Haiku is a style of poetry that enlightens and opens readers and writers to new perspectives, renowned for both its simplicity and complexity. As an art form, it has rapidly evolved from structured Japanese short-verse to an international phenomena that has hybridised via the infusion of many languages and literary techniques. Haiku has been adopted by many well-known poets, including Santoka Taneda, Matsuo Basho, Shiki Masaoka, Jack Kerouac, Marlene Mountain, and more.

In this workshop, renowned haiku instructors Emiko Miyashita and Kyoko Uchimura will explain some of the basic differences between traditional Japanese and foreign-language approaches to the art form. They will also discuss how to evaluate haiku for its technical mastery and its emotional impact.

Biographies

Emiko Miyashita

Ms Emiko Miyashita is a prominent and widely published haiku poet, as well as an award-winning translator who has given invited lectures and workshops around the world. She serves as a councillor for the Haiku International Association, as well as secretary of the Haiku Poets Association International Department in Tokyo. She is a dojin (leading member) of Ten’i (Providence) haiku group lead by Dr Akito Arima, and also a dojin of the Shin (Morning Sun), haiku group lead by Dr Akira Omine. From January 2008, until March 2010, she judged and wrote an English-language haiku column with Michael Dylan Welch every first Sunday in the Asahi weekly paper.

Kyoko Uchimura

Ms Kyoko Uchimura is a haiku poet born in Tokyo. She earned a BA in Art History from International Christian University, Japan, and studied at the University of Sussex, United Kingdom, from 1988 to 1989 as an exchange student. She worked for Christie’s art auction house from 1990 to 2014, contributing her expertise there for over twenty years.

Ms Uchimura began writing haiku in 2002, receiving the New Talent Award of the haiku group ‘Ten’I’, led by Dr Akito Arima, in 2008. She recently won first prize in the group’s essay contest in 2023. In 2013, she published her first haiku collection, titled ‘Venus’. She is currently a member of the Association of Haiku Poets in Japan.

Since 2014, Ms Uchimura has worked in an editorial role for Ten’I and the Haiku International Association since 2018, where she serves as a councilor and is responsible for editing the association’s quarterly haiku magazine, ‘HI’. She often writes short reviews for other haiku magazines. She has supported the administrative office of the Haiku UNESCO Promotion Council since 2018.

About the Presenter(s)
-Ms Emiko Miyashita is a prominent and widely published haiku poet, as well as an award-winning translator who has given invited lectures and workshops around the world.
-Ms Kyoko Uchimura is a haiku poet born in Tokyo.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Tuesday Schedule

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