【美しき 花火に思ふ あはれさよ】真栄
Meaning:
The beautiful fireworks made me notice the sense of “mono no ahareも ののあはれ” in me
by Shin Ei（Haiku of my own composition）
(※もののあはれ is a deep sentiment or a sense of impermanent melancholy that is inspired by what we see and hear from time to time.）
Good morning from Japan.
Last night, I went to a fireworks display for the first time in four years.
The fireworks were really beautiful and I was so moved by their beauty that I cried.
Since I was a child, I have loved fireworks because they are so beautiful.
However, I felt something sad in the beauty of them.
(In fact, many fireworks displays in Japan are held in the summer, and many of them are filled with prayers and memorial services for the repose of souls.
Fireworks festivals in Japan are said to have originated in 1733, during the reign of Shogun Yoshimune Tokugawa.
In response to the famine of the time, he held a festival to pray for the repose of the souls of the dead and the eradication of epidemics,)
When I see cherry blossoms, I feel transience in beauty.
When I see the sunset over Mt. Fuji, I feel fear in the midst of beauty.
Within the positive emotion of beauty, there is the negative emotion of sadness,
I feel a little sadness in the midst of beauty.
This complex mix of emotions may be the delicate subtlety of "mono no ahareもののあはれ" that the Japanese have long passed on in their culture and art.
Certainly, there is a sense of mono no ahare within me. Perhaps it is because I was born and raised in Japan and grew up feeling it in various parts of my daily life. It is a very important seed of my sense of beauty, and I want to nurture it carefully. I also want to connect these sensations and nuances by putting them into words and creating works of art. Yesterday's fireworks display was a great success, as it was the first time in four years. It was a great turnout.
I felt the pain of the pandemic, and I was also able to hear the frustration of the pyrotechnicians who have been working on the fireworks for the past 4 years,
so I cried.
It is also the time of Obon (an event to remember and offer memorial services to ancestors and the deceased), I reaffirmed my gratitude to my ancestors and to the fact that I am alive today thankfully. Recently, the mornings and evenings have become a little cooler, and I am gradually feeling signs of autumn. I love autumn and look forward to it very much. Let's relax from the fatigue of summer and welcome the beautiful autumn days. Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful rest of your summer days.
Shin Ei
