Sasha Cup Otoya Award Announcement!
It's Otoya.
The Sasha Cup Minna no Haiku Grand Prize has been announced!
Congratulations to Uchu Kacchi-sama! ✨✨✨
A unanimous feeling. The power of the haiku was incredible...!
That Kacchi-sama said, "Announcing an award on my own is doing it on my own!" So, just as I did for the White Cup, I have once again taken the liberty of establishing and announcing the Otoya Award for this Sasha Cup as well!
Thank you for your understanding.
Before the announcement, a brief preface.
Regarding the selection criteria
As with last time, out of the 523 haiku submitted by 197 people for the Minna no Haiku Sasha Cup, I have expressed those that inspired me as ink paintings. There were many other haiku I liked, but I could only choose those I could express as ink paintings. For that reason, I will be presenting an ink painting as a supplementary prize for the winners.
I am a complete amateur when it comes to haiku, so please understand that my images and impressions are based on very shallow knowledge.
By the way, "ink painting" is a term I coined for abstract expressions created using ink that I photograph. I realize that this is a style that people either love or have no interest in, but I would be happy if you would bear with me.
Otoya Award Announcement & Prize Presentation
Now, without further ado, here is the announcement! (The order is by submission date)
aloha-sama
Swallowing despair whole, the winter madder sky
This haiku made it to the finals. It contains experience and emotion, and I felt a great sense of strength in it. Since a photo was included in the article, I wondered if it was necessary to present it as an ink painting... but I wanted to convey this emotion that strongly attracted me, so I dared to present it. I am delivering it with a touch of hopeful yellow, thinking that perhaps after swallowing everything, it might change shape as it is supported by many people this time. I was very happy to see it reach the finals.
Ren Takanashi-sama
Winter sky, trailing the tail of a contrail
When I saw this haiku, an image came to mind immediately. I think everyone has had the experience of looking up at the sky and seeing a contrail.
I don't know if I have expressed it well, but I imagined and expressed the winter sky. It felt very light and pleasant.
k_maru027-sama
Relying on the lights of the ski slope, heading home
I don't live in a snowy region, but I go to a ski resort with my family every year.
I immediately recalled the feeling of those ski slope lights, and I expressed the scene as something familiar in daily life.
Does it convey the whiteness of the snow, the darkness of the night, and the lights glowing faintly in the snow...?
To Tamagomaru-sama
A single star flowing above the icefall
I felt the power evoked by the word 'explosive ice' and the beauty of the night sky expressed by 'a single star flowing' all at once from the haiku. I wondered how I could express the explosive ice, but while experimenting, I encountered this expression and decided it was complete.
I also included the wish that someday, Tamagomaru-san will have the opportunity to see an overwhelming, real-life scene that is incomparable to this.
To Kacchin-san
The color of the window, white snow blurring in the winter night
I imagined and expressed the hazy feeling of looking through a window from a warm room at the cold, snowy outdoors. I hoped to convey that it is night and snowing, even if the whole scene isn't visible. I used paper soaked in ink as the outside scenery and used the paper underneath as the window frame (revealing my own secret).
It was a haiku that makes you feel the warmth of a cold day.
To kesun4-sama
On the sandy beach where the winter wind dances, losing its color
I worked with kesun4-san on the key visual for the Sasa Cup, and I feel like we have had many connections since then. However, I didn't choose this because it was kesun4-san, but rather because I chose it from the haiku itself. Personally, I was very drawn to all three of your haiku, and I felt the color schemes were wonderful. Among them, this one stood out. It might be very difficult to convey, but I felt the image of looking down at the sea from above, and I created this hoping to lose as much color as possible and bring out the coldness.
To sachi-sama
The wavering of the characters in the New Year's card written in old kana
The black vertical line is a remnant of the dropper I used to drip the ink.
I was running low on ink, and while I was hesitating, the mark of the dropper remained, and the ink in the center melted into a pattern. I added vermilion because I wanted to evoke the feeling of a New Year's card.
I would like you to read sachi-san's article; the connection with family is in the background of the haiku, and I hope that I have unintentionally expressed the connection of DNA as well. This became a more painterly expression than usual.
When I saw the haiku, it was the one piece I instantly wanted to express.
To Apollo-sama
Oh, megalopolis where I am not used to living, winter apple
Until the very end, I was torn between this and another haiku about amber, and just as I was about to express it with the amber haiku, I don't know what I was thinking, but I dripped light green and pink, and then, 'Megalopolis has arrived!', and I dropped a blob of red ink. ...Apple!!!!!!
The apple, which is not a full view, felt cool, and it was an expression that would never have come out of me normally. Personally, I thought, 'Wow!!!', but Apollo-san, the person who matters most, h-how is it? (I've created an atmosphere where you can't say it's bad...)
To Apollo-sama
Amber-colored factory smoke, evening shower
I thought about creating a piece with the amber-colored haiku, but I hadn't decided on what or how... and after finishing the expression of the megalopolis, I apologetically intended not to make this one. ...But, it appeared again. I was doing something else, but when I suddenly pointed the camera at it, it was right there! So, I felt I had no choice but to pick it up, and although it is unusual, I am presenting two pieces. I captured the feeling of rain in the blurry, out-of-focus areas. Rust, heat, and rain. Can you feel them?
Yuriha | Law of Attraction and HSP
Snow-covered plum blossoms, blooming and smoldering with red
...It's a 'plum?' state, but 'blooming and smoldering' was very impressive in the haiku, so I had it smolder in the snow. The red color that appeared in the pale blue-white of the snow. Feminine, glamorous, yet modest. Definitely showing itself off. That became the image.
HIROBA
Knitting yarn from the light of endless stars
Since quite a bit of time had passed since I saw the article before I started production, while I was working on it, I wondered, 'Why is SPED flowing through my head...?' (*‘ㅁ‘ *)? Then I remembered the answer was in the article ( *´艸`). 'Knitting yarn' is very cute, so I soaked the paper in ink and tried to create a feeling of night and stars being knitted together. It felt like such a warm haiku, and it made me feel cozy.
Hummingbird
First sunrise, lighting a red fire in the cyclamen
I chose this because the episode attached to the haiku in the submitted article was wonderful. I created this hoping to express the light pouring onto the cyclamen and the cyclamen responding to it. Is the fire lit in the cyclamen in the bottom right? I'm sorry it became such an abstract expression 💦
Bonus
Otoya
Pale soot dancing in the jet black of the bonfire
Well, how brazen of me (๑°ᄆ°๑)!!
It's my own ink painting.
When I composed the haiku, I didn't really have an ink painting in mind, but I received comments from various people saying that an ink painting came to mind, and when I thought about it, it was indeed there.
After that, there were several voices saying, 'Why don't you give yourself an award?'... No, no. I thought, but isn't this 'Everyone's Haiku Tournament' very, very free! If so, that might be interesting, and I became a little curious. In the midst of that, while I was producing the awards to be sent out, it (as unbelievable as it sounds) appeared by chance, and I decided to show it to you, thinking this is it!
As a token of my gratitude to everyone reading this article, I will make this available for download for those who wish to have it.
Also, to all the winners, if you would like, please feel free to download the images directly and use them as you wish. (Please refrain from downloading if you are not a winner.)
About downloading
You are free to use the downloaded images for any non-monetary purposes. If you would like to, that is.
I hope the winners like them even a little bit...
(If there is anything rude, please do not hesitate to let me know!)
Afterword
That concludes the presentation of the supplementary prizes.
How was it? It turned out to be full of expressions completely different from usual. The snow feels fluffy, and perhaps because the winter image was influenced by that, I used a lot of paper-based expressions. (It was a spur-of-the-moment choice each time.) It ended up being more abstract than usual.
I am nervous about whether those who received them and those who viewed them will be able to accept them... (I started feeling anxious while writing this article.)
The number of photos taken for this award was 240. (Last time, it was 150 photos for 6 people.)
I took so many...! It was a very fun time! There were many expressions I wouldn't have encountered on my own. I'm saying this on my own, but thank you for the wonderful opportunity!!!!
Everyone's articles
The articles by the Otoyasho winners are here.
Please, do visit them again! Thank you for the wonderful haiku!
Information
Thank you for reading this far! Great work!
If you are curious about the previous Otoyasho, it is here.
I would be happy if this becomes a breeze of kindness.
I am also looking forward to the breeze of kindness from all of you in the future 🍀✨✨✨