This is Randi Hacker with another Postcard from Asia from the KU Center for East Asian Studies.

Haiku might just be considered the national poetry style of Japan. Its disciplined form restricts writers to a scant three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables each. In a novel, modern twist, it was recently adopted by the Traffic Commission in New York City as a means of perhaps getting pedestrians to pay a little more attention to where they're walking and thus avoid being flattened by vehicles. To this end, an artist has created warning signs sporting haiku messages that have been posted at high volume corners and on the walls of institutions around the city. Will this cut down on traffic-related accidents? Well, we have a haiku answer to that: haiku traffic signs? Will New Yorkers heed the words? Fuhgeddaboutit!

From the KU Center for East Asian Studies, this is Randi Hacker. Wish you were here.