Begin Japanology

This month, we present a special talk-show series called Japanophiles, featuring lively interviews with foreigners living in Japan. Dhugal Lindsay is an Australian haiku poet. Lindsay's haiku, written in Japanese, have been acclaimed even by other Japanese haiku poets. But there is a very different side to Lindsay. He is also a marine biologist. Lindsay specializes in research on organisms that live thousands of meters under the sea. Jellyfish are one example. Lindsay first visited Japan in 1991 as an exchange student. By sheer coincidence, the mother of his homestay family was a famous haiku poet. Lindsay composed haiku as he studied the Japanese language. His first haiku collection was published in 2001 and won him a prestigious poetry prize. The worlds of marine biology and haiku might seem unrelated. But to Lindsay, both are essential parts of his identity.