Photo/Illutration Dokuho Okada's tanka poem first appeared in the Asahi Kadan column in the July 25, 1999, issue of The Asahi Shimbun's morning edition. His poem is fourth from the right. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

"Even major nuclear powers/ Have been completely flustered/ By an enemy as small as 0.1 micron."

Tanka poems composed by Dokuho Okada, a Buddhist monk in Mihara, Hiroshima Prefecture, had a grain of light-hearted humor in them, even in one about the new coronavirus. Okada died in 2020 at the age of 76.

May 1 was the second anniversary of his death.

Here’s his first tanka to be published in The Asahi Shimbun’s Kadan tanka section: "The corn the old woman is growing for her grandchildren/ Are eaten at night/ By vexing wild boars."

Okada wrote it the summer he was 55.

His pieces about current topics were also uniquely witty.

"Though far smaller in scale than Ghosn’s/ Greed also exists/ In my mind."

Okada also wrote many tanka poems about himself as a Buddhist priest.

"After a funeral I performed as a Buddhist priest/ A senile old man said to me/ You just got yourself a lot of cash, ain’t you?" (Published in the special corner of the tanka section).

He candidly referred to gifts he received in his short poems.

"Since my temple’s patrons often give me fish/ I bought a tool to scale a fish/ At a home center."

I recently visited his bereaved family before the anniversary of his death.

“He was no youthful literary enthusiast and never belonged to any tanka association,” said Hakudo Okada, 45, the late priest’s eldest son, who has taken over the management of the temple.

“Although he did it (composed tanka) in his own way, he was so happy when his pieces were published in the newspaper.”

Okada had a long battle with cancer, according to his son.

"This night again/ I drink sake after taking a bath/ And become intoxicated together with the cancer in my body."

Okada declined requests to give lectures on tanka, saying he was “an amateur.” He had no mentor (for poetry writing), took no pupil and left behind no collection of his tanka poems.

I was surprised to discover all the books on tanka on his bookshelf were primers. The books show signs he read them carefully, such as passages that were underlined and dog-eared pages.

"When I opened an ofuse (an offering of money) envelope I received for my funeral service/ There was no money/ Instead, I found a piece of paper saying please wait."

I was so cheered up by the late Buddhist monk’s unique tanka poems, which were as soothing and balmy as the spring in the Seto Inland Sea. I would like to say I am grateful for his over 20 years of contributions of tanka poems to The Asahi Shimbun.

--The Asahi Shimbun, May 1

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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