A haiku contains elements of humour at some level. Whether in  the form of satire or sarcasm. I prefer irony and mild self-mockery. I love to observe the daily absurdities and the vanity of vanities of our lives. Give me communication with a playful fellow haijin (*) or a real kuyu (**) and I am broiling. My happy nature allows me to laugh. The humorous aspects of observing jaywalkers, buskers, pigeon fanciers, soapbox preachers, hustlers, boozers and day trippers are instructive for haiku writing.

Ok, there's not much money in writing haiku, but they make you and me laugh or smile inwardly. Fine. Let’s write more senryu, reading the old masters and build up a spirit of playfulness. Let's swap more books: to learn, to huckle, to giggle, to smile, to guffaw.

We need humour to love each other, to communicate worldwide about the question: 'What distinguishes a modern haiku?' Most certainly an open mind with a great sense of humour!

leaved in the tram

a well-thumbed haiku book

narrow road to Oku (***)

(* ) a haijin  is a  haiku poet

(**) a kuyu  is a haiku lover

(***)The narrow road to Oku, is the last and finest diary of master Matsuo Bashô (Oku no Hosomichi), written in 1689, it describes his journeys to Oku at the northern end of the island of Honshu.