Blog Post competition

Based on the three student blog posts hyperlinked below, answer the following question and explain your answer (3-4 sentences) in the comment box of your chosen blog post.

Which of the three blog posts offers the most persuasive and original interpretation?

1.Edmund F.  https://poetryintroduction.wordpress.com/2024/02/29/haiku-poetry-japanese-americans-edmund-f/

Neihi Ozawa, “From the window of despair” (page 100)

2. Kelly https://poetryintroduction.wordpress.com/2024/02/29/demise-in-the-morning/

Okamoto, “In the sage brush” (page 113)

3. Isaak Puth https://poetryintroduction.wordpress.com/2024/02/28/fresh-growth-amongst-death/

     Agari, “Fall” (page 111)

Letter Writing Day

The Japanese-American internment camps made a huge impact for the Japanese because they lost their homes, all belongings, and their jobs. Forcing to be in these camps so the American government can keep an eye on them during WWII. They were provided homes and were able to build a community out of it. There were schools, farms, and haiku groups. Many of the people wrote haikus during the war and these showed a lot of experiences they were going through by being in these camps. 

Even though they had no choice, but to stay in these camps, they were still able to communicate with their families outside of the camps by writing letters, which were still monitored by the military. You had to be careful with what you would say because this opportunity to speak with families wasn’t always given to them. 

After going through many of the haiku poems, I’ve chosen a haiku by Kyotaro (Shoichi) Komuro:
Letter writing day

As if hottest day

Had been chosen

The haiku Komuro wrote captured this experience. He first states the situation: “letter writing day.” He goes into saying how anxious and worrying this day is by calling it the hottest day. “Had been chosen” means that this day has come and given to them. As I said before, this opportunity is rare for them because of the war. The American government had a hard time trusting the Japanese-Americans, thinking they were helping the Japanese who were at war with the US. This day was a once-in-a-lifetime experience because it’s rarely given to the Japanese-Americans. So they had to be wise with what they say in case they can’t ever communicate with their families again. Komuro was able to capture what the Japanese Americans had to go through while being in these camps by focusing on the “letter writing day,” which was rarely given to them.

Gurranvir Kaur

A View from the Ground

The poem I chose is by Kyotaro (Shoichi) Komuro and the translation reads as follows:

Passed guard tower
without glancing up
before summer daybreak

This poem stood out to me because of the story that was created within these short lines. In line 1, the speaker sets the situation. From the context, I know this is an internment camp but even without context the words invoke the image of some sort of prison; prisons have guard towers. The second line sets the tone of the poem, which is fearful. The speaker does not even want to glance at the guard in the tower. The only reason this could be is fear of what the guard in the tower might do to lock eyes with the speaker. There is an unbalanced power dynamic that has been established both physically and symbolically. Towers are tall structures and the guard would be at the top of that structure. If the speaker passes this structure, they would be on the ground. This situation is confirmed by the phrase “glanced up” in line 2. So, we have the physicality of one person higher and one lower. This is also symbolic of the actual power dynamics within the internment camps. Japanese-Americans were at the mercy of the American government and any officers working at the internment camps. Those officers/guards held all the power. The poem’s final line sets the season that the poem was written in, summer. Knowing that the poem was written in the Stockton internment camp and how small the apartments were, it would’ve been an uncomfortably, hot summer. This line also lets the reader know that the speaker and all others in the internment camps were under watch 24 hours a day. Daybreak is another way to say sunrise, so the guard was on duty during the earliest hours of the morning.

Through this short poem, Komuro skillfully expresses the power dynamic held between the Japanese-Americans and the internment camp guards. Through imagery and symbolism, he captures a snapshot of the daily life enforced on the Japanese-American internees in the Central Valley.

By: Tierney Bowden

Crushed Eloquence

The poem caught my attention is by Violet Kazue Matsuda De Cristofo, here is the haiku,

A pale purple iris on a broken stem hidden under a leaf

After a bit a research on the Iris, it makes this poem even more understandable in how it caters well into the use of imagery and what the daily experience in the Internment camps was like for Matsuda. Irises are a purple flower with three petals, they represent a lot of things in many cultures, they represent royalty, wisdom, and eloquence. This can be translated to how Matsuda viewed herself before being forcefully incarcerated, the paleness makes me imagine that she is losing her color, she is tired, getting drained and exhausted from the heat of the camps. With a little more research, it turns out that Matsuda had 2 children and was expecting a third when they were in the internment camps, perhaps this is also what has exhausted Matsuda. “On a broken stem” allows us to see that the beauty of the Iris and it’s royal presence has literally broken, giving into a new meaning. She makes the contrast clear that she was comfortable going in and out of the United States for her visits to Hiroshima until she was incarcerated, she felt like royalty and then it was stripped from her. Coupled with the fact that she was pregnant, it sends a visual point that she felt that she was essentially stripped of her basic rights. To be “hidden under a leaf” means to be out of the public’s view, most of the general public had no idea what was going on in the camps, to be done wrong and not have anyone know where you are and what is happening to you is a terrifying feeling. What I see in this image is that a broken flower, known to be a powerful, eloquent individual, has been crushed by the world around her, and no one sees it as she is shielded from the world. Matsuda uses this haiku to express her emotions and uses it as a reflection to show the world what it was like, being great at a time, and then having that greatness taken from you.

Roman Arroyo

Window of Hope

“From the window of despair

May sky

there is always tomorrow”

~ NEIJI OZAWA

Imagery has been invoked in haiku poems for centuries, portraying an experience captured by the poet. Imagery invokes a concise and vivid description that appeals to the senses, making the haiku almost audiovisual.  Haiku typically focuses on nature and the changes in seasons. Therefore, the juxtaposition and the choice of diction create powerful visual and sensory images that capture events or emotions. Which creates a mood or tone that invites the readers to engage their imagination to experience the moment that the poet is portraying.

Neiji Ozawa wrote this haiku based on his previous life experiences, mostly being hardships here in America. Since there was some much segregation and discrimination towards Japanese Americans, in healthcare. Pushing Ozawa to open his own pharmacy to help that cause since white physicians were unacceptable due to the language barrier and expensive cost. This haiku was written on the Gila River reservation where Ozawa along with many other citizens were put in due to the executive order being sent out by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Further, these reservations detained these citizens, labeling them as a threat to the country. “From the window of despair”, provides the readers with the timeline that this was written at a time of hardships for Japanese citizens. “May sky” can then be symbolized for hope and the promise of a new beginning. May being associated with the arrival of spring, renewal, and growth. Sky in May signifies the transition from the coolness of spring to the warmth of summer. Therefore, this haiku follows the typical structure of focusing on nature and the changes in seasons. Yet, this may sky symbolizes hope for the citizens in this camp, to regain their previous lives and more. “There is always tomorrow” gives this poem the tone of hope, since it describes that tomorrow there is always hope that they will be displaced from those camps. Ultimately creating a visual of Japanese citizens looking up at the May sky and hoping for their freedom to come tomorrow.

~Jeshua Rocha

Standing Tall in the Face of Gloom

Alondra Garcia

Firm buds will open

when the day comes

looking up at the trees

This is the haiku I have chosen towards the end on page (105), due to the hopeful take it has. The author is Reiko Gomyo, born in Japan, and as mentioned in her short biography much of her work was published prior to the war. My stances on when this particular poem was published is leaning towards during the war due to the fact on the specific words chosen for the poem. As seen within the second video presented to us, it explains that there are key words within the poem that suggest as to the time period, more specifically the season, in which the poems are written/ take place. In this case we see that the time frame roughly indicates that spring is coming, so perhaps it is still winter, though more towards the end of it. The shift being made here really brings out that darkness that currently resides within the internment camp, how days there are saddening and gloomy. But upon the coming of spring and how this season brings forward, not only the blossoming of the flowers, but also brings along hope. As mentioned “looking up at the trees” the imagery shows that good days to look forward to are coming, kind of telling the people to stand tall that this is something they can overcome. The usage of the word firm further reinforces this notion on how they should keep up their will and strength as they have so far. With everything they have endured up to this point, there is a bright side to things coming their way and when the day comes “buds will open” probably referring to them being freed and returning to their old lives or at least outside of the internment camp. 

Gomyo, as mentioned has a serene way with words and poetry that sound “elegant and sparkling” as executed through this poem and the way her imagery showcases both how there is a darkness, yes, but the light at the end of the tunnel is coming.

Demise in the Morning

In the 1940s there was the force of taking Japanese people away from their homes and moving them to internment camps. While in these camps there were people who would write their daily lives or how they felt, in haiku form. Shiho Okamoto was one of these people who were told to move otherwise their lives were at risk. We can see this happen in the haiku he had written, which shows us the depictions of death vividly in our heads. Okamoto uses diction and repetition to emphasize sounds of the haiku and the clear scene of the death of two brethren who’s deathbeds were presented in the morning.

It was an ordinary day for Okamoto at the internment camp until two new sick people came in and he captured their after moments.

“In the sage brush,

two new earth mounds

torrid wind blows”

By using the word “new” in his haiku we can see that this wasn’t uncommon. That death was something that reeked in this internment camp and that now they are one with nature. “New” in this haiku shows us that there may be other bodies under other sage bushes spread around the camp and more excuses to come from the officers in charge of the people. It also shows emphasis on how they would see these graves were connected to some form of nature, that maybe even after their death they can be treated like any other living being. The word earth is being played at where the two newcomers are now reconnected to their birth of being one with the world. This shows us that even though Okamoto saw these actions take place he still hung onto his roots of being Japanese by writing about them to remember them. Not for why they died but from how they died of the cruelty of the world surrounding it. He is going to be a connecter for others and tell their stories so they can both connect with one another and show the struggles of the time they are in.

What do you think when you say “sss”? I think it almost sounds like the bullet sounds when it finishes firing. I believe Okamoto played on this to show the vivid sound the two have lost their lives to and how this was a common sound surrounding the camp. This gives a sense of sound in the haiku of how war and violence were a huge influence in their lives. The life they once had was over and if that wasn’t brushed upon, they would be gone with the wind, like it is still there warmly waiting for their welcome. Torrid is another key word in this work since it tells us that the wind surrounding the two brethren being shot is hot and dry. Where it shows clear violence was behind these deaths and how there may still be more deaths following this case. 

Shiho Okamoto expresses sincere sorry for the two brethren who have fallen into their demise at the hands of war and was a witness who in a sense was seen to be next to be one with the Earth. By playing with diction and clear audible and sensory details, Okamoto could show us the scene he had to witness almost on a bright morning day in the internment camps. Sharing that if maybe he got severely sick his mound would be next.

Kelly Flores

The Desire for Freedom

“ Moonlit summer sky

same black houses

standing in rows”

– Yotenshi Agari

The poet, Yotenshi Agari, wrote a poem that caught my attention. I initially read the biography and found it very intriguing. When reading this poem I learned a lot about the life at the internment camp in Stockton Assembly Center. I felt that even though there weren’t many words physically on the paper, the haiku painted a picture using a thousand words. 

The imagery used throughout the haiku creates a horrendous image of how they had no freedom. “Moonlit summer sky”, provides the readers with a timeline of when this was written as well as “moonlit” can be seen as a glimpse of hope. This specific scene appears to take place during the nighttime and in the summer as if he is star gazing. The moonlight can also suggest a sense of warmth and peacefulness, potentially dreaming of what freedom would be. When I heard “same black houses” I thought of the color black and it can mean multiple things such as death, mourning, and darkness. I looked up the definition of black and I found that it means “lacking hue and brightness; absorbing light without reflecting any of the rays.”. The juxtaposition of “black houses” against the “moonlit summer sky” creates a visual contrast and emphasizes the visibility of the houses in the moonlight. “Standing in rows” adds a sense of order and structure to the scene, this can also imply how organized everything is. I also noticed that the mention of the houses can add a sense of order, structure, and organization. 

There appears to be repetition by using the word “same” twice which can suggest a lack of individuality or uniqueness throughout the houses. Essentially stating that the houses are all bland and the same as one another, it also draws attention to the uniformity going on. The haiku focuses a lot on the imagery as well as the want for freedom. 

-Yue Wu-Jamison

Spring’s Isolation

The haiku poem that I believe captured the experience of daily life at the internment camp was “Firm buds will open when the day comes looking up at the trees” (Reiko Gomyo 105). Firstly, I thought it was really interesting that the buds are considered to be in an undeveloped stage, one of those reasons is because the camp was created in the month of February. That being said, many flowers and plants around that month are in their blooming stages, so the season this poem is portraying is close to spring. Furthermore, this poem had its lines that portrayed imagery. For instance, visually you are able to see a flower or a leaf in the development of which the plant is not in full bloom. “Looking up at the trees” also has you visualizing the presence of a tree, only it has no leaves or flowers because the buds remain closed until “the day comes”. The buds are an important symbolization of the many Japanese who felt trapped and isolated through the oppressive conditions in the internment camp. There were many barbed wire fences around the camp along with guard towers as a way to keep surveillance on the Japanese. All the hardships that the Japanese have encountered in the camp was through the buds for this poem. They represented “firm buds” as to say they were closed off from the world but continued to strive in living a normal life.

To continue, the Japanese lives in the internment camp had many of its difficulties but they continued to push through by establishing settlements and building upon their community. In the poem it states, “Firm buds will open when the day comes” which I believe “when the day comes” is referring to the moment of which they are freed from the camp, only then the “buds will open”. In other words, the Japanese would feel full of life once they would leave from the internment camp “looking up at the trees”. In my opinion, this part of the poem was another way of saying there is a chance. Looking towards the trees, looking at its stems, either the buds will grow or will not. Just as the Japanese, even as they stayed in the camp for 3 years in isolation, they built upon their community, it may not have been through hope, but it was a way to make a life out of it.

Celeste Tejeda-Menera

Peace within the Breeze

 I chose Senbinshi Takaoka last haikyu….He endured suffering/for three years/the summer morning wind. This poem highlights the suffering he had gone through while being placed in camp. When I read this poem, the image that came to mind was a chaotic mind with loud thoughts and just some suffering due to the conditions they have been out in, but they find an ounce of peace in the calming breeze. The weight of the pain carries on as it is clear: “THREE YEARS.” He wanted to evoke the awareness of how long, but the summer wind was the one thing that kept him afloat. As he stopped foot outside despite being in the camp, waking up and feeling the summer morning wind was enough to keep him going. I read this poem a couple of times, and the more I read it, the better it gave me a better sense of the image. I also drew a picture after my first time reading. Being in a camp near the War might have been highly stressful, unaware of when the change would happen. But that is also why the “Summer morning wind” was his saving grace: finding an ounce of tranquility as he waited and waited for 3 years.

He was located in the rowher internment camp, which held up to 16,00 Japanese Americans and was also one of the last camps. Looking at the history and re-reading the poem makes more sense. During the summer, people started to evacuate the place, which makes sense why the summer wind provides such peace because it was finally over. This leads me to believe he was not speaking of the summer wind while he was still in camo but rather in the process of evacuation or shedding light on the past and the present. The suffering endured could finally be replaced with the peaceful feeling of the wind as it hit his face, finally a free man despite the tremendous heat during the summertime. 

This how I had imagined the visionary of this oem, A pain that feels almost endless, the pain that seems to consume you 

Victoria Sasere