Announcement of the 6 Special Selections by Koki Kameyama, one of the Shun-hai Judges (Kameyama Prize)

Thank you for your hard work on the 'Shun-hai' (Spring Cup).

Once again, as a judge for the haiku category, I reviewed all the entries anonymously and selected a total of 12 haiku, consisting of the top 6 and 6 preliminary selections.a total of 12 haiku, consisting of the top 6 and 6 preliminary selectionsI selected these from the 393 haiku submitted by 145 people for this tournament. There were many unique haiku, and I had a lot of fun making my selections.

I have served as a judge for the Minna no Haiku Taikai (Everyone's Haiku Tournament) for quite a long time, but I understand that this tournament will be the last one before a hiatus. To everyone who has worked so hard on the management for so long, and to all the participants who have engaged with the art of haiku, thank you very much. As a haiku poet myself, I am very happy that so many people have taken an interest in haiku.

And please, continue to keep haiku in your hearts.

・Shun-hai Kameyama Prize (Special Prize)

I believe that one of the conditions for a good haiku is how easy it is to recite. A haiku that you cannot forget once you have seen it is a masterpiece in its own right. In that respect, this haiku is wonderful. Even though it only uses simple words, it has a strength that makes it unforgettable once seen.
Also, I apologize if this is purely my own personal taste, but I love the haiku by the poet Fusei Tomiyasu: 'Loving the plainness of the rape blossoms.' I also have a haiku of my own: 'Drinking beer, the loveliness of being plain.' My haiku was evaluated as being similar to the aforementioned work by Fusei, and it was ignored at the haiku gathering where I presented it. However, I love my own haiku. Being able to break down the haiku of a predecessor I love and reconstruct it in my own way—you could call it imitation, but the joy of grasping my own core and putting it into words takes precedence over the evaluations made by others. Plainness is fine. Seeing this haiku by Ayuta-san, I felt a sense of sympathy and was very happy.
As for the haiku technique, the use of 'ku-matagari' (enjambment) and the refrain are used skillfully, which is very good. Thank you for such a wonderful haiku.

・Kameyama Prize Runner-up (2nd Place)

I am impressed by the skill with which the poet elevated a word like 'thong,' which is vulgar and, if anything, lacks poetic quality, into a haiku. Because of that, it became a unique haiku, and I decided to include it in my selections the moment I read it.
One of the things I am careful about when composing haiku is whether the haiku is 'three-dimensional.' Simply saying something is fun is shallow. Within the fun, there should be a grain of sadness or emptiness. Just as a chef's skill is determined by how they handle a little bit of parsley, depth is also required in haiku. From this haiku, one can feel the resilience of life and, at the same time, a fleeting beauty. The human sufferings of aging, sickness, and death are faintly felt. It is an excellent haiku.

・3rd Place

One of the representative works of modern haiku is Toshinori Tsubouchi's 'The po of the dandelion is on fire,' but this haiku has more 'po's than that one (laughs).
The combination of 'end of summer' and 'steamship' is also poetic. And the courage and sensibility to put only 'po' in the middle seven syllables. It is fun to look at. It is pleasant to hear. This is a haiku that enlightened me that this kind of composition is also possible. Thank you for the fun haiku.

・4th Place

A haiku that is as precise as a textbook example. There are no words in this haiku that express the poet's own feelings. However, the kigo (seasonal word) 'Higurashi' (evening cicada) and the phrase 'last pass from a senior' evoke the days spent sharing joys and sorrows, admiration and awe, and the passing of the torch to the next generation. Various scenes come rushing toward the reader.

・5th Place

I couldn't help but wonder why she became a bird. I concluded that the girl had become free. In a world with so many restrictions, I want to feel free, even if only for a moment, and live life to the fullest.

・6th Place

There may be some debate as to whether this is a summer haiku, but I felt the essence of summer in this verse, which is full of exotic charm. Above all, it perfectly captures the joy of haiku, which can transport the reader to another space in just 17 syllables.

・Introduction of the other 6 finalists

Wind chime, spread along the soul
Shien Satake

Fingers tangled on the Beyer piano exercises, early summer heat
Sazanami

Summer swallows, the island's modern art museum
Utsusupi

Barking at the sun, my father's sunglasses
Tetsuno Fukurokoji

Beer garden, three mothers who were once young girls
Ema Imanishi

I want to go buy some talent, snail
Hisui

・Links to the three major prizes and judge's prizes

・List of submitted haiku