International Photo-Haiku Contest
English

The 10th Setouchi-Matsuyama International Photo-Haiku Contest of Haiku in English on a set theme

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  2. The 10th Setouchi-Matsuyama International Photo-Haiku Contest of Haiku in English on a set theme

Contest Comments by David McMurray

This contest received 4,113 entries, of which 1,587 were photo-haiku composed in English. 1,186 haiku were matched to 12 photos supplied by the organizer. The preliminary judge short-listed 60 hotly-contested qualifiers, noted typos, and ferreted out allusions. The final judge sensitively selected a grand-prix, 2 awards for excellence, and 9 honorable mentions. Entries from the U.K., Japan, India, Germany, USA, New Zealand, and Poland led the competition which attracted photo-haikuists living in 43 countries.

Grand Prix

UKJohn Hawkhead

sitting together
we share a quiet moment
in different dreams

Comment from the Judge: David McMurray

Two mandarins placed side by side atop a mooring bollard for the photo were delightfully personified in the haiku to create a calm reverie. The author employed a 5-7-5 syllable structure to hold perhaps what felt like centrifugal forces on these spherical bodies. The gifted poet is deserving of the top prize for a timely poem that gravitated towards describing how couples might be passing their time, close but apart, during the pandemic.

Ehime Citrus at Port Sakari(Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture)

Ehime Citrus at Port Sakari(Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture)

Award for Excellence

JapanKai

spring breeze
on the palm of my hand
a pink ship

A Glorious Spring Day (Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture)

A Glorious Spring Day (Inuyama City, Aichi Prefecture)

Comment from the Judge: David McMurray

The author has likely experienced raising his arm to catch petals floating from a cascading blossom tree. He dreams perhaps of being able to freely embark on a voyage. The imaginative photo-haiku includes a comforting middle line from the Hebrew Bible and literary works such as Nobel Prize-winner Yasunari Kawabata’s “Palm-of-the-Hand Stories” and Tomihiro Hoshino’s “In the Palm of Your Hands” about feelings and what we think we can influence.

Award for Excellence

IndiaSrinivasa Rao Sambangi

guarded castle
a tremor opens the door
to moon

Kumamoto Castle Special Observation Path (Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture)

Kumamoto Castle Special Observation Path (Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture)

Comment from the Judge: David McMurray

The photo-haikuist created historical fiction from a photo of an aerial walkway that affords a view of restoration work on a beloved relic damaged by earthquakes. The first two lines described the powerful force, the third line employed a verb which can imply gazing at the site in idle revelry, or to expose as moonlight. He alluded perhaps to a poem penned in 1688 by Mizuta Masahide who was mollified by the ability to view the moon after a barn burnt to the ground.

Honorable Mentions

  • Dogo Onsen Rickshaw Parking (Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture)

    UKMarion Clarke

    almost noon . . .
    we ask the rickshaw man
    to wait for the drums

  • Feather in Rice Field (Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture)

    GermanyMonica Wang

    treasure
    from a fleeing thief
    morning light

  • Kobo Daishi of Monjuin (Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture)

    IndiaKanchan Chatterjee

    autumn begins . . .
    starting my Sanskrit lessons
    with the word 'Karma'

  • Fishing at dusk near Okunoshima(Takehara City, Hiroshima Prefecture)

    USAAnn Magyar

    a song drifts ashore
    from the last fishing boat
    evening fog

  • Remains of the Edo Castle Outer Moat (Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo)

    JapanRyuto

    When the sun sets
    Another city floating
    In the river

  • Arasaki Coast (Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture)

    JapanGege

    Migration
    Sun light over the sea
    Dazzling

  • Takasaka Sculpture Promenade (Higashi Matsuyama City, Saitama Prefecture)

    JapanPia Medrano

    Waiting to meet
    the old man
    practices his smile

  • 75th Anniversary of the Bombing (Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture)

    New ZealandPatsy Turner

    the shadows
    on your doorstep
    hiroshima

  • Hokiji Temple (Ikaruga Town, Nara Prefecture)

    PolandSebastian Chrobak

    omikuji
    he leaves the future behind
    on a pine tree