shooting star
the fishing net
thrown by hand
Comment: A ku based on perfect timing capturing a dreamlike night frame. Just as the shooting star (nagareboshi 流れ星) draws its trail in the sky, the fisherman (ryōshi 漁師) throws the net into the dark sea, as if he was attempting to capture its reflection. Shooting stars usually symbolize good luck; in this case, the star could represent the hope for good fishing, as well as for the fulfillment of deeper, unspoken desires. The opening movement is emphasized by the repetition of the consonant ‘s’ in lines 1 and 2, while the deafening sound of ‘t’ in ‘thrown’ reinforces phonetically the image of the net that hits the water and breaks the silence.
