Waivio

Musical Washing Machine ~ Original Haiku

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dbooster2.7 K2 days agoPeakD2 min read

The other night I was doing my zazen when I noticed the washing machine. It wasn’t loud, but it was loud enough to overwhelm the subtle noises that usually rise up when the world grows still.

After my zazen was finished, I wrote down this:

夜しずか洗濯機鳴る妙に調べ
yoru shizuka sentakki naru myōni shirabe

on a quiet night
the washing machine is
oddly musical

Generated by ChatGPT


I have been touching on this theme in my posts for the past few days, so maybe that’s where the haiku flowed from. Whatever the case may be, there we go.

Zazen is more or less another word for meditation. It’s not quite the same as what you might be picturing, but it’s close enough. You aren’t really supposed to focus on anything while doing it, but when something like the washing machine is doing its thing, it is somewhat difficult to ignore.

There is a beauty in the noise. There’s a beauty in any noise, actually, but there is just enough rhythm in a washing machine to give a suggestion of music. I wonder what Brian Wilson might have done with that if he had made the observation. Dude could use practically anything (and often did) to create his harmonies, so why not a washing machine?

At any rate, there isn’t any stated kigo (season word) here, but the image of a “quiet night” might be associated with winter, which the insect nightly noises of summer and autumn fade away to leave us with a more silent landscape.

Hi there!
Hi there!
is an American teacher and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at
. Write him on Bluesky.

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