Dai-ichi Life Insurance has announced their latest Sarariiman Senryuu (Salaried Worker Senryuu, サラリーマン川柳) competition winners. It's the 22nd year for the competition, and people vote on the best humorous senryu that come from the daily life of salaried workers and the news. Senryu are like Haiku but are less about nature than about human life, and you may recall that haiku are the poems with a cadence of 5, 7 then 5 syllables. Let's check some of the sara-sen winners out with my translations:
僕の嫁
boku no yome
国産なのに
kokusan nano ni
毒がある
doku ga aru
My Wife
Made in Japan
Yet Poisonous [1]
子供らに
Kodomora ni
また教えてる
Mata oshieteru
総理の名
Souri no na
Once again
I teach the kids
The PM's name [2]
コスト下げ
kosuto sage
やる気も一緒に
yaruki mo issho ni
下げられる
sagerareru
Cost-cutting measures
My motivation too
is cut
職安で
Shokuan de
知った顔見た
Shitta kao mita
あ、上司
a, joushi
At the job-center
I know that face
Oops, my boss!
久しぶり
Hisashiburi!
ハローワークで
Haroo Waaku de
同窓会
Dousoukai
Hey! Good to see you!
It's a reunion
At Hello Work [3]
やせたのは
Yasetano wa
一緒に歩いた
Issho ni aruita
犬の方
Inu no hou
All that walking
The one who lost weight
Was the dog
Who says the Japanese don't have a sense of humor!?
[1] The poison quip of course refers to the series of tainted food scandals, and plays on the idea that domestic Japanese food is supposed to be "safer".
[2] This refers to Japan's Prime Minister revolving door.
[3] Hello Work is a job center located in every town in Japan, where the unemployed can go to submit their resume and apply for work.
3 comments:
The haikus are hilarious, and I think the Japanese have a great sense of humour and they understand my jokes...
Liviu
Yeah, the sarasen haiku are great, aren't they. Every year, they do it.
Just an update but I learned more about this, and they are considered different from Haiku even though they have the same structure. Senryuu are about people and their various troubles, or, daily life, while Haiku are more specific and are about nature. Both have the 5-7-5 sound structure.
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