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Joshua Gage is a renowned Japanese short form poet, scholar, translator and one of the editors at Cuttlefish books. He tells us:
What Toriawase is
How we can use it to improve all our writing, prose and poetry
Gives us little bit of history too, which I love.
Join us for a poetry drinking game, you can drink tea, I will!
Joshua’s haiku punch, a recipe just for you.
• 16 oz Rye Whiskey
• 8 oz Orange-Flavored Sake
• 4 oz 1:1 Simple Syrup
• 4 oz Orange Juice
• 4-8 dashes Orange Bitters
• Mix in a Pitcher
• Serve in tumblers over ice
or you could just have a nice cup of coffee, or tea!
Prompts for Toriawase:
1. KIGO START
Choose a kigo.
Decide what mood you want to evoke, and list three to five sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches that evoke that mood.
Combine these into a phrase that works with the kigo fragment for a haiku.
2. EXTERNAL FOCAL POINT
Pick an external focal point (memory, photograph, art, etc.) that evokes emotion.
List associated images that enhance that emotion. Focus on your senses.
List kigo you associate with those emotions.
3. MORE THAN JUST NOUNS
Choose a kigo.
Decide what mood you want to evoke
Consider verbs and adverbs that would evoke the same mood
Use in a phrase that works with the kigo fragment for a haiku.
4. BIOGRAPHIC START
Focus on a person you have a strong emotional connection with.
List 10-20 images (all senses) related to that emotion.
Putting them in a season, paint a portrait of this person with just images. Do not mention them at all.
How to contact Joshua:
Twitter (X): @pottygok
Instagram: @pottygok
Have a look at Cuttlefish books
or send me an email and I’ll forward it to him.
Joshua’s wonderful present to the world. You can click on it and download it. It’s a PDF.
Honkadori in the Haiku of Yosa Buson for Poetry Pea
A full set of slides are available to our Buson and Issa members, but you will also find then here, at BuyMeACoffee
