The Results of the Fifth HIA Haiku Contest

The Award ceremony for the fifth HIA Haiku Contest was held at Tokyo Kaikan from 11:00 till 14:00, on friday November 28th, 2003. The six prizes were presented to the winners by representatives of the four Japanese haiku organizations and the two companies sponsoring the prizes. A lecture by Dr. Adrian J. Pinnington and a reception party followed.

The Fifth HIA Haiku Contest

Sponsored by Haiku International Association,
Supported by Nihon Keizai Shimbun, The Japan Times

Judges :
Kaneko Tôta, Inahata Teiko, Takaha Shugyô, Matsuzawa Akira, Arima Akito, Kogure Gôhei, Bôjô Nakako, Nagata Ryûtarô, Yamazaki Hisao, Kurahashi Yôson, Miyazu Akihiko, Ôkubo Hakuson, Tsunemoto Ushio, Katô Kôko, Yamada Hiroko

The comments are made by Takaha Shugyô.

usumono no hito yori kaze wo tamawarinu

from someone in a sheer summer kimono a blessing of breeze Akiyoshi Kyoko A typical haiku expression is used in this haiku to depict the feeling of coolness. The haiku means that I am offered coolness by a woman in a sheer summer kimono. She is wearing an expensive summer kimono, and is more likely a beauty; just passing her, or exchanging words with her reminds me of the breeziness of her personality in the summer heat. The woman's personality is implied by ‘a blessing of breeze’ in the poem.

akatonbo mukashi no iro ni meijimura

a red dragonfly the color of olden times Meiji Village Nishigami Teiko This haiku is difficult to interpret because there are three ways in which it could be cut. The cut could occur after ‘a red dragonfly’, or after ‘the color of olden times. The haiku could also mean that both the dragonfly and the Meiji Village are the color of olden times. I prefer the third interpretation. The haiku reminds me of Yamaguchi Seison's: gaitô no ura wa hi nari ki meiji no yuki (the lining of the overcoat / was in crimson: / snow in Meiji Era). The red of the dragonfly resonates with the crimson of the liner. Some people may associate a brick color with the Meiji Era. In a Meiji Village, not only the buildings but the insects are also in this remembered color.

oashisu ni kite nigemizu mo yasumi keri

arriving at an oasis-- the road mirage, too at rest Amaoka Utsuhiko Nigemizu (road mirage) is a spring kigo, and it is similar to shinkirô (mirage) and kagerô (heat haze). In this time of internationalization, this haiku has captured the nigemizu (literally ‘the run-away-water’) in the midst of a desert and not in the Musashino fields famous for this phenomenon. At an oasis where a caravan rests, it seems the nigemizu is taking a rest, too, with the human beings. Nigemizu is a spring kigo in Japan, but the feeling of the whole haiku is strongly that of summer. After taking a rest, the caravan has to go out into the scorching desert again. This haiku captures well the nature of the desert.

itoyu ya kojiki zôkangô arimasu

heat haze: we carry a special number of the Ancient Chronicle Nakada Satomi If we interpret this in a traditional way, we would read it as follows: A special number of Kojiki, The Ancient Chronicle is displayed in a storefront, or has been issued in the present Heisei Era. However, if we read it in the modern way, we would interpret it differently: The image of itoyû (heat haze) symbolizes the special number of Kojiki, The Ancient Chronicle. In other words, these two images are equated and the special number is nothing more than a heat haze in this world. In order to give the haiku freshness, the poet used an archaic word, itoyû. The individual reader might want to freely enjoy the image one gets from this poem, which cannot be fully appreciated with a traditional interpretation. Poetry is an attempt to depict things which are ambiguous and difficult to express in lines, therefore this kind of haiku is also welcome. Haiku of this breadth is being encouraged by the Modern Haiku schools.

michi yuzurukoto sae tanoshi haru no kaze

even to give way it is pleasant-- spring breeze Tagami Machiko The difference between winter wind and spring breeze is well expressed in this haiku. In winter, we may not volunteer to give way to others; we might just seclude ourselves in our own shells and walk separately. In the comfortable spring breeze, the poet lets someone pass by, stepping aside on a narrow path in the country. If this were winter, she might have gone straight and bumped into the passerby. A peaceful and comfortable spring has arrived; this poem depicts well the sense of the spring season. There might be some disagreement whether to use tanoshi (pleasant) in a haiku this straightforwardly. The word is necessary in this particular haiku and it can be a good example of its use.

tanoshige ni kurôbanashi wo ikimitama

cheerfully telling the tales of pains-- old parents at the Bon Festival Izumi Kaneko Ikimitama is the custom of admiring and treating elderly family members with the same respect with which deceased family members are treated at the Bon Festival. ‘The tales of pains‘ is the highlight of this haiku; from it we can imagine the hardships they must have suffered in their younger days.

chichi no hige sofu mo kaizeru pariisai

Father's mustache Grandfather's, too, in the Kaiser's style: Bastille Day Asano Yoshiko An omission typical of haiku-writing is seen in this poem. Both father and grandfather wore a mustache like the Kaiser's. Today happens to be the Bastille Day, the July 14th memorial day for the French Revolution. Also with the impression from a film titled ‘Pariisai, The Paris Festival,” it reminds us of olden times. Both my father and grandfather had a Kaiser's mustache; those good old days are now so far away. Pariisai (literally “the Paris Festival”), Bastille Day, successfully evokes an exotic mood in this haiku.

Judges :
Hoshino Tsunehiko, Shibota Shunichi

The HIA Award

Selected by Hoshino
from the fog
that closed the airport --
a honking of wild geese
John Bernard Ower, U.S.A

A butterfly
is using my shadow
-- Oppressive heat
Gilbert Donchez, France

Selected by Shibota
night nurse
I walk down a corridor
of her perfume
Ernest J. Berry, New Zealand

Indian summer --
two old men on the bench
embracing their stiks
Milosav Doderovic, Montenegro

Honorable Mentions Selected by Hoshino
back outide the gallery . . . an endless sky Helen Buckingham, U.K.	Summer ends -- another mountain to climb across the river Garry Gay, U.S.A

autumn afternoon a sunshower falls on one part of the street Bruce Ross, U.S.A

crematorium -- the flowers on the casket still attract a bee Trevor Christie, U.K.

fallen leaves sandflies spiral up a sunbeam John Bird, Australia

in a dream clouds contemplate me John Stevenson, U.S.A

the sky so pale this morning to doubt even the existence of stars Jeanne Painchaud, Canada

into each jar of peach preserves the family stories Penny Harter, U.S.A