[Polar Bear Cup] Judge Yukinko ⛄️ Award Announcement [Tanka]

Although I don't understand Tanka as well as I do Haiku, I ended up becoming a judge by chance.
I tried my best to select them despite my lack of knowledge.

If a Haiku, which focuses on a subject that grabs your heart, is like a one-panel comic, I feel like a Tanka is like a two-panel comic. It feels like there is a shift in emotion within the work. At the very least, it seems I like works like that.

That is how I am making my selections.

So, with that said,

Polar Bear Tanka Yukinko ⛄️ Award
Let's announce it right away!!

🎊🎊🎊

First Place

Buying two cans of hot coffee at the convenience store
I don't need a hand warmer, I'm not cold

Cat at the beach after school.

They went into a convenience store to buy coffee to warm up. To the question, "Do you need a hand warmer too?" they replied, "I'm fine, I'm not cold." They are surely cold. Coffee shared with someone special warms the heart, but a hand warmer doesn't warm the heart. Maybe they didn't want to waste money. "I'm not cold" is an act of kindness, isn't it? I was touched by the consideration the two had for each other. It's so fresh.

Second Place

"Post deleted" of things like parfaits
Photos being uploaded on a cold, sunny day

Shishida Kashin

"Photos of things like parfaits." On a cold, sunny winter day, peaceful posts that look like diary entries are lined up. One post was suddenly deleted. My imagination runs wild wondering what on earth happened. Once I start questioning, I get deep into things like why go out of your way to have a parfait on such a cold day, or what the motive for posting was. It feels like a modern-day relatable situation. I like it.

Third Place

I'm done with the cold, I'll stay inside,
come to think of it, they were selling beans yesterday

Noncha

The resolve of 'I'm done with the cold, I'll stay inside' is quickly overturned by the memory of 'come to think of it, they were selling beans yesterday.' These are likely beans that need to be bought soon. The wavering of feelings drifting between instinct and reason. The 'come to think of it' is very effective. And after going to buy the beans, one decides to stay inside again, saying 'I'm done with it.' That's human, isn't it.

Fourth Place

The intention of the silk floss handed to me is soft,
it warms the neck instead of strangling it

Suisei Suzaki

'Silk floss' can be used to strangle someone, or it can be used to warm human skin. When I received the 'silk floss' handed to me by someone, I couldn't quite read the intention. Now, it feels like it has melted away with the realization that 'the intention is soft.' I feel ashamed of myself for having harbored suspicion. Things like that really do happen.

Fifth Place

In this town where snow falls and piles up endlessly,
it might just disappear from this world

Daiki Shioda

It might be inappropriate, but I sometimes find myself glued to desperate scenes like earthquakes. Helpless humans unable to do anything in the face of overwhelming natural forces. This "town" that seems as if it is "fading from this world." A sense of despair, and at the same time, a sense of being strangely captivated. The lower phrase has power.

6th Place

The sluggish sound of a sewing machine carries over the years
It is New Year's Eve, and I want brand new fabric

Yaginu Numata

I thought the "sluggish sound of a sewing machine" referred to the bells of New Year's Eve. With 108 stitches, one "joins" the fabric worn out over the year with the fabric to be used anew. I think it is an excellent and wonderful metaphor. When I think that we are joining together, year by year, a scroll made of hundreds of pieces of fabric, it makes me feel determined.

Runners-up (No ranking)

This is according to the rules. They are equal to the top 6 poems.

Things that cannot be helped and things that can
I am the snow and you are the stars

Hakuka Hayashi

If only it were easy to distinguish between "things that cannot be helped" and "things that can be helped," I think life would be a little easier. For the former, you just have to give up, and for the latter, you just have to try. However, this distinction is very difficult. For me and you, who are snow and stars, what are the things we should give up on, and what are the things we should challenge? I think worrying is what living is all about.

A night thinking of someone who has no subject
A single scratch like a diagonal line on the first frost

Zero no Kami

A night spent dreaming of things that seem unrelated to me, or people who have nothing to do with me. I think the time spent thinking about things that are like noise in my real life is also time that enriches my heart. The diagonal scratch on the first frost also seems meaningless, yet meaningful. The lingering effect is pleasant.

On a mild autumn day, I became your parent
The world began to look like it had color

Noriko Tonomura

The moment your child is born and you see their face, the world and yourself change, don't they? You captured such a precious moment in life. Thank you for letting me become a parent, thank you for showing me a new landscape. These heartfelt words resonated with me.

My father's bones that wouldn't fit in the urn
The bones that once carried me, so sturdy

Chizu

In contrast to Noriko-san's poem, this is another precious moment in life. I think it's great that it's the moment of gathering the bones, not the moment of death. I just saw my own father's bones last spring. Unlike Chizu-san, my feeling was, 'He supported our family with such thin bones,' but it was a deep emotion. I thought it was wonderful how a Tanka can fix such a feeling in place.

The children's jumpsuits are so cute
I wonder if I moved to the north just for this

Shizen Taishuu no Tei Ginyuu

It reminded me of the drama 'Kita no Kuni kara' (From the North). Life in the harsh north. There might be moments when you regret choosing this way of life. However, the children's jumpsuits and smiles seem to cancel out all the hardships. I'm glad I live here. I think it's a wonderful way of life.

Winter sea, the last scene departs from Futtsu
'Shall we go?' you say, standing up

Sazanami

Apparently, this is a scene from an Osugi Ren movie, but I haven't seen it, haha. The setting might be completely different, but I like how a mutual understanding is reached with just the words 'Shall we go?' Whether it's between a man and a woman, or a man and a man. It must be an understanding formed during the silent time spent gazing at the sea. The winter sea has that kind of power.

To all the winners of the Yukinko⛄️ Award,
congratulations🎉

The tanka poems I didn't select for this article were also truly wonderful. If I were to choose again tomorrow, I am sure I would pick different ones.

Thank you all so very much⛄️

Click here for awards from other judges↓

Judge Izayoi

Judge Madoka Sasa

Judge rira

Click here for the community's unofficial awards↓

Click here for the full list of Polar Bear Cup entries↓