The yearly pamphlet Akita – the Land of Poetry『詩の国秋田第６号』, whose 6th volume is posted as an e-pamphlet, features haiku special from the English haiku submitted to the 3rd Japan-Russia Haiku Contest in 2014.
A great number of haiku fans willingly sent their haiku in English to the contest from 46 countries including Japan.
They compose haiku, the shortest form of poetry of three lines, catching the haiku moment through their observation or insight.
They write haiku, seeking for “pure present”, which might express “the eternal now.”
We sincerely hope that haiku will be shared with each other, which helps us realize the pleasure of writing haiku again.
We also hope that haiku could deepen mutual understanding and enjoyment of different cultures between those people who read or compose the poem, helping make the world peaceful.
Haiku Special
Oba Jiro (Japan)
cumulonimbus:
memory of a city
lost in ancient times
Doi Ikuko (Japan)
cherry blossoms –
my daughter named
Sakura
Fujii Keiko (Japan)
Sweetfish
early summer special
bamboo chopsticks
Hayashi Yuji（Japan）
Whirligig beetles
skitter across the water
raising few ripples.
Hirakita Hajime (Japan)
cherry blossoms
no sound from seagulls
as the ship leaves port
Hirota Yuko（Japan）
lots to tell
to his mortuary tablet
short night
Kurono Yasuko（Japan）
Your justice
shoots upright,
toward the skies like a hollyhock.
Matsui Maki (Japan)
Time is a bystander
innocent eyes
beyond ancient spring
Nozaki Atsuko (Japan)
greenery
deepens and thickens
as rice grows
Takagi Shigeko （Japan）
if it rains
snapdragons will yawn and swim
on my veranda
Yamada Junko (Japan)
Can I see
the harvest moon?
“tomorrow never comes”
Yamada Yukiko（Japan）
snow cloud ―
freshly vermilion-lacquered
shrine gate
Yamamoto Namiko（Japan）
climbing roses —
the tuner torments
a piano
Bendoraitiene Goda V.（Lithuania）
short conference break –
my son introduces his beloved
by budding cherry
Pere Risteski（Macedonia）
оn one side
the stars, on other you –
every midnight
Nergui Tuvshinzaya（Mongolia）
first fly,
beautiful with its wings
grinning…
Janjalija Damir（Montenegro）
an empty room
filled by the rosary’s sound…
solstice night
Vojinović-Jegdić Branka（Montenegro）
creaking
on an old house
a given up door
Ram Sharan Maharjan（Nepal）
Cover the mist
Good passion in them
Cheerful face.
Beverland Margaret（New Zealand）
a walk in the park
an Idesia leaf falls
into the rustling
Clarkson Steven（New Zealand）
Motien Pass
in the hoof prints
a flower
Ernest J Berry（New Zealand）
matsuo basho
at the foot of mount fuji
a bamboo sandal
Hollier Ruddy Anne（New Zealand）
velvet cup
ready to burst
into magnolia
Simpson Sandra（New Zealand）
thunder-filled heat –
a family of mice dart
in front of the scythe
Strang Barbara（New Zealand）
longest day…
an ice cube snaps
in his glass
Marion Clarke（Northern Irish）
silence falls
on the communal garden
solar eclipse
Antonio Billy（Philippines）
moonson rains
paper boats race
down the rill
Bongcaron Wilfredo （Philippines）
haiku ground
my pen pursues
Basho’s shadow
de Vera Reynaldo Jr.（Philippines）
the sea
whitened the moon
turned golden-gray
Santiago Ernesto P.（Philippines）
midnight writing
the moon and I
somewhat muted
Kania Robert（Poland）
young leaves –
an old couple
in the shade
Małgorzata Miksiewicz (Poland)
sea –
wave after wave
turning pages in a book
Margolak Jacek（POLAND）
rustle of wings…
her blind son
spreads his arms
Szewczyk Irena（Poland）
in my dream
my father in the meadow
mown grass
We are now holding the 4th Japan-Russia Haiku Contest.
Readers are invited to send haiku about “lake” to Hidenori Hiruta at the Akita
International Haiku Network by e-mail to (shhiruta@nifty.com).
By Hidenori Hiruta
Akita International Haiku Network 