haiku – Keisuke SUGIURA

Poet Keisuke Sugiura first encountered haiku at Kumano University, Japan. In 2001 he was awarded the 19th Gendai Haiku 'rookie of the year' prize and is now an essayist and critic for the haiku magazine Sōuju.








Observations ~ 
                         by Keisuke Sugiura & Keita Hayashi (video artist)

Sugiura:

階段が無くて海鼠の日暮れかな

Kaidan ga nakute namako no higure kana

No stairs
sea cucumber
sunset

(Hashi Kanseki. Translation: IPP)


Hayashi: 
I was intrigued by the fact that blank space plays an important role when printing a haiku. It seems that the surroundings and environment are important. An anthology where each haiku is laid out separately, luxuriously occupying a wide field of whiteness, provides a totally different reading experience from, for example, the readers' contributions page in a newspaper where many haiku are squeezed into a small space.


Sugiura:

広島や卵食う時口ひらく

Hiroshima ya tamago kuu toki kuchi hiraku

Yes, Hiroshima –
when you are eating an egg
you open your mouth

(西東三鬼 [Saito Sanki]. Translation: IPP)


Hayashi: 
On a PC screen it is hard to convey the original intentions or spirit of a haiku, partly because, perhaps, there there text goes from left to right , instead of top to bottom. This said, handwriting using a brush and India ink does not necessarily provide the best alternative either.

This issue of the presentation of haiku can be connected with issues in video art, such as the size of the screen – it is a totally different experience seeing a video work on a small screen and on a big screen, fully immersed in a panorama, surrounded by moving images.

On reflection, then, it is no wonder that we who work in the field of video art should care about the issue of presentation, since we deal with the senses of vision and sound. However, I believe this is also an issue which is common and fundamental to all areas of art.



A Perspective on Keisuke Sugiura 
                                                         by RAD (architects)

 "The Silent Falls"*  paper・adhesive paper 
Mr Sugiura's career as a haiku poet seems to me to be somewhat curious. He was born and brought up in Kumano, Wakayama Prefecture where he graduated from university. It was when he joined a circle organized by the novelist Keni Kakagami that Sugiura first started writing haiku. He told me that before that he was into playing the saxophone. A surprising switch – but then, I am not really sure if there is a 'proper' way to become a haiku poet. I suppose every poet has his or her own intriguing life story.

The extremely simple format of haiku, with its 5-7-5 syllable count over three lines, restricts the choice of words available. Sugiura must be imposing severe restrictions on himself every time he writes. On the other hand, this simplicity enables anyone to join in and enjoy the world of haiku, as long as you posses a keenly observant eye and a sense of humour. Indeed, how many moments have been captured in this small vessel! Restrictions turned inspirations – this is a formula that could also be applied to architecture.

When planning an architectural design, absolute freedom to wield an arbitrary imagination would, in many cases, simply not work. In contrast, however, being forced to work under given complicate conditions with external factors such as the surrounding environment, budget, materials available and the such, often results in unexpectedly new, innovative ideas and unforeseen solutions. In other words, what it takes is communicating with the outside world.

The 5-7-5 format is a vessel for words as well as a framework for communicating with the world outside. The words we use and our point of view are constantly changing, but the framework of haiku never changes. If it should, then it is no longer called haiku. This makes us realize what a tremendously large number of scenes and moments have been put into the words of that very fragile structure we call haiku.

* Keisuke SUGIURA + Nao ISODA + Yunshil KIM + Midori TSUTAYA + Eie HAYASHI + Yayoi HIGASHIYAMA + Saori KISHIMOTO + Kaoru SATAKE + Shouma TOYADA + Chiharu YAKUSHIGAWA



Keisuke Sugiura: abridged resumé

– Began writing haiku at Kumano University in 1994 in the haiku club organaized by writer Kenji NAKAGAMI.

– Participated in 'Souen', organized by Nobuko Katsura

– Received the 19th GENDAI HAIKU ASSOCIATION Rookie of the Year Award in 2001


– Currently critic and essayist for the haiku magazines Souju and Quatre.