Produced by Kimimasa Mikami, "Haiku by Hiroko Yoshio on wooden board"

Monday, March 27, 2023

We are pleased to introduce and discuss a fine wooden board from Mikami Corporation and Mikami Kimimasa, President (Hokuryu Town).

Produced by Kimimasa Mikami, "Haiku by Hiroko Yoshio on wooden board"

The wooden board is large, measuring 50 cm in length, 135 cm in width, and 3.5 cm in thickness. Fumio Abe, a Hokuryu-cho resident, cut the board, and Kimimasa Mikami handcrafted the base.

On the woodblock print, five haiku by Hiroko Yoshio, winner of the 42nd Samejima Prize of the Hokkaido Haiku Association, are written in black ink. The haiku of Hana Raft was selected from her haiku collection "Hanakada.

Wooden board with five haiku by Hiroko Yoshio
Wooden board with five haiku by Hiroko Yoshio

To the birth of haiku on a wooden board

Kimimasa Mikami was asked by a close friend, "I have this great wooden board, is there any use for it? Why don't you make a signboard for your company? He asked him for advice.

It is made of wood, so it will rot in the rain and wind if it is placed outside. It would be a waste to use it as a signboard! Wouldn't it be cool to draw a haiku or something on this wooden board? Mr. Mikami thought, "It would be cool to draw haiku on this wooden board!

The Yoshio family is next door, where Ms. Mikami is a regular guest. Last January, Hiroko Yoshio was awarded the Samejima Prize, so we came up with the idea of painting her haiku on the board and proposed it to Hiroko-san. Hiroko replied that she could not write on the board herself. So, we asked Mr. Ryumon Seto, a calligrapher living in Hekisui, Hokuryu-cho, to do it, and he readily agreed.

We also asked our neighbor, Fumio Abe, to shave the boards. Mr. Abe graciously agreed and shaved the boards cleanly.

The wooden board was too heavy to hang on the wall, so Mikami made the base by hand. The wood for the base was made by cutting a thick wooden post into short pieces, cutting and shaving them to a thickness that would allow the wooden board to be placed on top, and then charring them with a burner.

Large wooden board 50 cm long, 135 cm wide, and 3.5 cm thick
Large wooden board 50 cm long, 135 cm wide, and 3.5 cm thick
Pedestal supporting a wooden board handmade by Mr. Mikami
Pedestal supporting a wooden board handmade by Mr. Mikami

The wooden board is painted with five haiku with the word "Hana Raft" on it. Mr. Seto completed the painting in two to three hours.

  • Hana Raft, ending at Kashiko, my mother's writing.
  • The scenery and the flower rafts that extend out of the width of the river
  • Hana Raft, my brother has passed away without saying much.
  • The boatman seems to be a woman.
  • Flower Rafts: Toward a World Without Words and Words of Reason
Flower Raft Haiku
Flower Raft Haiku
Ink brush script by Ryumon Seto
Ink brush script by Ryumon Seto

Presented by Ms. Mikami to Mr. Yoshio as a gift for winning the 42nd Samejima Prize of the Hokkaido Haiku Association, this wooden board work is displayed above the living room board in the Yoshio family's living room.

Wonderful wood planks displayed on the living room board.
Wonderful wood planks displayed on the living room board.
Winner of the 42nd Samejima Prize (Hokkaido Haiku Association) by Hiroko Yoshio
Winner of the 42nd Samejima Prize (Hokkaido Haiku Association) by Hiroko Yoshio

Mr. Ryumon Seto also created the label text for the special junmai sake "Hokuryu Comet" (draft sake), which uses Hokuryu-machi sake rice "Comet".

The soulful and precious wooden board, on which haiku poems filled with various feelings are painted with an artistic ink brush, is filled with endless love, gratitude, and prayers.

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◇ Photography and Editing: Noboru Terauchi Reporting and Writing: Ikuko Terauchi

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