The 8th Basho-an International English Haiku Competition

This is a haiku competition in Koto-ku, Tokyo, which is a supporting organization of the Haiku UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Registration Promotion Council.

Fukagawa, Koto-ku (now Tokiwa, Koto-ku) is where Basho-an, the home of Matsuo Basho, was located in his later years. Basho’s famous haiku, “An old pond, a frog jumps in, the sound of water,” was written in Basho-an.

The Basho-an International English Haiku Competition is an English haiku contest held annually at the Basho Memorial Museum in Koto-ku, Tokyo. English haiku lovers from all over the world can participate. Applications can be made via the website, with each person allowed to submit up to 10 haiku.

Applicants

This contest is for anyone, regardless of experiences and nationalities.

Deadline for submissions

All submissions must be received between August 10 and October 31, 2025. (Japan standard time)
※Please note that the deadline date is earlier than last year.

Application guidelines

1. Entries must be submitted via form, using the entry form available in the website of this contest.
2. A participant can send one piece of haiku in each entry form. However, each participant can enter up to 10 Haiku by sending multiple entries. Please note that no entries will be accepted after the 11 haiku.
3. The entry must include the participant’s name, current address, age, and e-mail address.(Gender and age are optional.)
4. The haiku must be original and unpublished work. Please refrain from submitting works that have been submitted to other competitions
   or posted on social media. Likewise, please refrain from submitting similar haiku. If we discover that, the haiku will be rejected.
5. Errors in spelling english haiku will be corrected by the office.
6. The haiku work should not counter public order and morality.
7. Submitted work can neither be altered nor returned.Please check that you have entered the correct information when you apply.

Fee

No entry fee is required.

Contest results

Winners will be notified via e-mail at the end of January, 2026.
“Basho-an Award” winners will be asked to submit a photograph of your face and award-winning comments.

Publications

Awards will be announced on the contest’s website and on Koto-ku Culture and Community Foundation’s newsletter “Culuture Navi KOTO”in the March 2026 issue.
In addition, winning pieces will be published in the “45th Sigureki Haiku Competition’s Selevted Haiku Anthology” in October 2026.

Personal information

Personal information submitted in application is strictly used for this competition’s purpose only.
A prize winner’s submitted pen name (or name) and hometown will be made public.
(Information such as age, gender, address details and e-mail addess will remain confidential.)
When we announce the competition result, the writing of country name may be different from that you typed.
Thank you for your understanding in advance.

Copyrights

The copyright regarding the announcement and publication of the award-winning works, including the secondary use, remains with the Basho museum.

Judges

Kai Hasegawa(Haiku poet)
Naoko Fujita (Haiku poet, Supervisor of haiku circle and journal “Shurei”, Councillor of Association of Haiku Poets)
Dhugal J. Lindsay(Haiku poet, Marine biologist)

Prize

Each of three judges awards a “Basho-an Award”.
Each of the three judges will choose ten other winners.

Organizer

Public Utility Foundation
Koto City Culture and Community Foundation
Koto City Basho museum

Application/Inquiries

Please see this page for details.

Basho-an International English Haiku Competition (Basho Memorial Museum)