13. Japanese Culture and Aesthetics

Haiku embodies aesthetics in simple and short poems. However, looking past the words gives a broader understanding of what the Japanese hope to convey. Nature is revered, to be human is to be "sensitive" and like the seasons of the year or the dawn and dusk of the day, life is about transition from one phase to another. In Richard Wright's Haiku poems he shows these core values. A crow that leaves its caw behind typifies how everything is in a state of transition. You leave behind aspects of your life on a continual basis, it is how life works. The poem claiming I am no one reiterates this sentiment.