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)](img/img_theme01_eng.jpg)
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)](img/img_theme02_eng.jpg)
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)](img/img_theme03_eng.jpg)
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