First of two parts
Whoever said that the pun is the lowest form of humor obviously didn't speak Japanese. Puns and plays on words are as old as the hills surrounding Kyoto. If you don't appreciate this classy genre of wordplay, it just goes to show that one man's Mede is another man's Persian.
Dajare, meaning "corny, punning jokes," permeate everyday Japanese life. But jiguchi (puns) and goroawase (wordplay) display a potent and vital presence in Japanese letters, from ancient waka (traditional verses), haiku, senryu (humorous haiku) and gesaku (light literature) of the premodern era to the plays of Hisashi Inoue and the poetry of Shuntaro Tanikawa today.