The Results of the thirteenth HIA Haiku Contest
The Award ceremony for the thirteenth HIA Haiku Contest was held at “Ichigaya Arcadia” from 11:00 till 14:00, on Sunday, November 27th, 2011.
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 on “Mirrors of Humanity: Issa’s Frogs and Toads” by Dr. David Lanoue (Professor of Xavier University of Lousiana in New Orleans) and the reception party followed.
The thirteenth HIA Haiku Contest
Sponsored by Haiku International Association
Supported by Nihon Keizai Shimbun, The Japan Times
The announcement and the comments on the non-Japanese haiku were given by Mr. Toshio Kimura, a director of HIA, which was such a nice surprise to me. That was because I found haiku by two friends of mine in the announcement.
One haikuist is Mr. Vasile Moldovan in Romania, who kindly contributed his haiku to our network.
Moldovan’s haiku were posted in the website on October 29 and November 5, 2011.
3.11 Haiku from Vasile Moldovan, Romania (1)
https://akitahaiku.wordpress.com/2011/10/29
3.11 Haiku from Vasile Moldovan, Romania (2)
https://akitahaiku.wordpress.com/2011/11/05
The other haikuist is Ms. Roberta Beary in USA, 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, 2010.
Haiku by Roberta Beary for Int’l Haiku Spring Festival 2010 (1)
https://akitahaiku.wordpress.com/2010/05/12
I would like to express my hearty congratulations on such nice creations of haiku by Mr. Vasile Moldovan and Ms. 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 by Mr. Toru Kiuchi and Mr. Toshio Kimura.
木内徹選 (Selected by Toru Kiuchi)
特選 (Prize Winners)
Polona Oblak (Slovenia) ポロナ・オブラック（スロヴェニア）
not yet spring まだ春にならない
two swans on the lake 湖に２羽の白鳥
not yet white まだ白くない
Grzegorz Sionkowski (Poland) グルツェゴルツ・シオンコウスキー（ポーランド）
in the amber 琥珀の中に
the sun 太陽が
from years ago 何年も前からの
入選 (Honorable Mentions)
Pat Nelson (U.S.A.) パット・ネルソン（アメリカ）
town square 街の広場
the fiddle player ヴァイオリン弾きが
nudges the moon 月を肘で押す
Roberta Beary (U.S.A) ロバータ・ビアリー（アメリカ）
weeping willow 枝垂れ柳
soldiers trudge by 兵隊たちがとぼとぼ歩く
without a glance 脇目もふらず
Cara Holman (U.S.A.) キャラ・ホルマン（アメリカ）
keeping vigil 徹夜する
the silence 星の
of the stars 静けさ
Michael Nickels-Wisdon (U.S.A.) マイケル・ニッケルズ＝ウィズダム（アメリカ）
cherry blossoms 桜の花
thrown at a mirror 鏡に投げつけられる
in a dark room 暗い部屋で
木村聡雄選 (Selected by Toshio Kimura)
特選 (Prize Winners)
Vasile Moldovan (Romania) ヴァジル・モルドヴァン（ルーマニア）
Silence of shrine ― 聖堂の静寂―
shadows of hands in prayer 祈る手の影
moving on the walls 壁に揺れ
Dietmar Tauchner (Austria) ディートマー・タフナー（オーストリア）
deep field 草原深く
sunflowers facing ひまわりの向かう
the secret 秘密
入選 (Honorable Mentions)
Daniel Gahnertz (Sweden) ダニエル・ガーネルツ（スウェーデン）
curled up 丸まって
like an old cat ― 老猫のごと
childhood memories 幼児の記憶
Stevie Strang (U.S.A.) スティーヴィー・ストラング（アメリカ）
summer’s end 夏果てる
again mother asks また母の訊く
if it’s still Tuesday まだ火曜かい
Irena Szewczyk (Poland) イレーナ・シエヴチエク（ポーランド）
a frog 蛙
the prince in my garden わが庭の王子の
incognito 仮の姿
Constantin Stroe (Romania) コンスタンティン・ストロー（ルーマニア）
End of vacation ― 休暇の終わり
deep in the wet sand 濡れた砂深く
Last of all, I refer to the lecture by Dr. David Lanoue, whose title is “Mirror of Humanity: Issa’s Frogs and Toads”.
Dr. Lanoue also told us about his website ‘Haiku of Kobayashi Issa’, which tells us all about his lecture.
Here is an introduction given for the Haiku North America Conference 2011.
David G. Lanoue will be speaking at HNA Seattle this year. His talk, entitled “Issa´s Frogs and Toads” sounds like it will be one not to miss! Dr. David G. Lanoue is a professor of English at Xavier University of Louisiana. His Haiku of Kobayashi Issa website presents 10,000 haiku of Issa in English translation with comments. His books included Issa: Cup-of-Tea Poems, The Distant Mountain: The Life and Haiku of Kobayashi Issa, Pure Land Haiku: The Art of Priest Issa, and three “haiku novels”: Haiku Guy, Laughing Buddha and Haiku Wars.
Issa´s treatment of frogs and toads in his haiku can seem, on the surface, merely comic. Images of a grown man conversing with amphibians can provoke laughter and help to explain, in part, Issa´s popularity among Japanese children. In this lecture followed by a discussion, we will explore a selection of these haiku in light of the Pure Land Buddhism that Issa followed. We will discover that, for the poet, frogs and toads are fellow travelers, companions, cousins and mirrors of humanity.
Here’s some other comments David G. Lanoue told me over an email conversation…
How long have you been interested in Issa’s haiku poetry?
In the early 1980s I discovered Issa’s haiku in R.H. Blyth–and decided to learn Japanese to read his original texts. After that, I started translating his haiku to English (10,000 so far!).
Have you ever been to HNA before?
Yes! I attended the last two meetings in Winston-Salem and Ottawa. I’m hooked!
Have you ever been to Seattle?
Yes, briefly. But that was a lifetime ago. I’m eager to take a fresh look at it.
What are you most looking forward to at this year’s HNA?
Hobnobbing with haiku pals–old pals and new ones that I hope to make!
Looking forward to hearing this talk!
-Katharine
By Hidenori Hiruta (HIA member)
Akita International Haiku Network 
Congratulations to the winners! Beautiful work! 🙂
Domo arigato, Hidenori-san, for posting the Results!
Result of the 1st Math Haiku Competition will be delayed by health situations of Beautiful Crane, IHA