My mother’s name is Kinue and mine is Tomoko. I put these sounds Ki, Nu, E, Tomo, and Ko at the beginning of each line and wrote a poem.

I got this idea from a wonderful poem with a warm taste I found at a calligraphy exhibition I visited the other day.

Apparently, a mother wrote a poem putting the sounds of her daughter’s name at the beginning of each line, which I heard made the daughter so very happy. I tried the same manner.

Who are you?

What a strong bond we have had!

Like a coloring picture/

Let us continue painting together/

This picture of our lives, so VIVID/

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母の名前は、絹江。私の名前は知子。それで、その文字を行の頭に置いて歌にしてみました。

このアイデアは、先日見学した書展で、お母さんがお嬢さんのお名前でほのぼのとした良いお歌を書いておられるのを見て、ちょっと真似したものです。それで、お嬢さんはとても喜ばれたそうです。

＜このサイトのホームへ。>

This is another one I sent to the exhibition.　It has my own tanka and haiku about my mother and looking after her. However, as I was afraid my poetry writing was not good enough to convey my feelings and present situation, I put a commentary as well.

Star and Moon/

Facing each other like smiling at each other/

To their beauty/

Mother offers/

Gratitude/

Taking old mother’s hand/

Flying in the universe together/

Starlit night/

I was pleasantly surprised to see my mother offering her gratitude to the beauty of the Venus and the Moon facing each other as if they were smiling at each other, when I put her in her wheel chair and went out for a short walk, because she became fretful after dinner one evening in fall.

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新春書藝展に出品したもう一つの作品です。母のこと、介護のことを短歌と俳句に書いて、それだけでは拙くて分かってもらえないといけませんから解説も付けました。

＜このサイトのホームへ。>

My mother and I went to the new-year exhibition of the works by our teacher and her students. My mother is smiling so delightedly.　Just as the last year, I asked her to write one letter, this time “flower”.

＜To the homepage of this website.>

先生のお弟子たちのグループ展で。

今年も母に一文字だけ書いてもらいました。今回は「花」。

＜このサイトのホームへ。>

I chose a tanka by Hakushū Kitahara for a collaboration work with my mother. As I did last year I asked her to write the last one letter meaning “flower”.

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白秋の短歌を書きましたが、最後の一文字だけ母に書いてもらいました。去年と同じです。

＜このサイトのホームへ。>

This is what I desire the most at the moment, peace of mind.　However, I definitely want to keep on challenging even for the sake of my mother who continuously gives fits to me.

＜To the homepage of this website.＞

今一番欲しいもの。でも、挑戦はし続けたい。私を心配させ続ける母のためにも。

＜このサイトのホームへ。＞

My mother with mental disorder seems to be forgetting many things from the past.　She definitely liked shaved ice, however, it doesn’t interest her any more at present.

Kindness called forgetting/

Oh, shaved ice/

Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko

＜To the homepage of this website.＞

精神を病んでいる母は、昔のことをどんどん忘れていっているようです。かき氷が大好きだったのに、今では興味も示しません。

＜このサイトのホームへ。＞

Since both my mother and myself caught the flue for the first time in years, I haven’t been able to post a new entry for long.

A child suffering from flu/

Insists/

Yokai ogre caused it/

Translation and calligraphy by Tomoko

＜To the homepage of this website.＞

長い間、新しい記事を書けませんでした。母も私も何年かぶりにインフルエンザに罹ってしまいましたので。

＜このサイトのホームへ。＞

These are for my mother and myself wishing us have a very good first dream of the year.

＜To the homepage of this website.＞

いい初夢が見られますように。母の分と２枚です。

＜このサイトのホームへ。＞