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On May 26, 17-year-old
Mariko Wakabayashi of Yokkaichi High School, Mie Prefecture, became
Japan's first Poetry Boxing Lightweight Champion. (Click here for an explanation of poetry boxing.)
 In poetry boxing,
two poets stand in a boxing ring and face off against each other with
words instead of fists. They recite their own original poetry, and
judges decide the winner. Poetry boxers have to be over 15 years old to
compete in open tournaments. They have one three-minute round to knock
out their opponents with their poems.
The boxers have a lot of
different poetry genres to choose "punches" from, including tanka
(a 31-syllable Japanese poem), haiku,
short stories, and even manga
(Japanese comics). They are allowed to use some props, but the most
important things are their voices and words, so no music is allowed.
In the final round of a
tournament, contestants also have to improvise a poem about a word the
referee gives them. In her title bout Mariko was given the word
"butter" and came up with this poem:
Just like melting butter,
my heart quietly melts away,
Light and Dark love me equally,
Inside the Light I can see bits of Dark.
The Dark smells of milk,
Milk is the smell of my mother,
And my mother's smell is mixed in with the Light...
This year at the All-Japan
Tournament there were three contestants aged 17 to 18, eight in their
twenties, eight in their thirties, five in their forties, two in their
fifties, and one each in their sixties, seventies, and eighties, for a
total of 29 competitors from 13 prefectures.
After reciting her
improvised poem in the final round, Mariko was declared the winner by
the nine judges in an overwhelming 9-0 vote. This was a great
accomplishment, especially given that Mariko had only started writing
and reading her poems a few months before.
Mariko says, "I really
believe in poetry. When I try to put the things in my heart into words,
the words ignore my will and run free like living things." Thanks to
this contest, her talent with words has found her a lot of admirers.
Author Masahiko Shimada expressed the thoughts of many people about
this amazing girl when he said: "I saw a genius being born right before
my eyes."
Photos: (Top) A contestant taking part
in a poetry boxing bout; (Above) Poetry Boxing Lightweight Champion
Makiko Wakabayashi. (Japan Reading Boxing Association)
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