Japanese fans of haiku are rejoicing today over the news of a new game from Nintendo DS. Enpitsu de Oku no Hosomichi DS allows players to trace over the characters in the poetry of Matsuo Basho while actor Toru Nakamura reads the verse aloud. Think of it as karaoke for the literary set.Basho is considered the master of the haiku, the 5-7-5 syllable format short poem. He lived from approximately 1644 to 1694, and his "Basho Hut" was a center of versifying in the Japanese capital. Classics of his oeuvre include this ditty:
iza saraba / yukimi ni korobu / tokoromade
now then, let's go out / to enjoy the snow... until / I slip and fall!
[1688]
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