初蝶来白を光の使徒として 上田日差子
hatsu-chô ku shiro o hikari no shito to shite
first butter of the year
a white apostle
of the light
Hizashi Ueda
from “15 self-selected haiku” from “Waon” (“Chord”), a haiku collection of Hizashi Ueda, published on “Haiku Bungakukan” (“Haiku Literature Museum”), Haiku Poets’ Association Membership Newsletter #479, dated March 5, 2011
Fay’s Note: This collection received 34th “Haijin Kyokai Shinjin-shô” (Haiku Poets Association’s New Voice Award).
Blue Willow Haiku World (by Fay Aoyagi) 
Fay, This haiku brings so many associations…but I can’t tell if they mean what the poet meant. From a Christian standpoint it COULD mean the Oil of the Holy Spirit… but I’m afraid I’ve poured my own understanding of what is holy into something that might mean something quite different. An in depth translation and connotations and denotations of words…is so necessary to understand it. If I take it on its face value I see:
first butter of the year = some oil that has been waited for and is valuable
a white apostle = what does white connote in Japan? apostle we all know means an early missionary of Christ (does it mean the same in Japan?)
and of light = to the Christian is the light of holiness from the Almighty and Living God… the way of life itself.
As you can see, we have much to learn about our two cultures to truly understand our words. So many thanks for posting these difficult haiku for us to explore and find new ways to express that which can not be expressed.
Merrill: I do not think the poet intends to go into Christianity. By being evoked by a haiku, a reader can open his/her own door and look into the inner landscape.