Izayoi Cup Jury Prize 🌖 deko Prize

The 'Everyone's Haiku Tournament' continues to evolve, with brilliant masterpieces twinkling in the sky of note. For the 'Izayoi Cup,' we received 363 haiku from 135 participants in the haiku category alone.
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone for coming together to make this event a success under the theme of 'Watching the Same Moon,' with various projects spontaneously emerging not only during the event period but also during the pre- and post-festival celebrations.

I started writing haiku with the first 'Apollo Cup' of the 'Everyone's Haiku Tournament.' It has only been a little over a year since I began. I am an amateur who may or may not even understand the basics of haiku. When I was asked to serve as a judge, I struggled with the selection process. It is impossible for me, given my ability, to choose based on the orthodox path of haiku.

So, I decided to choose from the perspective of my profession as a copywriter.

'Don't let words explain the visuals!'

This is the foundation and essence of copywriting.

Shift just a little bit (this balance is difficult) from what the visual is expressing. Bring a different perspective to the visual. Through the synergistic effect of words and visuals, expand a new world that was not visible before.

You might call it a 'discovery.'

You could also call it a 'new perspective.'

Even common words begin to shine when arranged with words of a different taste.

A haiku with words that found such 'brilliance.'

A haiku that depicts a deep and wide world in 17 characters.

Using that as my compass, I have presumptuously selected 12 haiku.

The deko Prize is for the haiku that stole my heart, deko's heart.Now, I will announce the top 6 haiku and the 6 selected haiku.

🌒🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗🌔

1st Place: The water clears, the sky opens into a perfect square <Hanakaze-san>What a clear and serene haiku. Above all, 'the sky into a perfect square' sharpened my mind. It is a dynamic perspective of 'opening' the 'sky.' Since 'the water clears,' the water is very cold. The hard sensation of that coldness is brilliantly, yet casually, captured by the 'perfect square.' Where is this place? I imagine a tsukubai (stone basin) in a garden with a tea room, or a temple's water basin. Yes, it is a tsukubai carved with the words 'Ware tada taru wo shiru' (I only know what is enough) and cut into a square. When you gently dip your finger in, it feels chillingly cold. When you lift your face and turn your eyes, the sky, cut out in a square between the trees, is high as far as the eye can see. The fresh, crisp atmosphere of autumn emerges vividly. Even though not a single sharp word is used, it feels as if a refreshing breeze that brushes against your cheeks is blowing through.2nd Place: Empty chestnut shells, placed with care by the woodcutter <Kyodai Koro-san>While 'empty chestnut shells' is the word with the most presence in this haiku, what attracted me more were 'with care' and 'woodcutter.' They weren't just placed; they were placed 'with care,' and by a 'woodcutter' at that. Empty chestnut shells are shells without the contents. Nothing will sprout from them. They are not things that pass on life or harvest. Even these empty shells are treated with care. If a child had placed them, it could be taken as play, but the fact that it is a woodcutter gives this haiku a deep meaning. Although the scene being depicted is from a micro perspective, the reverence and gratitude for the forest are conveyed from a macro perspective, and silently at that. I thought it was magnificent.3rd Place: White wind, grave markers with only numbers <KOMA-san>I was struck by 'with only numbers.' If this were a lukewarm, poetic word like 'nameless,' it wouldn't have caught my attention. Grave markers lined up with only numbers. This single phrase thrusts the relentless reality of conflict at you. A shock ran through me as if my chest had been bombarded. This haiku also does not use words that look stimulating on the surface. However, the heartlessness pierces through coldly.4th Place: Lightning, a single drop from a rift in the universe <Kacchi-san>I believe it is 'a single drop' that makes this haiku shine. Expressing lightning, which has an intense image, as 'a single drop.' If you look at it from the vast universe, lightning is a rift in the universe, and it makes you realize that it is a brilliance that quietly leaked out from a very tiny crack. It makes you notice such things. It is typical of Kacchi-san, who has no equal when it comes to writing about the universe, that a single drop reminds us of the vastness of the universe.5th Place: Spider lilies, days that keep passing into the afterlife <Haruno Megumi-san>'Days that keep passing into the afterlife'. I was devastated by this expression. It is true that time is irreversible, and the end of a day is also when the day called 'today' 'passes into the afterlife.' Even though it is obvious, people do not notice it. It is as if I was punched hard by that obvious fact. There is a famous piece of copy that says, 'An abnormality, if it continues daily, becomes normal,' but this hit me just as hard. It is also deep that it uses 'afterlife' instead of 'dying' or 'passing away.'6th Place: Silver grass leaves, a deep wound from a little bit of love <Himeto-san>

"Just a little bit of love" elevates this haiku to something that is not just a little bit. The lightness of using "just a little bit" instead of "a little" leads to its originality. The sequence of voiced consonants in the "de" of "just a little bit" and the "de" of "deep wound" catches the ear, stirring up various imaginations, and I would almost like to take "A deep wound from just a little bit of love" as a catchphrase as it is.

From here on, in no particular order. I will introduce six excellent haiku that struck a chord with me as the "deko Prize" selected works.

Red dragonflies, people too walk a set path <Kando-san>

It is said that dragonflies circle within their territory along a set course. That in itself is well-known, so it is not surprising. By layering the perspectives of "people" and "life" onto that, the haiku is sublimated into something that makes me want to bow my head in respect again and again; it is brilliant.

Shuddering, the ant returning to the earth enters its hole <Shirokuma Kirin-san>

I felt that "shuddering" was wonderful. I think that I, and perhaps many others, did not have the perspective or observational eye to see an ant "shudder." Furthermore, "shuddering" applies not only to the ant but also to the observer shivering in the autumn breeze. The word "shuddering" reminds us of the life activities heading toward winter.

The body lying down is white, autumn beach <Oishii Mushi-ebi-san>

The phrase "the body is white" is somehow alluring. It is not the glaring sunlight of summer, but the fact that it is an autumn beach is perfectly expressed by "the body is white," which is beautiful. Visually, there is a mechanism where the eye is drawn to "white autumn" (hakushu), and I associated it with a beach tinged with the melancholy of autumn.

An old farmer's deep bow, this year's rice <Ayuta-san>

Congratulations on winning the Minna no Haiku Grand Prize.
I think this grand award is well-deserved. I had also chosen it for the deko Prize, so I was as happy as if it were my own. Above all, this haiku has dignity in its presence. Because there are only two hiragana characters, it has a tension like classical Chinese, and we, the readers, straighten our posture. And "old farmer" makes the imagery of the haiku clear. Standing in the harvested field, bowing deeply in gratitude for the bountiful harvest. I can even imagine the state of the field from spring to autumn. Things beyond the scene right in front of me naturally rise up.

Steel tower at your back, a chill, the moon after the full moon <Doroboneko-san>

What draws me in, both visually and linguistically, in this haiku is "a chill." This physical sizzle determines even the temperature of the haiku. It is appropriate for the tactile sensation of a steel tower. And the "moon after the full moon" is two nights before the full moon. Is what is missing time, or is it feelings?

Birds crossing, an athlete in the rehabilitation room <Suupu-san>

At first glance, the katakana words "rehabilitation" and "athlete" catch the eye. However, I believe the season word "birds crossing" is what defines this haiku. The feelings of an athlete who is doing—no, who must do—rehabilitation are not spoken of in a single word, but everything is contained in "birds crossing." A body that does not move as desired, frustration, feelings of regret, impatience... I wonder how many thoughts they held while watching the birds crossing the vast sky.

The haiku that captured my heart cannot be contained in just 12. Every morning, I received stimulation similar to a light jab from all the haiku submitted, wondering, "Can one write like this?" Thank you to everyone who participated.

It seems that "personal awards" are being announced here and there as well. I think the good thing about the "Minna no Haiku Tournament" is that it is not just that everyone can participate freely, but that everyone can freely bestow "awards" and praise each other—it lies in the free interactivity where participants can also become organizers. While looking at the same moon, let's enjoy this festival together until the end.

All of your haiku can be found here.
Still, 363 haiku! That is amazing.

The other jury prizes can be found here.