Member Poem

The rock azalea—

Dyed red

With cuckoo tears

Iwa tsutsuji

Somuru namida ya

Hototogishu

Rock azalea

Dye tears

Cuckoo vermillion red

Note: “Hototogishu” is a pun for “hototogisu,” meaning cuckoo. However, with the kanji of朱, pronounced “shu,” instead “su.” This kanji has the meaning of vermillion red, thus giving the word a double meaning playing on the traditional Japanese thought that cuckoos had tears of blood.