ah haiku kachoo

fun simple unpretentious

a haiku weblog

Master Ah Haiku Kachoo was born in the Hokaido region of Japan sometime in the early 20th century. (Some reports are that he is over 100 years old, but this is unconfirmed.)

His father was an ex-sumo wrestler and his mother a haiku poet. His aspirations to follow in his fathers footsteps were hampered by his size (1.5 meters tall and around 90 lbs) which his mother claims was due to his intolerance to rice and fish. He spent most meal times chewing on bamboo sticks and eating sea weed.

When he initially tried his hand at Haiku poems he was pronounced syllabic challenged by his mother. One early example that left his mother in tears was this:

lotus flowers

float upon the water

how beautiful

In his 29th year, as fate (or dumb luck) would have it, he was walking in the field during a thunderstorm and was struck by lightning. He did not die, but was in a coma for 17 days (5+7+5). Upon awakening he started saying everything in haiku form. At first, this was entertaining, then maddening to those around him. So that he would not damage his relationships with those he loved, he took a 17 year self imposed exile. Through the art of zen and the writings of Thomas Merton he was able to learn to speak in normal speech again.

Many years passed, and after living in Japan all his life, he made his way to the USA. He was dismayed to learn that the the american version of haiku did not follow the strict 5/7/5 that he was now fluent in. (one wise man told him he might have escaped the trouble, but with the trouble came the character) He now lives in an undisclosed location in the midwest. Now through the wonders of the internet we are able to bring you into the world of Master Ah Haiku Kachoo and his haikus.

contemplating another haiku