Haiga by Masuda Aika ( Part 5 )
2010/03/20
Miss Masuda Aika (桝田愛佳）began painting haiga in her elementary school days.
In summer, 2008, her mother, Ms. Masuda Junko (桝田純子), and David Ferron, an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in Akita City, Akita, Japan, took up haiga by Masuda Aika as their haiga project.
We posted their haiga project on the website, dividing it into three stages in November, 2009.
We are very pleased that you appreciated haiga by an elementary schoolgirl in Akita.
Miss Masuda Aika（桝田愛佳）, is now a freshman at Seirei Senior High School in Akita, and contributed her haiga to our website again recently.
Her mother, Ms. Masuda Junko (桝田純子) wrote haiku and translated them into English.
We hope that you will enjoy their haiga and haiku on our website again.
In her second year : Sotoasahikawa Junior High School
No snow
even in February
so bright afternoon
by Junko
Green leaves shining ―
she who falls in love
shining too
by Junko
First hit by my brother ―
even flowers swinging
with joy
by Junko
From a heaven room
watching fireflies glow
with my best friend
by Junko
Rokugo’s springwater
shining
reflecting the sky
by Junko
In Rokugo, town of water, we can see clouds reflected in the pond of the garden.
Jack-o-lantern
smiling at me
from outside the window
by Aika
Red dragonflies
basking in the sunshine
friendly with shades
by Junko
Happy New Year
by Aika
Favorite pastime
sewing one by one
waiting for spring
by Aika
My dream comes true ―
cherry blossoms blooming
in my mind
by Junko
Ms. Doi Ikuko （土井育子）, the best friend of Aika’s mother’s, presented her Tanka （短歌） to Aika.
Oh, my sweet baby!
Grow up healthy
with the Japanese spirit;
Sakura,
sakura,
it’s the century flower.
すこやかに 大和魂 育たんや さくら さくらは 世紀の花よ
Sukoyaka ni yamato damashii sodatan ya sakura sakura wa seiki no hana yo
The names of all her family members appear in her tanka, says Ikuko.
Her husband’ s name is 世紀（Seiki） (Century), her son’s name is 健太郎（Kentaro） (Healthy boy), her daughter’s name is さくら （Sakura） (Cherry flower), and her name, 育子（Ikuko）, means ‘Sodatsu ‘( Grow up).
Around there
I felt
as if I heard your voice;
turning around
I found the blue ocean only
By Junko
In her third year : Sotoasahikawa Junior High School
Spring in full swing
so am I
in the 9th grade at last
by Aika
Soap bubbles
rise in the sky of Tokyo ―
school trip
by Aika
Under the sky
the first rose has opened
summer begins
by Aika
First swimming
with the rainbow seen
beyond the pool shower
by Aika
Mt. Chokai’s flowers
fascinating
late summer
by Junko
The last haiga was presented to Yousei Hime, whose blog is SHITEKI NA USAGI ( http://tasmith1122.wordpress.com/).
In the main hall
praying for good luck
winter light outside
by Junko
The next posting, Haiku by Lars Palm in Sweden, appears on March 27.
― Hidenori Hiruta
Haiga by Masuda Aika ( Part 4 )
2010/03/13
Miss Masuda Aika (桝田愛佳）began painting haiga in her elementary school days.
In summer, 2008, her mother, Ms. Masuda Junko (桝田純子), and David Ferron, an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in Akita City, Akita, Japan, took up haiga by Masuda Aika as their haiga project.
We posted their haiga project on the website, dividing it into three stages in November, 2009.
We are very pleased that you appreciated haiga by an elementary schoolgirl in Akita.
Miss Masuda Aika（桝田愛佳）, is now a freshman at Seirei Senior High School in Akita, and contributed her haiga to our website again recently.
Her mother, Ms. Masuda Junko (桝田純子) wrote haiku and translated them into English.
We hope that you will enjoy their haiga and haiku on our website again.
Winter : in the Sixth Grade
Dear Santa Claus,
this is my wish:
You could realize everyone’s dreams
by Aika
Happy New Year!
with my idol
in my arms
by Aika
On graduation
walking with light steps
full of hope
by Aika
Young leaves open ―
Singing lessons begin
for graduation
by Junko
In her first year : Sotoasahikawa Junior High School
Freshman ceremony
brightly shining
the unifrom’s white lines
by Suiho (Haiga teacher)
Early in the morning
parents picked warabi
boiled green
warabi = bracken
by Junko
“I’m home”
my son played with the sun
as he liked
by Junko
Big fireworks
disappeaed instant
into the heavens
by Junko
The fall wind
breezes in celebration
my birthday
by Junko
In the blue sky
red leaves are flying
colorful
by Atsushi (Aika’s father)
Happy New Year
2007
by Aika
Happy New Year
by Aika
“Demons out! Good luck in!”
by Aika
The next posting, Haiga by Masuda Aika (Part 5 ), appears on March 20.
― Hidenori Hiruta
桝田愛佳（Masuda Aika）began painting haiga in her elementary school days.
In summer, 2008, her mother, 桝田純子(Masuda Junko), and David Ferron, an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in Akita City, Akita, Japan, took up haiga by Masuda Aika as their haiga project.
We post their haiga project on the website, dividing it into three stages.
This is the last stage of the haiga project.
We hope that you will appreciate the last part of haiga, with the three basic haiga in the first part.
Ms. Masuda’s and David’s Haiga Project
わたしと俳画 Haiga and me
秋田市立外旭川小学校
Akita Municipal Sotoasahikawa Elementary School
六年一組 Sixth grade, First class
桝田愛佳 Masuda Aika
始めたきっかけ Why did I start?
母が知り合いの方に「うちの，愛佳は絵が好きなんですよ。」と，言ったら，その方が「私の母が，俳画を教えています。愛佳さんもやってみませんか？」と，おっしゃったそうです。
I heard that when my mom said to an acquaintance of hers, “My Aika likes paintings,” she replied, “My mother teaches haiga. Would like to try it?”
わたしはそれを聞いて、面白そうだなと、思っておけいこにいきました。
When I heard this I thought it sounded interesting, so I took some lessons.
北潟先生のこと Ms. Kitagata
北潟先生は、八十歳をすぎていても、お元気で、とても優しくおしえてくれる物知りな先生です。
Even though Ms. Kitagata is over eighty years old she is a very gentle teacher who knows a lot.
本名は「北潟幸枝」ですが、俳画で使う時は、「北潟枝穂」です。
Her real name is Kitagata Sachie, but when she makes haiga it is Kitagata Shiho.
愛佳 あいか
弟と おとうとと
ボール遊びの ボールあそびの
秋休み あきやすみ
With my younger brother
Playing ball
During fall break
愛佳 あいか
今日のこと きょうのこと
聴いて始まる きいてはじまる
わが団らん わがだんらん
Today
The time I enjoy starts
When I talk with my family
純子句 じゅんこく
おだんごで おだんごで
みんなでパーティ みんなでパーティ
月の夜 つきのよる
With dumplings
Everyone partied
During the moonlit night
自然との しぜんとの
思い出いっぱい おもいでいっぱい
まんたらめ まんたらめ
Plenty of memories
With nature
Mantarame
愛佳 あいか
初春元旦 はつはるがんたん
初雪の思い出のこるまんたらめ はっゆきのおもいでののこるまんたらめ
First day of the year
Mantarame, where memories of the first snow remain
愛佳 あいか
Cake
美沙季 みさき
愛佳より あいかより
Misaki
From Aika
幸福を こうふくを
祈る本堂 いのるほんどう
冬日さす ふゆびさす
Praying for happiness
In the main hall
Light shines through the window
純子句 じゅんこく
愛佳 あいか
地ふぶきの じふぶきの
果てにほおばる はてにほおばる
桜もち さくらもち
純子句 じゅんこく
The massive snowstorm’s
Mouth-watering, satisfying
Sakura rice cakes
始業式 しぎょうしき
たしかに春の たしかにはるの
かぜがふく かぜがふく
純子 じゅんこ
愛佳 あいか
As an opening ceremony
Without fail the spring
Wind blows
何べんも なんべんも
そりすべりして そりすべりして
春の雪 はるのゆき
純子 じゅんこ
愛佳 あいか
However many times,
Sliding on a sled
In the spring snow
愛佳 あいか
おもたせは おもたせは
秋の走りの あきのはしりの
味ゆたか あじゆたか
幸句 こうく
The souvenir is
The beginning of fall
So delicious
弟からのメッセージ A message from my younger brother
「おねえちゃんがやっているのをみてたのしそうだからやってみたい。」と言って今年七月に始めました。
He said, “I saw my older sister doing it, so I want to try.” He started from July of this year.
かっぱはそのときの作品です。 A kappa is his piece of artwork from that time.
大暑 たいしょ Dog days of summer
健太郎 Kentaro
愛佳 あいか
螢かと思ってみた ほたるがとおもってみた
空の星 そらのほし
I thought they were fireflies
The stars in the sky
二年間を振り返って Looking back at these two years
俳画をやってみて楽しくて、楽しくてアッと言う間に、二年間がすぎていきました。変わったところは、少しだけ堂々とはなせるようになりました。これからも俳画をつづけたいです。
I really, really enjoyed making haiga and before I knew it, two years passed. What changed is that I am now able to speak a little bit more elegantly. From here on, I want to continue making haiga.
A message from the translator (AKA the guy that messed everything up):
I would be happy to remain unacknowledged, however Ms. Masuda asked me to contribute a brief profile of myself with a piece addressing my feelings towards my contribution to the work. So here I go.
I am an American and originally hail from Kansas. Yes, Kansas. If you don’t know where that is, I suggest you watch “The Wizard of Oz” or try and buy something made of wheat from America. I currently work for the Japanese government as an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in Akita City, Akita, Japan. That basically means I get paid to get kanchos from small children, among other things (I think maybe only two people got that last joke, but I swear those two people laughed really hard).
It is in this hectic, yet occasionally enjoyable school setting that I met Ms. Masuda. She mentioned her interest in haiga and I admitted my ignorance of the art form. After showing me her daughter’s and son’s artwork, we got on the topic of haiga in English and she wondered how they would sound in another language. From here, the details get sketchy: either she asked me to try my hand at translating them, or I offered myself. I honestly can’t remember exactly how the transaction went down, but next thing I knew, here I was in front of my computer looking at a blue and yellow frog (her son’s painting [which actually has a funny story itself, but I’ll let Ms. Masuda tell that herself, because she tells it with the passion only a mother can have]).
As for the translating itself, it actually turned out to be much more of a challenge than what I first thought. Coming into it with some knowledge of Japanese (it was my major in college) and having translated for fun during my free time certainly did help, but by far the hardest part for me was trying to convey the author’s Japanese feelings in English words.
When choosing what words I should use, I tried to keep in mind that the original author started writing haiga when she was nine and made the power point presentation (what I translated from) when she was twelve. So, I tried my best to use words that I thought a girl of similar age, speaking English would use. But at the same time this is a girl writing poetry, so that said, I tried to find a balance between the poetic and the everyday.
A related problem of equal importance was word order. As I was in the process of translating, I felt a lot of the haiga may sound more natural, and maybe even more “poetic” to a native speaker, if their word order was switched. But then I questioned: would this jeopardize the original meaning? Should I sacrifice the structure for the meaning? Was it my place to make this judgment call?
Ultimately, I decided yes, it was. So from the start, I had to choose which I valued more the structure of the haiga or its meaning, and in the end, I tried my best to find a happy balance. Overall, I tried my best to keep the Japanese word order, but when I felt it sounded significantly better in a different order, I changed it for that particular instance and continued on. Since the original Japanese lacks any punctuation whatsoever, I also tried to keep punctuation to a minimum and inserted it in only when I felt it was necessary. However, I did take some liberties with particles and used them to help smooth the beat for the reader. While the original Japanese versions are often times missing particles, I felt that when turned into English they sounded disjointed and incomplete without them.
Finally, I would like to thank Ms. Masuda for putting up with all of my questions and for being patient while I tapped away on my keyboard. Maybe what I wrote above just overanalyzed the entire translating process, but at the very least I hope it shows that I do care about what I did. And I hope it shows as you read it as well. Enjoy.-David Ferron
(The End)
― Posted by Hidenori Hiruta
桝田愛佳（Masuda Aika）began painting haiga in her elementary school days.
In summer, 2008, her mother, 桝田純子(Masuda Junko), and David Ferron, an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in Akita City, Akita, Japan, took up haiga by Masuda Aika as their haiga project.
We post their haiga project on the website, dividing it into three stages.
This is the second stage of the haiga project.
We hope that you will appreciate the second part of haiga, with the three basic haiga in the first part.
Ms. Masuda’s and David’s Haiga Project
わたしと俳画 Haiga and me
秋田市立外旭川小学校
Akita Municipal Sotoasahikawa Elementary School
六年一組 Sixth grade, First class
桝田愛佳 Masuda Aika
始めたきっかけ Why did I start?
母が知り合いの方に「うちの，愛佳は絵が好きなんですよ。」と，言ったら，その方が「私の母が，俳画を教えています。愛佳さんもやってみませんか？」と，おっしゃったそうです。
I heard that when my mom said to an acquaintance of hers, “My Aika likes paintings,” she replied, “My mother teaches haiga. Would like to try it?”
わたしはそれを聞いて、面白そうだなと、思っておけいこにいきました。
When I heard this I thought it sounded interesting, so I took some lessons.
北潟先生のこと Ms. Kitagata
北潟先生は、八十歳をすぎていても、お元気で、とても優しくおしえてくれる物知りな先生です。
Even though Ms. Kitagata is over eighty years old she is a very gentle teacher who knows a lot.
本名は「北潟幸枝」ですが、俳画で使う時は、「北潟枝穂」です。
Her real name is Kitagata Sachie, but when she makes haiga it is Kitagata Shiho.
ふるさとが ふるさとが
見え元日の みえがんじつの
炭俵 すみだわら
裕句 ひろしく
愛佳 あいか
In my hometown
During the upcoming New Year
With my charcoal sack
千代紙の ちよがみの
ひなのほほえむ ひなのほほえむ
三日かな みっかかな
Ornate, colored-papered
Grins
Dolls for March third, Girls’ Day
愛佳 あいか
愛佳 あいか
一つとや ひとつとや
二つとやあと ふたつとやあと
遊ぶ夜 あそぶよる
One, oh, yeah
Two, oh, yeah
A playful night
愛佳 あいか
水嵩の みずかさの
増してくる如く ましてくるしく
芹洗ふ せりあらう
The volume of water
Rises up
Washing the Japanese parsley
佳郎句 よしろく
新しい雅号 A new pen name
最初にいただいた雅号は「愛苑」だったけれど、同じ雅号の人がいたので「佳苑」という雅号をいただきました。先生に「佳苑」というはんこを作ってもらいました。
The first pen name I was given was Aien, however there was someone else with the same pen name, so I was given the name Kaen. I also received a personal seal with the name Kaen that my teacher made.
緑さし みどりさし
猫の歩みも ねこのあゆみも
映りけり うつりけり
秀旦句 Does anyone know how to pronounce this?
愛佳 あいか
Day by day, greener and greener
A cat’s steps too
Are reflected
父の日に ちちのひに
絵げいこに来れる えげいこにこれる
幸よ しあわせよ
On Father’s Day
I can practice haiga
So happy (Thank you, dad)
先生と吹く せんせいとふく
草笛の くさぶえの
まちまちに まちまちに
友子句 ともこく
愛佳 あいか
Blowing with my teacher
The blades of grass
Out of synch
母と俳句 Mom and Haiku
母は、時々川柳（せんりゅう）や俳句をつくっています。母が好きなばらを描いて母の俳句をのせたら、泣いて喜んでいました。母は、すっかりその気になって毎月おけいこの時は、はりきって、俳句をつくっています。
My mom sometimes makes haiku and senryu (humorous Japanese poems). When I painted a rose, which my mother likes, and added one of my mom’s haikus, she was so happy she cried. My mom was overwhelmingly pleased and now every month during my lessons cheerfully makes haikus.
嵐にも あらしにも
りんりんと咲く りんりんとさく
花畑 はなばたけ
Despite the storm
The flower garden
Is vigorously blooming
純子句 じゅんこく
愛苑 あいえん
苗代の なわしろの
月夜は つきよは
はんの木に はんのきに
けむる けむる
The bed of rice’s
Moonlit night
Is shrouded by
The Japanese alder
素逝句 そせいく
(To Be Continued)
― Posted by Hidenori Hiruta
桝田愛佳（Masuda Aika）began painting haiga in her elementary school days.
In summer, 2008, her mother, 桝田純子(Masuda Junko), and David Ferron, an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) in Akita City, Akita, Japan, took up haiga by Masuda Aika as their haiga project.
We post their haiga project on the website, dividing it into three stages.
We hope that you will appreciate haiga by an elementary schoolgirl in Akita.
Ms. Masuda’s and David’s Haiga Project
わたしと俳画 Haiga and me
秋田市立外旭川小学校
Akita Municipal Sotoasahikawa Elementary School
六年一組 Sixth grade, First class
桝田愛佳 Masuda Aika
始めたきっかけ Why did I start?
母が知り合いの方に「うちの，愛佳は絵が好きなんですよ。」と，言ったら，その方が「私の母が，俳画を教えています。愛佳さんもやってみませんか？」と，おっしゃったそうです。
I heard that when my mom said to an acquaintance of hers, “My Aika likes paintings,” she replied, “My mother teaches haiga. Would like to try it?”
わたしはそれを聞いて、面白そうだなと、思っておけいこにいきました。
When I heard this I thought it sounded interesting, so I took some lessons.
北潟先生のこと Ms. Kitagata
北潟先生は、八十歳をすぎていても、お元気で、とても優しくおしえてくれる物知りな先生です。
Even though Ms. Kitagata is over eighty years old she is a very gentle teacher who knows a lot.
本名は「北潟幸枝」ですが、俳画で使う時は、「北潟枝穂」です。
Her real name is Kitagata Sachie, but when she makes haiga it is Kitagata Shiho.
せつせつと せつせつと
眼まで濡らして めまでぬらして
髪洗ふ かみあらう
節子句 せつこく
愛佳 あいか
Frenziedly
Eyes get wet
When hair’s washed
マスカット マスカット
おいしく食べし おいしくたべし
夜食後 やしょくあと
愛佳 あいか
Muscat grapes
Deliciously eaten
After dinner
愛佳 あいか
山の雲 やまのくも
いけしまま いけしまま
松立てにけり まつたてにけり
章句 あきらく
Pine trees stood
In the mountain clouds
Like arranged flowers
愛佳 あいか
十五夜の じゅうごやの
雲のあそびて くものあそびて
かぎりなし かぎりなし
夜半句 やはんく
For fifteen nights
The clouds played
Endlessly
愛佳 あいか
冬に入る ふゆにはいる
山国の紺 やまごくのこん
女学生 じょがくせい
Headed into winter
The mountain country’s dark blue
Schoolgirl
牡丹雪 ぼたんゆき
地に近づきて ちにちかづきて
迅く落つ はやくおつ
六林男句 むりおく
愛佳 あいか
十才 じゅうさい
Large snowflakes
Come towards the ground
And swiftly fall
金銀の きんぎんの
紙ほどの幸 かみほどのさち
クリスマス クリスマス
欣一句 きんいちく
愛佳 あいか
Gold and silver
Little joy-filled paper
At Christmas
(To be continued)
― Posted by Hidenori Hiruta
