At War . . .

Hiroshima o shirazaru 
ko-ra yo ryùtó-e

Children --
floating lit paper lanterns
not knowing Hiroshima

"Yasuhiko Shigemoto was one of those who as schoolboy received the blast of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. Yet with courage and endurance he survived, and without bitterness began writing his haiku on a subject that will always haunt our minds."

James Kirkup (Former President of the British Haiku Society)

SPRING

Statute of A-bomb child
she seems as if walking
after a butterfly

(Sadoka Sasaki - a thousand of cranes)

How freely
butterflies are flying about
in the A-bomb Dome !

A-bomb blast center,
the school excursion students
tolling the peace bell

A-bomb blast center ---
thousands of people to see
the cherry blossoms in full bloom

Hoeing:
these pieces
may be A-bombed tiles

New blades of grasses
breaking through
the A-bombed earth !

Budding,
this A-bombed tree
still alive !

SUMMER

I am looking up
wiping sweat off my glasses
at the A-bomb Dome

Doing a die-in:
grasping sand
in sweaty hands

Rowing a boat:
on the river bottom
lie the A-bombed tiles

Gathering bones
on Hiroshima's burnt earth
under the blazing sun

A column of ants
reminding me of a scene
after the A-bomb dropping

The sunflowers
turning their faces
to the A-bomb Dome

How sad
the summer grasses
around the A-bomb Dome !

Typhoon --
the A-bomb Dome
has endured it !

White shoes,
don't come to Hiroshima
wearing them

Closing my folding fan
I approach
the A-bomb Dome

AUTUMN

Looking up
at the A-bomb Dome --
how high the heavens !

Hiroshima --
a water-melon offered
to the A-bomb Dome

In the night darkness
the A-bomb Dome lit up by
a flash of lightning

A-bomb blast center --
visiting the mound of
the unknown dead

The A-bomb Dome
casting its dense shadow
deep autumn

Rental bicycles --
every one of them is black
Hiroshima Day

Hiroshima Day,
offering sake
to the A-bomb Dome

Hiroshima Day,
rivers reminding me of
agonizing cries

Hiroshima Day,
no bones of my parents
nor sisters nor brothers

WINTER

A winter crow
caws and leaves
the A-bomb Dome

Winter sun sinking
the A-bomb Dome
is much darker

At the A-bomb Dome
this evening is beginning
to freeze

The sun just rising,
the A-bomb Dome casting its shadow
in New Year's Day

Taking off my gloves
I sign my name
at the A-bomb blast center

My white breath --
I look up at
the A-bomb Dome

The girl
looking up at the A-bomb Dome
in a New Year's kimono