Young Samurai _ The Way Of The Dragon - Chris Bradford [67]
‘This one is about love,’ he declared.
‘ “She may have only one eye
but it’s a pretty one,”
says the go-between.’
A burst of laughter broke from the class. Jack grinned at his friend’s humorous verse, while Akiko rolled her eyes in despair. The amusement was silenced by a stern look from Sensei Nakamura.
‘That was not an appropriate entry,’ she fumed, wiping the smile from Saburo’s face.
‘Sensei,’ interrupted Saigyo gently, ‘the verse may have been somewhat coarse, but our young poet here is certainly novel. His entry amused me. Like a plant needs sun as much as rain, so a poet needs laughter as much as tears.’
Sensei Nakamura inclined her head in acknowledgement of his judgement. Saburo returned to his place beside Jack.
‘You’ll be writing that one out two thousand times, at least!’ hissed Akiko over her shoulder.
Saburo grinned as if he didn’t care.
Jack gave his friend a wink. ‘I thought it was great.’
The following entries proved to be less inspiring and, at one point, Jack thought the old poet had gone to sleep. Then Yori shuffled up. He nervously flattened the piece of paper in his hands and, in a voice so soft even Saigyo had to lean forward to hear it, he said:
‘Squatting by the tree
an old frog observes the faces
hidden in the clouds.’
The poet’s face lit up like the dawn, his sleepy eyes bursting awake. ‘Why, that’s a haiku worth waiting for! My favourite topic is frogs!’
Yori bowed and guiltily whispered, ‘I’ve always admired your haiku about the frog jumping into the old pond. I wished to write one like it.’
‘And so you have,’ said Saigyo, beaming at him. ‘You have spirit, little poet. And so does your haiku.’
Yori, looking relieved, sat back down next to Jack.
‘Well done,’ said Jack, patting him on the back. ‘You’ve won.’
Emi leant forward and hissed, ‘Takuan has yet to read his haiku!’
Takuan bowed to Saigyo and in a clear, confident voice recited:
‘Temple bell
a cloud of cherry blossom
Heaven? Hanami?’
Emi applauded loudly and the rest of the class soon joined in.
Saigyo nodded appreciatively, a deeply satisfied smile on his face. ‘Your style is pure like white jade. Without ornament, without carving, you get straight to the heart of the moment. This is haiku at its finest.’
Takuan bowed his gratitude at the poet’s praise and returned to his place next to Emi. Sensei Nakamura’s characteristically sombre expression softened for a moment as she glowed with pride at her son’s achievement.
A growing sense of excitement filled the room while Saigyo conferred with Sensei Nakamura. A few moments later, Sensei Nakamura turned to the class.
‘Saigyo-san has deemed the winner to be…’
28
THE GRACIOUS LOSER
‘… impossible to decide,’ Sensei Nakamura announced.
‘Like peas in a pod, we have two poets of equal worth,’ explained Saigyo.
The hall was instantly abuzz with excited chatter as to who could be the most likely haiku candidates. Jack hoped Yori was one of them. It was just the sort of confidence boost his friend needed.
Once the news of a draw had sunk in, Saigyo continued ‘I propose a maekuzuke between the two best entrants.’
The class sat rigid, no longer from cold but with anticipation.
Sensei Nakamura stepped forward to explain the rules.
‘Our honoured guest will provide a short two-line verse to which the participants must add a haiku of their own, and so form a complete tanka poem. The joining verse will be judged on its originality and relevance to the given phrase. The participants must compose their contribution on the spot.’
The difficulty of the challenge triggered an astonished gasp from the students.
‘Yori-kun and Takuan-kun, step forward.’
Yori froze, looking startled as a rabbit caught out in the open.
Jack whispered, ‘Don’t worry. You’re a natural with words.’
Takuan jumped up and strode