“Those most sensitive to the changing seasons are, among plants, grasses; among animals, insects; and among human beings, solitary people, travelers and the poor.”

This reflection appears in one of Taneda Santoka’s (1882–1940) essays, a glimpse into the sensibility of the beloved wandering poet who broke with convention to pioneer a stark, free-form haiku style.

One of his most distilled free-verse haiku captures both his voice and his worldview: “The hopeless, unfixable me is walking on.”

No sooner had the balmy spring passed, and no sooner had we heard that “rikka”—the first day of summer in the old lunisolar calendar—had arrived, than the scorching........

© The Asahi Shimbun