pi
making sense
of this life
Comment: a ku that deviates from the ‘traditional’ aesthetics to embrace a modern (gendai 現代) and more open style. Pi π (or Archimedes’ constant) corresponds to the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter; if multiplied by the squared radius, it allows us to get the area of that circle and –paraphrasing– to find a sense of fullness and fulfillment, thus harmoniously linking to the second part of the poem. There are 7 syllables in this ku, a number that, not by chance, is usually associated with intuition, reflectivity and wisdom.