Songs of the 14th Bokusui Tanka Koshien

I went to Hyuga City, Miyazaki Prefecture, to watch the Tanka Koshien on August 17th and 18th. It was a great experience when I went for the first time last year, so I'm glad the timing worked out again this year.

I've jotted down a few thoughts while reflecting on the works that caught my attention on the day.

The first match for Miyazaki Nishi. The assigned theme was "Language" (Go). As a poem, I can't help but be bothered by the congestion of the word "language," but I thought the presence of the "red cow" contrasted with the universe was excellent.
Their opponent, Kofu Higashi, couldn't make it due to a typhoon, so it was treated as a walkover. Unfortunately, three schools were absent this time due to earthquakes and typhoons, but at the end of the first day, time was set aside to revisit the works for the matches that "couldn't be played," which made me feel the thoughtfulness of the organizers.

Shogakukan High School. The assigned theme was "Love." The themes are decided by Kazuhiko Ito every year (this year they were "Language," "Remote," "Love," and "Hope"), and apparently, he makes sure to include "Love" every time. Therefore, as a tournament, there is an accumulation and transition of love poems, which creates a difficulty at the conceptual level. Ukai-san's work uses the theme in a quite bold way by introducing her "younger brother." The critique was lively, but depending on how it was handled, she could have pushed the subject of "love" entirely onto the brother.

Konan High School. Also on the theme of "Love." By the way, it was mentioned in the selection critique that girls write about their own love more straightforwardly than boys, and I felt a bit of sympathy for the high school boys, thinking, "Yeah, that's true."
Anyway, this poem is good because you can see the ingenuity in how "love-struck cat" is handled. I was convinced when I heard the point that real cats don't kiss, so it functions as a paraphrase for humans or classmates.

A semi-final work from Konan High School. It takes a lot of nerve to include a compound word in parentheses for the theme "Hope." The six poems from Konan High School in the final tournament were outstanding. The poems were good, but there was also a sense of stability in how the critiques accurately captured the quality of the poems, making me very curious about what kind of poetry meetings they usually have.

From the individual competition works. Kato-san from Nada High School also had a good one in the semi-finals:Even if I don't wish for harsh words, my sister brings back OsakaIt has the merit of being able to be read logically, but he seems to know where the deliciousness of a poem lies without prioritizing meaning or purpose too much.

◎ By watching last year and this year, I've come to understand various styles and trends. Because of that, I'm curious about what kind of "tanka philosophy" each school and the athletes have when creating their works. My impression is that teams where the three members' perspectives are unified or shared are indeed strong, but,

When I talk about "strategy," it's clearly the influence of "Medalist" which I read recently, so please take it with a grain of salt.

◎ It is a very good thing to see humans pouring their words into the work in front of them, but in the poetry meetings I usually hold myself, I'm too busy managing and facilitating to slowly savor that goodness. It's nice to just sit in the audience, and since the system is well-organized as a competition, I feel at ease.

Since I am enjoying this from the sidelines, it is fine for me, but I have gradually come to understand that it must be quite difficult for the participants, judges, and the alumni who run the event.

In the evening, I held a poetry reading with the members of the 'Minato-kai' alumni association. Following the tournament's theme, we composed poems on the theme of 'Love.' It was tough, but I received one vote. And due to the aftereffects, I was half-dead the next day.

I mentioned to Kazuhiko Ito last year that it would be nice to have a 'Performance Award' for the recitation of the works, so I was happy that a Performance Award was actually established starting this year. It pays to speak up. The recitation by the student from Hoshino High School who won the award was also excellent.

The short review by Mr. Iguchi, who brought me along, is here↓

Yoshida's record from last year is here.

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