Tanka by Minoru KONO in Japan (1)
2010/12/25
Minoru KONO （幸野稔）, Professor Emeritus, Akita University, is a tanka poet.
His tanka was exhibited at the AIU Festival 2010 held on October 10-11 at Akita International University（国際教養大学）.
Emeritus Professor KONO says in his brief bio as follows:
Biodata about KONO Minoru
In my high school and university days, I secretly wrote tanka poems and sent some works to be chosen by Akita Sakigake Newspaper Tanka Column once in a while. After graduating from university in 1961, I became an English teacher. Then I was encouraged to join Akita Rinkan led by FUJIWARA Eizo. Under his guidance I tried to compose tanka regularly, but gave up before long.
My long slumber as a tanka poet was broken off in summer 1985, when I visited England. Wordsworth’s world featured by undulating green hills and the Lake District revived poems in my mind. Thus I contributed my tanka works every month to Kanryu led by ICHINOSEKI Yoshimi and to Seiran led by SHIMADA Shuji. Thanks to their guidance, I learned to appreciate and compose tanka poems as literature. After their deaths, however, I found it difficult to maintain the quantity of my tanka composition, and left Kanryu and Seiran after all.
Still, composing tanka poems, though unproductively, is one of my favourite pastimes, especially after my retirement from public office in 2004. Now I am a member of Asahikawa Tanka Study Group, a community-based mini-group. Gathering once a month, we enjoy discussing each other’s works and study about how to improve tanka expressions. Why don’t you join us?
E-mail: mkono@zpost.plala.or.jp
幸野 稔 歌歴
高校生から大学生の頃、秘かに短歌をひねり、秋田さきがけ歌壇に投稿して、時折載せていただいておりました。1961年に大学を卒業後、英語教師となりましたが、『秋田林間』の主宰の藤原永三氏に勧められて同結社に入会しました。氏のご指導のもとで定期的に短歌を作るよう努めましたが、間もなく壁に突き当たり、実作から遠ざかってしまいました。
転機は1985年夏の英国旅行の折に訪れました。なだらかな緑の丘や湖水地方といったワーズワースの世界は、長く休眠していた私の歌心を呼び覚ましてくれたのです。それから、一関吉美氏主宰の『寒流』と島田修二氏主宰の『青藍』に毎月欠かさずに詠草を送るようにしました。両氏のご指導により、文学としての短歌の鑑賞と実作を学ぶことができました。しかしながら、両氏の死後、私の出詠数を維持するのが困難となり、結局両結社から離れることになりました。
とは言え、寡作ながら短歌創作は私の趣味の一つであり、特に2004年の定年退職後は最大の心の慰めとなっております。現在は旭川短歌研究会の会員として、こじんまりとした毎月の歌会を楽しみとしております。私達はより良い短歌表現を目指して合評を重ねてきました。皆さんの入会をお待ちしております。
Emeritus Professor KONO presented his tanka recitation to the audiences at the AIU festival.
Here I present his tanka to you.
TankaVerse Works 拙詠
KONO, Minoru 幸野 稔
(1988年 NHK学園短歌東北大会選者特選）
The holidays over,
My dear son hurried back 疾風のごとく帰省子は去りゆきて
On the wings of the wind, 花びらはつかに残る葉桜
Leaving some tiny petals
In the leafy cherry tree.
Farewell Poems for 2007 AFS 2007年度AFS秋田支部
Akita Chapter Recipient Students 受入生の帰国に際して詠める
(For Tom from Australia) （オーストラリア年間生トムに）
“I love Canberra,
My beautiful hometown,” キャンベラは美しい街と語りたる
Says Tom smiling, 愛郷少年トムの笑顔よ
His student days over
Here in snowy Akita.
(For Mengying from China) （中国年間生モンインに）
It is now so nice
To see you smiling, Mengying, 懐郷の愁いを見せしモンインは
A high school girl 今ぞ笑顔の少女となれる
Who used to look homesick
On arriving here in Akita.
(For Yejee from the Republic of Korea) （韓国年間生イェジに）
Write a novel, Yejee,
Based on your student days この町に学びし日日を小説に書き
Here in Akita 給えそを読むまで生きたし
I would like to live
Until I read it.
(For Julius from USA) （アメリカ合衆国セメスター生ジュリアスに）
Have a dream, Julius,
Remembering Reverend King, 差別無き国を目指ししキング師を
Who aimed at making 偲びて君も夢を持つべし
Your country a land
Without discrimination.
Farewell Poems for 2009 AFS 2009年度AFS秋田支部
Akita Chapter Recipient Students 受入生の帰国に際して詠める
Here is a photo of Luca, Professor Kono, and Julia at the AIU Festival 2009.
(For Luca from Switzerland) （スイス年間生ルカに）
His one-year study
In Akita bearing fruit, 一年(ひととせ)の学び実りて日本語を
Luca, a Swiss boy, かくも巧みに操れるルカ
Has now acquired Japanese
With such a wonderful skill.
(For Daniela from Argentina) （アルゼンチン年間生ダニエラに）
Smiling all over,
Danie is pounding steamed rice 満面の笑みもて杵(きね)を振り上ぐる
With a mallet, ダニーと相取りせるホストパパ
Her host daddy beside
Kneading the pounded rice for her.
(For Julia from USA) （アメリカ合衆国セメスター生ジュリアに）
One of the schoolgirls
Of the holy light, Julia 小雪舞う駅前広場下校せる
Is walking back home 光の子らの一人なるジュリア
Through the station plaza,
A light snow dancing about.
Composed in November, 2010 近詠（2010年11月）
Calling me “Grandpa,”
In a rising tone, 「ジッタン」と語尾上げわれを呼びながら
A one-year-old boy 居間駆け回る一歳の児は
Is running around
In the living room.
The next posting ‘International Haiku New Year’s Festival 2011 (Part 1)’ appears on January 1, 2011.
I wish you a Happy New Year!
― Hidenori Hiruta
Haiku by Tad Wojnicki in Taiwan (Part 2)
2010/12/18
On Aril 25, 2010, I received a comment from Tad Wojnicki in Taiwan.
Dear Hiruta-San:
I’m a Californian living/haikuing in Taiwan. I’ve just spotted your site /thx to haijinx/. Impressive! Loads and loads of love here. Thanks from all.
I’d like to participate in yr International Spring Festival. Plz, send some info my way.
Thx,
Tad
Hsinchu, Taiwan
I would like to introduce him to you through Tad Wojnicki bio.
Teddy Wojnicki holds a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. He has studied poetry and prose under Frances Mayes, Molly Giles and Leo Litvak at SFSU, Ron Hansen at University of California-Santa Cruz, Rick DeMarinis at University of Texas at El Paso, and David Gitin at Monterey Peninsula College. His work has appeared in Simply Haiku, Contemporary Haibun, Haibun Today, bottle rockets, Frogpond, Poetry Midwest, ZYZZYVA, Tattoo Highway, and Rainbow Curve, among others; and anthologies like: AutoBioDiversity: True Stories from ZYZZYVA, ed. by Howard Junker; In the Arms of Words: Poems for Tsunami Relief, ed. by Amy Ouzoonian; and Taboo Haiku,ed. by Richard Krawiec. Teddy is the author of a factual novel, Lie Under the Fig Trees / Lying With Love, and an experimental haibun novel, Slopes of Lust (looking for a publisher). Overseas on sabbatical, he currently teaches his Write Like a Lover! workshop in Taiwan. Contact:
wojnicki@yahoo.com/
On May 1, 2010, he kindly contributed his haiku and photos to our Haiku Festival.
Shooting the Breeze at a Taiwan Café, Part 1.
On November 22, 2010, he kindly contributed his haiku and photos to our network again.
Dear Hiruta-San:
I enjoy your Akita website and feel blessed to be counted among your poets.
Every issue of your newsletter is a delightful treat and I am always looking
forward to the variety you propagate.
As you may recall, last May you ran my 11-piece haiku sequence titled,
“Shooting the Breeze at a Taiwan Cafe.” Would you consider publishing a sequel?
Here is a complementing portion of my “cafe haiku,” for your consideration!
Best regards,
Tad Wojnicki
Thanks to his contribution, I post his haiku with my Japanese interpretations.
Shooting the Breeze at a Taiwan Cafe, Part 2
crazy busy 忙殺
double shot splotches ダブルのお酒一杯がしみをつける
pave the burnout 燃え尽き症候群を覆いなさい
by my table テーブルのそば
a man praying to god 男が一人神に祈っている
across the street 道を横断して
whitecap view 白帽の眺め
salt glazes 塩をかける
the cupcakes カップケーキに
feeding time ごはん時
the baby sucks 赤ちゃんがしゃぶる
a straw ストローを
homeless Buddha 家のない仏陀
outside the Starbucks スタバーの外で
laughing 笑っている
fast food ファーストフード
grab some coffee コーヒーをすばやく飲み
chew the fat 油脂をかんで食べる
curbside barbeque 道端のバーベキュー
the drizzle drowns 霧雨が水浸しにする
the sizzle ジュージュー焼く音を
she wipes her face 彼女が顔をふく
stinky tofu くさい豆腐
ready to eat 食べ頃
grill gab 焼き網でのおしゃべり
the clouds roll downhill 雲が漂い下っていく
to meet the smoke 煙に会いに
too hot 暑すぎる
a truckload of sunshine 多量の日光が
backs into the shade 日陰に後退する
bamboo bar 竹の台
she shares her 彼女が分かち合う
pillow book 彼女の日記を
milk heavy – 樹液がもたれる ―
she kicks the coconut 彼女がココナツを蹴る
into the kitchen door 台所のドアへ
laptop by the door ドアのそばのノートパソコン
scents carry かおりが伝える
the humming ハミングを
cafe loveseat コーヒー店の２人掛けのソファー
a patron necking パトロンがキスしている
in her nap 彼女のうたたね中に
haiku writer 俳句作家
and cardboard collector そして段ボールの回収業者
making a pile 積み上げている
two spoons 二つのスプーン
between us – 私たち二人の間に ―
spooning スプーンですくい合う
black beans 黒い豆
starlight 星の光
Starbucks スターバックス
bar twilight バーの微光
pink azalea blossoms ピンクのアザリアの花が
turn burgundy 暗赤色に
the food stall 食べ物の露天
past midnight – 真夜中過ぎ ―
the chopblock set 切り身の塊の一組
no worldly care 世俗的な世話は無し
monks meditate 僧は黙想する
in mosquito moonshine 月光の中で蚊と共に
monk’s fat smile – 僧の太った微笑 ―
a pig’s half out of sight 豚の半分は見えない
behind a Fedex van フェデックスのバンの背後に
girls kick 少女たちが蹴る
a birthday balloon 誕生日のゴム風船を
in grass skirts 草地で
tonight 今夜
between bamboo blinds 竹のブラインドの間に
a Taiwanese moon 台湾の月が
Dear Hiruta-San,
Thank you, again!
Best,
Tad
Tad I.Wojnicki
Holiday Centre
11F, No.489, Tian-fu Rd.
Hsinchu City 30058
Taiwan
+886-0916-483-349
wojnicki@yahoo.com/
The Author:
The Mentor:
www.writelikealover.com/
I sincerely hope that you will enjoy his haiku world again.
The next posting ‘Tanka by Minoru Kono’ appears on December 25.
― Hidenori Hiruta
Haiku by Students at AIU (7)
2010/12/11
In the posting this time, I take up AIU Festival 2010 held on October 10-11 at Akita International University（国際教養大学）and the haiku presentation by students at the AIU class of Japanese literature.
AIU Festival 2010 (Part 3)
The theme is shown in the following photos:
Here is a photo of those who enjoyed the festival.
Our network participated in the festival with the title:俳句とHAIKU （INTERNATIONAL HAIKU）.
We exhibited haiku poems and haiga paintings contributed to our website by AIU professors, students, and other haiku poets worldwide. We also gave live art of haiga painting and poetry recitation.
During the festival, we enjoyed haiku, haiga painting, and recitations with students, teachers and visitors.
Minoru KONO（幸野稔）, a tanka poet, gave a tanka recitation for audiences.
Masuda Junko （桝田純子）, a haiku poet, gave a haiku recitation too
Haiku Presentaion (Part 3)
Professor Alexander Dolin teaches Japanese Literature and Civilization Studies at AIU. He also writes haiku.
Recently Professor Alexander Dolin took up haiku in his class of Japanese Literature, where I participated in the haiku presentation by students as a referee on November 15.
His students kindly contributed their haiku to our netwotk, which I post in the website, dividing them into three parts.
Gaku Kanno （管野岳）
缶コーヒー広がる湯気と白い息
Kan kouhei hirogaru yuge to shiroi iki
A can of coffee
steam, and white breath
spreading
紅葉狩落ち葉の絨毯踏みしめて
Momijigari ochiba no juutan fumishimete
Hike in autumn colors
stepping on the carpet
fallen leaves
古き良き古典片手に秋の夜
Furuki yoki koten katate ni aki no yoru
Autumn night
passing with good classics in
my left hand
秋告げた赤黄の木の葉枯れ落ちて
Aki tsugeta akagi no konoha kare ochite
Red and yellow leaves
tell the coming of fall
already gone
最期まで立派に騒げ秋の蝿
Saigo made rippa ni sawage aki no hae
Till the end
make a lot of noise ―
the fall fly
Christine Omiya
Losing its white form
and with the sun’s radiance
snow melts into spring
白き雪日の輝きに春と化す
Shiroki yuki hi no kagayaki ni haru to kasu
From the freezing trees
fall leaves glide down to the ground
chilled by the strong winds
凍てし木々秋の葉滑る風の中
Iteshi kigi aki no ha suberu kaze no naka
A new moon tonight
to illuminate the dark
Are the city’s lights
新月の暗やみ照らす街の灯や
Shingetsu no kurayami terasu machi no hi ya
His body shivers
he cannot win against it
war with the cold night
身の震え夜の寒さと戦えり
Mino furue yoru no samusa to tatakaeri
Fresh rain of spring falls
thirsty flowers soak it up
dropped by passing clouds
雲降らす春の雨かな花ひたる
Kumo furasu haru no ame kana hana hitaru
Jae Kim
In the morning
the sight of taxis and business people bustling
near Shinjuku Station
せわしさや新宿駅の朝景色
Sewashisa ya Shinjuku eki no asageshiki
A winter night
a pillar of smoke
rising from the quiet campsite
冬の夜キャンプサイトの煙草かな
Fuyu no yoru kyanpusaito no tabako kana
Hassled by the dead line
the salary man
drank one shot after another
締め切りやサラリーマンの一気飲み
Shimekiri ya sarari-man no ikki nomi
The furious boss
dictatorially
stands above frightened employees
独裁や恐れる社員ボスに伏す
Dokusai ya osoreru shain bosu ni fusu
A drunken student
on a bench
in the park
花見酒ベンチの上の学徒かな
Hanami zake benchi no ue no gakuto kana
Herel, I refer to one of ideas of what haiku is.
Claire Gardien, a French poet, gave us his idea through exchanged mails.
Claire Gardienさん 9月25日 8:15 報告
Hello Hidenori,
Could-you tell me, please, why “haiku” is called “hai” (ku) ?
If “hai”, means “crazy” as I think it does, why “hai” or why “crazy” ?
I (personnally) don’t see haiku as something crazy !
Or, does-that mean “humour” (as, past times haikins had humour)?
Thank you to tell me if you don’t mind about it.
I don’t come often on Fb, that’s why I rarely comment photos…
Thanks anyway,
Claire
Hidenori Hirutaさん 9月25日 20:30
Hello, Claire, this is a very good question.
First of all, according to the dictionary of Chinese characters (explained in Japanese), “hai” has three meanings. One of them means “clowns”, afterwards “actors”. The second one means “fun” , or “joke”. The third one means “to wander”, or “to walk right, and sometimes walk left”.
Secondly, “haiku” comes from “haikai, or comic in English” , which was a popular style of Japanese verse originating in the sixteenth century.
As opposed to the aristocratic “renga”, “haikai” was known as the “low style” linked verse intended for the commoner, the traveler, and those who lived a more frugal lifestyle.
Last of all, I would like to refer to “haiku” some day.
Best regards,
Hidenori
Claire Gardienさん 9月30日 11:01 報告
Hello Hidenori,
And, thank you for your nice/ interesting answer.
I can’t help viewing Bashô’s “hai” smile when reading what you wrote ! This “hai” seems to be the correct, good adjective to qualify these sixteenth century’s poets meetings after some lapse of time ; was-it a good way to celebrate some new meeting than to write linked verse together ? It seems so… Anyway, humour is the top word qualyfing “haikai”… “renku”.
Thank you to tell me too, that “haikai” means “renku”. I thought it only meant (or, was an older form) of “haiku”.
I was wondering to; what was the diference between “renga” and “renku”. So, thank you, I can imagine better now.
Can you (and other Japanese people involved in the haiku genre), have that humour spirit they seemed having (although not always writing comic things… The death poems, for instance ? Or, even, when Bashô says that the carps are crying at the end of spring in “te Narrow Road to the North”. This is quite an other world, nowadays.
Here, the sixteenth century was Ronsard and the Rose. It was Montesquieu’s horse travels too, and especially abroad ; his lessons on how to be a good traveller and visiter abroad (particularly interesting when comparing to some narrow to-day’s points of view.
Well, if you have any questions on here, literature, poetry, please ask !
Best regards (and a nice dry autumn),
(“First snow on Mount Fuji”, that was a kigo on Gabi Greve’s pages!
It’ dry, here, but light is declining now.
long summer evenings
when crickets song ang bats fly
(the) butterfly’s last dance…
Claire
Last of all,
In celebration of the coming of the New Year 2011, we hold International Haiku New Year Festival 2011 .
This festival is aimed at welcoming the New Year 2011, reciting haiku.
Let’s share haiku! Let’s recite haiku!
・What is it?
It is an online festival designed to give our readers an opportunity to share the Japanese short forms of poetry with each other, and enjoy writing, reading, and reciting haiku.
・When is it?
We are happy to announce that the Festival with run from January 1st – 3rd 2011.
・Where is it?
On the website of Akita International Haiku Network
・How do I get involved?
Please give us a comment on this site, saying that I would like to send two haiku.
Please send the comment by December 23.
You will receive an e-mail from Hidenori Hiruta with his e-mail address.
We sincerely hope that you will enjoy our online festival on the Internet.
The next posting ‘Haiku by Tad Wojnicki (2)’ appears on Decembber 18.
― Hidenori Hiruta
Haiku by Students at AIU (Part 6)
2010/12/04
In the posting this time, I take up AIU Festival 2010 held on October 10-11 at Akita International University（国際教養大学）and the haiku presentation by students at the AIU class of Japanese literature.
AIU Festival 2010 (Part 2)
The theme is shown in the following photos:
Here is a photo of those who enjoyed the festival.
Our network participated in the festival with the title:俳句とHAIKU （INTERNATIONAL HAIKU）.
We exhibited haiku poems and haiga paintings contributed to our website by AIU professors, students, and other haiku poets worldwide. We also gave live art of haiga painting and poetry recitation.
During the festival, we enjoyed haiku, haiga painting, and recitations with students, teachers and visitors.
Masuda Junko （桝田純子）, a haiku poet, gave a haiku recitation for audiences.
She also presented us with her travelogue on 2010 Bath Japanese Festival, in which she participated with her daughter Aika (愛佳) in May and they enjoyed home stay with Alan Summers, founder / tutor With Words (www.withwords.org.uk).
Here is a photo of audiences who enjoyed Junko’s presentation.
Haiku Presentaion (Part 2)
Professor Alexander Dolin teaches Japanese Literature and Civilization Studies at AIU. He also writes haiku.
Recently Professor Alexander Dolin took up haiku in his class of Japanese Literature, where I participated in the haiku presentation by students as a referee on November 15.
His students kindly contributed their haiku to our netwotk, which I post in the website, dividing them into three parts.
Shugo Takahashi （高橋宗吾）
教養大,季節の変わり目人の別れ
Kyouyoudai kisetsu no kawarime hito no wakare
AIU(Akita International University),
the term when season changes
the term when my friends leave
夏祭り花火見上げて友と飲む
Natsumatsuri hanabi miagete tomo to nomu
Summer festival
drinking with my friends
as looking up fireworks
秋の山緑の葉から衣がえ
Aki no yama midori no ha kara koromogae
A mountain in fall
has taken on a fresh new color cloth
from green leaves
年賀状２ケ月後れで送る友
Nengajou nikagetsu okure de okuru tomo
New years card
which arrived
two months later
夏休み久々に見る友の顔
Natsuyasumi hisabisa ni miru tomo no kao
In summer vacation,
seeing faces of my friends
which I haven’t seen for long.
紅葉踏む音に聞こえる森の声
Momiji fumu oto ni kikoeru mori no koe
The voice of forest
which I hear from
ｔhe sound of stepping on fallen leaves.
Emily Eisemann
The month’s at its end
look, all the stones lie silent
as I tread on bones.
月終わる石皆黙し骨を踏む
Tsuki owaru ishi mina mokushi hone wo fumu
It turns toward Spring
the sakura are blooming
there, smell something sweet
陽春や香り漂う桜花
Youshun ya kaori tadayou sakurabana
Morning is coming
the waves are silver
pounding on the sand
朝あけや波白銀に砂を打つ
Asaake ya nami shirogane ni suna wo utsu
Birds by the window
never stopping, all night
cannnot, cannnot sleep
よもすがら鳥窓で鳴き我起こす
Yomosugara tori mado de naki ware okosu
Fields stretch to the sky
waves of brown, rice in the wind
to the horizon
茶の波の地平に伸びる稲田かな
Cha no nami no chihei ni nobiru inada kana
Leonard V. David
Crows make their descent
on white sheets covering rooftops
I see its glory
輝きや屋根の白布にカラス降る
Kagayaki ya yane no hakufu ni karasu oru
Perched on a tree branch
under the bright, blue sky dome
the skylark sings
ドーム下えだで囀るヒバリかな
Doumu shita eda de saezuru hibari kana
On orange pathways
I walk with great confusion
Where are the pink trees?
オレンジの小道を歩き狼狽すピンクの木々はどこへ消えるや
Orennji no komichi wo aruki roubaisu pinku no kigi wa dokoe kieru ya
Tonight you shall rest
return to your dwelling place
‘til we meet again
また会おう今宵は休み家々で
Mata aou koyoi wa yasumi ieie de
Winds tossing the waves
green buds sprouting everywhere
what magic I see
風吹きて波を上げたり緑の芽四方に芽ばゆ魔術なりけり
Kaze fukite nami wo agetari midori no me shihou ni mebayu majutsu nari keri
Last of all, I refer to the “17 syllables” question.
You can read two English haiku below, which appeared in the blog Haiku Habits (http://haikuhabits.com/).
Snow floats
in puffs to the silent
soft white floor.
see the snowflakes fall
they are white and beautiful
with all the designs
The first haiku is made up of 2-6-3 syllable format.
The second is made up of 5-7-5 syllable format.
- The comment was given as follows:
Ang3lina
February 7, 2010 at 3:56 pm
I hope dat u people know that a haiku should have 5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second line, and 5 in the third.
- I answered the comment above as follows:
Hiruta
February 8, 2010 at 12:32 am
Many years ago I started English haiku by the 5-7-5 format.
At Mt. Tsukuba
burnishing study, ideas and thoughts
as chestnuts ripen
But some years after, I found it’s better to write haiku in English by the format 3-5-3.
This is more similar to Japanese haiku.
For example, 「少年や」is counted as 5 moras (sho-u-ne-n-ya) in Japanese and makes one phrase of the Japanese haiku.
In this English translation, it is ‘A boy ― ‘, and is counted as 3 syllables.
In this case, ‘A boy over there’ makes one line in the 5-7-5 format in English haiku, but it gives birth to quite a different image from ‘A boy ― ‘ .
This is because there is quite a difference between the two languages of Japanese and English.
Since then I’ve been trying to write haiku in English by the format of 3-5-3.
But sometimes it doesn’t go perfectly because the word used for each line is made up of varieties of syllables.
Now I think haiku is the shortest form of poetry, which is composed of three short lines.
The most important point is what we want to express by this short form.
Maybe this idea leads to the shortest form of poetry, which is composed of any free short three lines.
Please enjoy writing and reading haiku.
Thank you.
Best regards,
Hidenori Hiruta
・ Ken Wagner gave me the following comment:
Ken Wagner
Thanks for your insight, Hidenori.
I get the “17 syllables” question quite often, and it is both helpful – and interesting – to get another perspective on the issue.
I added links to your two sites on the Haiku Habits “Haiku on the Web” page.
Cheers.
The next posting ‘Haiku by Students at AIU (Part 7) appears on December 11.
― Hidenori Hiruta
Dr. Akito Arima （有馬朗人）is President of the Haiku International Association (HIA)（国際俳句交流協会）(http://www.haiku-hia.com), a nonprofit organization aimed at promoting haiku globally.
Dr. Arima also leads the haiku group Ten’I (Providence)（天為）(http://haikunet.info).
On December 2, I received HAIKU INTERNATIONAL NO.91 published on November 30, 2010.
In the magazine they reported the results of the 12th HIA Haiku contest（ＨＩＡ俳句大会）, which was such a nice surprise to me.
That was because I found haiku by two friends of mine in the report.
One haikuist is Chen-ou Liu, who kindly contributed his haiku and tanka to our network.
Chen-ou Liu’s haiku was posted in the website on September 25, and tanka, on October 30.
The other haikuist is Roberta Beary, who kindly contributed her haiku for Int’l Haiku Spring Festival 2010 held by the Akita International Haiku Network with our sister festival 2010 Bath Japanese Festival.
I posted some of Roberta’s haiku from her book nothing left to say for the festival in the website on May 12.
I would like to express my hearty congratulations on such nice creations of haiku by Chen-ou Liu and Roberta Beary.
Here I post the names of haiku poets and their haiku selected as prize winners and honorable mentions (Non-Japanese Section). I also post their haiku translated into Japanese.
木内徹選 (Selected by Toru Kiuchi)
特選 (Prize Winners)
Chen-ou Liu (Canada) チェン・ウー・リュー（カナダ）
autumn dusk・・・ 秋の夕暮れ・・・
I stir my coffee コーヒーをかき回す
anticlockwise 時計と反対で回りで
Kevin O’Donnel (New Zealand) ケヴィン・オドネル（ンユージーランド）
the winter sun 冬の日が
stretches your shadow あなたの影を伸ばす
as far as a seagull’s call カモメの呼び声と同じくらい遠くへ
入選 (Honorable Mentions)
Dubravko Korbus (Croatia) ドゥブラウコ・コルブス（クロアチア）
the first snowflakes 初雪が
hold down a bowed back of こごんだ背中をさらに押しつける
the scarecrow かかしの
Darrel Lindsey (U.S.A) ダレル・リンゼイ（アメリカ）
outside the asylum 収容所施設の外で
the vertigo 眩暈が
of flowers 花の
Lyle Rumpel (Canada) ライル・ランベル（カナダ）
night owl 夜のフクロウ
the forest grows 森がふくらむ
between calls 鳴き声のあいだに
Roberta Beary (U.S.A.) ロバータ・ベアリー（アメリカ）
cherry blossoms 桜の花
the incessant sound 止めどなく
of mother’s cough 母が咳き込む
木村聡雄選 (Selected by Toshio Kimura)
特選 (Prize Winners)
Urszula Wielanowska (Poland) ウルスラ・ウイラノブスカ（ポーランド）
gondola ゴンドラ
emerges from the mist 霞より現れて
the end of the canto 歌の終り
Florentina Loredana Dalian (Romania) フロレンティナＬ・ダリアン（ルーマニア）
Leaving behind あとには
a sad lotus in bloom 悲しげな蓮の花
an alone rower ひとり漕ぐ
入選 (Honorable Mentions)
M Fazio (Australia) Ｍ・ファチィオ（オーストラリア）
the town clock 町の時計
chimes three-regretting 私三時を打てば―悔いる
my words 我が言葉
Valeria Simonova-Cec (Italy) ヴァレリア・シモノヴァチェク（イタリー）
cold marble ひんやりと大理石
on St. John’s lips 聖ヨハネの唇に
the unspoken word 語られないままの言葉
Robert Naczas (Ireland) ロバート・ナクザス（アイルランド）
idle morning ― けだるい朝
passing magpie よぎるカササギ
steals my thought 我が想いをかすめ
Malcolm Creese (UK) マルコム・クリース（イギリス）
With only two notes たった二言で
the cuckoo says more than the カッコウは
blackbird ever can ツグミより多くの歌を
Last of all, I refer to what HIA President Akito Arima concluded in the international symposium titled Haiku Worldwide – Present and Future.
The symposium was given for the celebration of the 20th anniversary of HIA on November 28, 2009 in Tokyo.
As panelists, they had Annie Bachini, President of the British Haiku Society, Lenard Moore, president of the Haiku Society of America, Marijan Cekoji, president of the Croatian Haiku Society, Stephan Wolfschutz, president of the German Haiku Society, and Dr. Akito Arima.
Tsunehiko Hoshino, HIA vice-president played a role of coordinator.
Dr. Arima predicted as follows:
Haiku will spread out to the world more because of its brevity and its coexistence with nature.
At present, some young people in Japan write the short poems of three lines: haiku.
As a result, people overseas will have more chances to read English haiku written by native speakers of Japanese.
The international haiku contests could be held on the Internet worldwide in 20 or 30 years. This might be possible because haiku is written in the shortest form of poetry.
We sincerely hope that haiku will be loved in English as well as in their own languages.
By Hidenori Hiruta
HIA member
