TOKYO - Every year, the “Salaryman Senryu” competition captures the mood of the times through humorous verse, and this year’s top ten results were announced on May 29th.
Now in its 38th edition, the “Casual Senryu! My Poem Contest” is hosted annually by Dai-ichi Life. Out of over 50,000 entries, the winning poem, chosen through public voting, was: "AI no tsukaikata kiku AI ni" ("I ask AI how to use AI").
The poem resonated widely for humorously portraying the struggle of keeping up with the rapid rise of generative AI technology.
Also standing out this year were poems focused on inflation, particularly the stubbornly high price of rice.
One poem read: "Sagaranai kome no nedan to kettouchi" ("Neither rice prices nor my blood sugar levels are going down").
Another said: "'Ii ne' dane 'ii ne' to ienai bukkataka" ("'Nice price'? More like 'price shock'—I can't even say 'nice' anymore").
And a third offered: "Men kurau kome no takane ni men kurau" ("I'm floored by the high price of rice—and slurping noodles instead").
Many of the top entries reflected public frustration over continued price increases for daily essentials.
Source: TBS
