Shirokuma Cup Haiku Jury Award [Keika Award]

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Shirokuma Cup🐻‍❄️
Thanks to you, we received 388 haiku entries from 148 people, and as stated in the catchphrase "Look, I'm always by your side," we were able to finish successfully with so many people supporting us.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude.
To all the planning and management staff, thank you very much for your hard work. As always, I appreciate your dedicated efforts.

It is presumptuous of me to be a judge, but the purpose of the "Minna no Haiku Taikai" (Everyone's Haiku Tournament) is

to honestly try to turn what you feel and think into haiku

and with that as the major premise, since this is the winter tournament,

"A haiku that makes you feel the warmth in your heart even while feeling the biting cold of winter"

was one of the criteria I used for judging.

I am just one of the haiku friends like everyone else and not a haiku teacher or anything, so I simply chose the haiku that resonated with my heart based on intuition.
There were so many good haiku that it was a difficult task to choose 6 Jury Award winners and 6 selected entries from 388 haiku.
These 12 haiku were all on par with each other, but in the end, I decided based on the judging criteria I mentioned earlier.

The introduction has become long, but I will now announce the winners.

     🐻‍❄️Grand Prize🐻‍❄️

【Cold moon, the sound of life ticking in the room】 Chizu-san

I have experienced the sound of machines ticking away life in a hospital room with both my parents, so I can relate to the indescribable feelings conveyed here.
Even though the sound ticking away regularly tells us that they are definitely alive, the cold mechanical sound stabs at the heart.
The moon outside the cold window, the seasonal word "cold moon," seems to express the inner feelings of the heart and overlaps with the cold mechanical sound.
Chizu-san wrote that "ni" (in) might be explanatory, but since the sound of life is echoing (in) the room, I thought it was very good.
I felt that the way the scene was captured was delicate and overflowing with the kindness of watching over someone.

Congratulations🐻‍❄️

    🐻‍❄️Silver Prize🐻‍❄️

【A single cough, the shutter street creaks】 Umino Chie-san

I thought the combination of the seasonal word "cough" and the desolate scenery of a "shutter street" was wonderful. The upper phrase "a single cough" blends into that scenery, and the "creaks" makes the creaking sound audible, which I felt expressed the coldness of the wind and the loneliness of the heart, making my chest tighten.
I thought the choice of each word was careful and expanded the scene.

Congratulations🐻‍❄️

　🐻‍❄️Bronze Prize🐻‍❄️

【A married couple touching a Jizo statue on a winter day】　
Kyodai Koro-san

I imagined a quiet winter day scene that brings to mind the fairy tale 'Kasa Jizo'.
Is snow also fluttering down? It makes me think of an elderly couple gently touching the cold, freezing Jizo statue out of compassion.
I was moved by how this seventeen-syllable poem seems to pack in both the coldness of the winter air and the warmth of the couple's hearts as they think of the Jizo statue.

Congratulations🐻‍❄️

　🐻‍❄️4th Place🐻‍❄️

【Deeply, snow, snow, and only six-petaled flowers】　　Izayoi-san

I thought it was wonderful how the sound of the words 'shinshin, setsusetsu' expresses coldness and poignancy, allowing me to imagine snow that just keeps falling and falling.
Izayoi-san says, 'I love a world where snow seems to absorb all sound,' and the seasonal word 'mutsu no hana' (six-petaled flower/snowflake) is very impressive in this world of falling snow, making the image come to life. I thought it was beautiful both when read aloud and when looking at the characters.

Congratulations🐻‍❄️

  🐻‍❄️5th Place🐻‍❄️

【A child smiling at the first snow, and the wrinkles of a worried mother】　Camyu-san

It might be the first snow of the year, or perhaps the first time the child has seen snow, but children are always so excited when they see it.
In contrast, I can also picture a mother who, while feeling a bit worried thinking, 'It will be a disaster if it piles up' or 'What should I do about shoveling?', is smiling along with her child who is so happy. I felt this in the landing on the phrase 'the wrinkles of a worried mother' rather than just 'a worried mother'.
This makes me think of the relationship between the author's child and the author's own mother, and I also felt a gentle gaze capturing the feelings of a worried mother who has an indescribable expression on her face.
I thought the contrast between the excited child and the mother's worried face, along with the seasonal word 'first snow,' was very effective.

Congratulations🐻‍❄️

　🐻‍❄️6th Place🐻‍❄️

【I am a lost child, the snow falls incessantly】　　　Chiyo Ohashi-san

The 'konkon' of the snow falling 'incessantly' (konkon) synchronizes, and from the expression 'incessantly,' I feel a sense of inner confusion like being lost in the snow, yet I also feel a strength of heart to keep walking along the road where the snow is falling heavily.
I felt that the irregular 7-10 syllable structure also enhanced this poem and resonated with my heart.

Congratulations🐻‍❄️

The following are the six selected haiku.🐻‍❄️ There is no ranking.
As I mentioned earlier, I was just as moved by these six as the others, but I have separated them based on my judging criteria.🙇‍♀️

[No New Year's money, the rotary press never stops] Shiro-san

Should I call this a collision of two objects?
New Year's money and a rotary press... the combination of these two creates something deeply flavorful.
I wonder until what age one receives New Year's money. While thinking about such things, I can picture someone staring at the rotary press, hoping it will finish soon, accompanied by its rhythmic sound.
Younger people might not know what a rotary press is.
I was surprised to hear that rotary presses are still active in schools. About 40 years ago, there was only one copier per floor in companies, and we had to wait in line to use it. Moreover, because it was costly, we used rotary presses when printing many documents.
Unlike today's rotary presses, we used to insert carbon paper, type on it, attach it to the cylindrical press, and turn it manually.
Along with the nostalgia, I was captivated by the broken rhythm of the 9-8 structure and the way the words 'moraenu' (cannot receive) and 'yamanu' (does not stop) were cut, and I learned a lot from it.

[Swinging the hoe with all my heart, waiting for spring] Chuda (Chiyuda)-san

Thank you for being the first to apply.🐻‍❄️
I can feel Chuda-san's spirit.
I can picture you working hard, swinging a hoe in a field where the air is still cold, and your dedication to tilling the soil with all your heart so that buds will sprout in spring comes through.
I felt that 'isshin ni' (with all my heart) expresses a prayerful sentiment even more strongly.

[Winter Big Dipper, the self-esteem of a third-magnitude star] Yukinko-san

The winter Big Dipper🌟 It is a group of seven stars forming the shape of a ladle, which is the waist and tail part of Ursa Major, but six of the stars are second-magnitude stars.
I thought it was wonderful that you focused on Megrez, the only third-magnitude star at the base of the ladle's handle, which is the most important part, shining so diligently.
The Big Dipper (Ursa Major), moving from the northeastern sky toward the zenith as spring approaches, seems to be blessing the future of the Polar Bear Cup.🐻‍❄️

Congratulations on the Everyone's Haiku Grand Prize.🎊

[Leaping lightly over fate in the blue sky] Hiro-o-san

'Sokyu' (blue sky) is a wonderful word where 'so' represents blue and 'kyu' represents the vault of heaven. The clear, blue, expansive sky feels magnificent, and the blue seems so deep and intense that I feel like I'm being drawn into it.
This year is the Year of the Rabbit, but 'rabbit' is a winter kigo (seasonal word).
You overlap yourself with the rabbit, leaping over fate... and the fact that you say 'lightly' makes me feel your conviction.

[Listening to Mom's complaints on a night of whistling wind] Yuzu-san

On a freezing winter night, while the wind is howling and making noise, I can picture the scene of you silently listening to your mother's complaints, just nodding along.
The 'mogaribue' (whistling wind), where the cold wind blowing against the fence sounds like a flute, seems to synchronize with your mother's complaints, and I thought the combination with the seasonal word was exquisite.

[The freshness of the morning welcoming the forgotten flower] Soup-san

Is this a scene of a quiet morning where two or three diligent flowers bloom unexpectedly, as if caring for the harsh winter during the Indian summer?
I also felt something like New Year's hope there.
Flowers blooming out of season are also called 'kaeribana' (returning flowers), and I can see your gentle gaze toward the flowers that notice them.
Diligent flowers blooming in winter soothe our spirits and help us take a new step forward.

I have seen so many excellent haiku that it truly pains my heart to be unable to choose them all.
I have narrowed it down to 20 haiku in the end, and I would like to introduce the remaining eight in a separate article.

Also, please forgive me for reading through the haiku articles this time without leaving comments on all of them.
Ultimately, I made my selections from the list.

Among so many good haiku, it seems that the final selection comes down to just a slight difference in personal preference.
That is precisely why I am grateful that so many people have submitted their own private awards.

This is the 7th time this tournament has been held, and with each passing time, I am reminded that while haiku chosen by many are certainly excellent, you can be confident that a haiku that resonates with and moves even one person is also an excellent one.
I myself have often felt happier receiving a comment than receiving any kind of award.

This was a great learning experience for me as well.
Thank you very much.

Please accept this participation prize from Shirokuma Kirin 🐻‍❄️

From me 💐

Jury Award

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