Disclosure: This article includes affiliate links.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You answer messages over lunch, check your next appointment, and read an article you had saved. Suddenly your plate is empty. You have eaten, but if someone asked what it tasted like, you might need a moment to think. Some lunch breaks go that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On certain days, making time to eat is enough in itself. Still, when there is a little room, you might like to taste just one bite before crossing lunch off the list. Today’s haiku brings something eaten together with a sound heard in the same scene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u67ff\u304f\u3078\u3070\u9418\u304c\u9cf4\u308b\u306a\u308a\u6cd5\u9686\u5bfa<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I eat a persimmon,
a bell rings\u2014
Horyuji.<\/p>\nMasaoka Shiki, Kanzan Rakuboku. English rendering for this article.<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nA persimmon is being eaten; a bell rings. The haiku closes with the place name Horyuji. The reference identifies persimmon as the seasonal word for autumn and gives the introductory note, \u201cResting at a teahouse at Horyuji\u201d (our translation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In so few words, something tasted and something heard bring a whole scene into view. Shiki is not instructing us to avoid multitasking at meals. What follows is our own everyday reflection prompted by reading the poem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A meal need not be another chance to finish a task<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
You answer a message while eating, thinking it will make the afternoon easier. But the reply brings another task, and by the end of the break your mind is still busy. You have filled your stomach without feeling that the time was really yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This does not mean you need a carefully arranged table or a seasonal menu every day. A store-bought rice ball, yesterday’s leftovers, or your usual bread will do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI can smell the seaweed.\u201d \u201cThis is a little sweeter today.\u201d \u201cI like the texture at the edge.\u201d You do not need an observation polished enough to share. Noticing one thing can make that bite a little different from food that simply passed you by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Put the screen aside for the first bite<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
At your next meal, if you have some room, try putting your phone face down for just the first bite. Notice warmth, aroma, or texture. After that, carrying on as usual is fine. This is not another rule for eating correctly, but a small way to receive what is in front of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On a day too busy for even that, there is no need to blame yourself. Try it on a day when the haiku happens to come to mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You may not hear Horyuji’s bell, but there are sounds nearby: the kitchen, or someone’s voice. Remembering one bite of what you ate today is a modest way to spend a lunch break\u2014and not a bad one. (*^^*)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If certain words return to you in everyday life, share them through our community submission page<\/a> (Japanese-language page).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read in Japanese<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\u65e5\u672c\u8a9e\u7248\u3092\u8aad\u3080<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source and translation note<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Masaoka Shiki, Kanzan Rakuboku. Reference for the Japanese haiku, seasonal word and introductory note: Weblio, modern haiku listing (Japanese)<\/a>. The English haiku and introductory-note translations are our own, not quotations from a published English translation. The English rendering does not attempt a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. The connection to everyday meals is our interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A little inspiration for everyday living<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In my Rakuten ROOM, I share everyday items we might put off buying for ourselves but would be happy to receive as gifts. Browse when you need something. (*^^*) You do not need new dishes or tools to savor a bite. Your usual meal and what you already have are enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n