WHCsenryu......
A STUDY OF
TRUE SENRYU
UGACHI
Susumu Takiguchi, UK
A STUDY OF TRUE SENRYU (PART I): UGACHI (1)
One of WHCsenryu members, Shuichi Sakane, has kindly suggested that we should
undertake a project for true senryu under the subject of UGACHI. This is
an important area of true senryu, which is little or least known outside Japan.
Together with karumi (lightness) and okashimi (humour), UGACHI
is one of the three main characteristics of Japanese senryu. The senryu we
are pursuing at WHCsenryu will not be limited to these but at least we should
first master them in order to establish the basis on which we build on. Not all
senryu have, or need to have, all of these three characteristics in all cases.
These are not mutually exclusive. Karumi seems to be in all Japanese
senryu, i.e. all Japanese senryu must have this characteristic. Senryu should
not be heavy. To put it another way, even heavy topics are treated
light-heartedly. Okashimi and ugachi are either both in a senryu
or found in one but not in the other. In other words, ugachi senryu may
or may not have okashimi, and vice versa.
These three characteristics are therefore not ones for senryu classification,
i.e. senryu cannot be divided clearly, neatly and accurately according to them.
Other characteristics of Japanese senryu include:
kusuguri=Literally meaning 'tickling', this characteristic tickles
the sense of humour, desire, imagination, curiosity or expectations of people
(either the readers or people in the senryu, or both). It panders to what they
desire, e. g. their desire to have sexual matters told to them. It is similar to
'tease' as in strip-tease.
chakashi=This is to make fun of, poke fun at or take the Mickey
out of sb, or to pull sb's leg. 'Tease' is probably its English equivalent.
hineri=The best English word to explain this is 'twist'.
mojiri=This is also a haikai term with which we will not concern
ourselves here. In senryu, it means to replace certain words, meaning or phrases
of proverbs, quotes or poems with funny words or phrases. It is therefore a form
of parody. [an old pond/frogs jump in/without a sound]
kojitsuke=Perhaps not an established senryu term but certainly its
characteristic. It is for senryu to try to make sense where it cannot be really
made sense, or to try to explain things on implausible grounds.
mitate=This is also a haikai term with which we will not concern
ourselves here. In senryu it is parody: depicting something by presenting
something else.
modoki=To imitate influential figures, celebrities or actors in a
funny way -- to mock them.
share=joke, witticism, often play on words.
Now, UGACHI is much more difficult to explain in other languages to
people of different cultural background.
Ugachi is a noun form which comes from the verb ugatsu, which
means to bore or drill a hole, or to penetrate or pierce something. The verb
also means figuratively to prove, and reach out to the truths, or to penetrate
and expose the secrets, inner workings or delicate signs or subtle mysteries of
life and human affairs. UGACHI is derived from this third sense.
The word ugachi is still used in daily Japanese conversation. For
instance, ugatta mikata means something like an insightful point of view,
or sharp analysis, or penetrating observation. Ugatta koto wo iu means to
make penetrating remarks or make an astute observation. Ugatta suisoku
means a shrewd guess. Shin wo ugatsu means to hit the nail on the head or
to hit the mark. These penetrating remarks are normally made by those in the
know and/or those who think more deeply, differently and laterally than others.
If we rank remarks in the order of 'unimportance': platitude, truism, statement
of the obvious, hackneyed remarks, clichés, conventional wisdom, predictable
and/or common or ordinary observation/remark/answer, different views, insightful
observation, contrarian views, sharp/penetrating views no one have thought of
and finally truths themselves. Ugachi belongs to the latter half of this
spectrum, beginning with 'different views'.
Ugachi, then, is something to do with the way we see, say and express,
which is different from most of others and is closer or bang on truths. Let me
explain it in a totally different but familiar way:
(1) Michael Moore is senryu: If George W. Bush has been trying to deceive
American people, the world and himself, every bit of what Michael Moore has
seen, depicted and expressed in Fahrenheit 9/11 has penetrated through the
deception to reach the truths and therefore ugachi. In fact, Michael
Moore is a very good example to compare senryu to. He represents senryu on the
satirical, caustic and ugachi side. Michael Moore is jiji-senryu
with a heavy dose of ugachi and quite a lot of humour. He also has a lot
of tickling, tease, twist or joke.
(2) George Bernard Shaw is senryu: No one would dispute how witty he was. Also,
his remarks were pointed, sharp and penetrating. He did not say what others
would say or would expect him to say. And he had plentiful ugachi.
(3) Oscar Wilde is senryu: Similar to GBS, but in a typically Wilde's way. He
has a lot of ugachi.
(4) Japan is senryu to the British (and others): Whenever the British talk about
the Japanese, there is almost always some element or often big drop of ridicule.
Japan, for them, is an object of ridicule. However, it is usually superficial
mockery and funny stereo-typical prejudices and seldom has ugachi in it.
The British find these remarks funny, very funny indeed, but they would be none
the wiser for them, perhaps because they have no ugachi.
READ
Page 2
WHCsenryu: A STUDY OF
TRUE SENRYU - UGACHI (2)
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