally, the corresponding butterfly's dance is appropriate at each level of life's existence.
This book is not divided into sections by names; it is only numbered by pages. The poems are written in four different languages including English for the benefit of other nations and readers to enjoy. The following poem takes the reader into a different dimension:
In the clouds on the mountain top
A singing bird
is whose soul?
The impending theory here shifts the focus of this poem to one regarding immortality of the soul. The rhetorical line begs the question regarding the circulatory birthing process of life and nature. The mountain top has life just as the valley; however, the mountain top is selected in this sestet to match the clouds instead of fog in a valley, which could have worked equally well.
Obviously, the mind of a poet has to be one which is observant and see things an ordinary person does not, nor will not see or comprehend the same. As a result, creativity flows naturally when the poets is awake or asleep. The brainwaves are always working and connotatively musing with evolution because it is a dynamic process instead of a static one. The following tercet gives such an example:
On the head of a dragon
a woodcutter pulls his saw
to get the horn
The sequencing of the evolutionary process is dynamic in this imagery. The concept of dragons from the past spitting fire, moving on to the Magic Dragon of luck is different. Certainly, one image of the dragon here reflects the cruelty of humankind killing and taking elephants' tusks in Africa and Asia for the highest bidder.
This book is packed with wonderful words of wisdom to spark the mind and the soul to think beyond the norm. It is that process which takes the souls of individuals to the mountain top for a renewal of life in a new form where the mind is young and fresh with enhancing thoughts.
Joseph S. Spence, Sr. (aka "Epulaeryu Master"), is the author of "The Awakened One Poetics" (2009), which is published in seven different languages. He also co-authored two poetry books, "A Trilogy of Poetry, Prose and Thoughts for the Mind, Body and Soul" (2005), and "Trilogy Moments for the Mind, Body and Soul," (2006). He invented the Epulaeryu poetry form, which focuses on succulent cuisines. Joseph is a Goodwill Ambassador for the state of Arkansas. He has completed over twenty years of service with the U.S. Army. https://www.poetrysoup.com/poems_poets/poems_by_poet.aspx?ID=6373