The results are out! Congratulations to the winners, and a heartfelt thank you to all of our 209 authors from 42 countries for submitting 417 wonderful, individual, inspiring haiku! 

looking for our 2024 Contest & winners?

-> follow this link

NEW: 2025 "HaikuFlow"
While our jury had a hard time to select only a few winners, we think that all of them are truly enjoyable. So why don't you sit back and relax, and enjoy all haiku in an interactive way! Love to hear what you think of this feature(*): HaikuFlow

2025 "EJCA Haiku Anthology"
As in the previous year, we have also compiled all(*) poems into a "visually enhanced" anthology of 2025 submissions.


Please use this link to view/download the pdf file (105MB)

 　

Translated:

Playing soccer
In brand-new shoes
Grass is glistening in green

Setsuo Nakaya (Canada),
winner “Best overall - Japanese language Haiku” category
in our 2025 contest!

Spring has arrived and the cherry trees -and in the case of EJCA- the plum tree blossoming again, following the great successes of the 2022, 2023 and 2024 editions of this contest, EJCA once again had called upon everyone's poetic talents.  EJCA had invited to get creative and submit a Haiku, suitably themed to celebrate the season.

We were once privileged to see so many of you re-joining every year, and enjoyed seeing quite a few more new participants, and we hope everyone had fun while contemplating!  

Kids & Youth: We loved to see substantially more submissions this year from aspiring young poets!

Winners and a selection of poems are available on this page and in the September/October moshi moshi and/or our social media channels. 

春がやっと訪れ、桜の木々が、そしてEJCAの場合は梅の木が再び花開く中、２０２２年、２０２３年、２０２４年の各回で大成功を収めたこのコンテストに続き、EJCAは再び皆様の詩的才能を呼び覚ましていました。EJCAは皆様にクリエイティブな才能を発揮していただき、季節をお祝いするのにふさわしいテーマの俳句をご投句いただくよう、ご招待いたしました。

毎年多くの皆様が再参加してくださる光景を目にする特権に恵まれ、また新しい参加者の方々もかなり増えたことを嬉しく思っており、皆様が思索を楽しまれたことを願っております！

お子様・青少年の皆様： 今年は将来有望な若い詩人の皆様からの投句が大幅に増えたことを大変嬉しく思っております！

入賞者と選抜作品は、このページおよび９月・１０月号のもしもし、ならびに当団体のソーシャルメディアチャンネルでご覧いただけます。

• With closing date Saturday, 21st of June 2025, 23:59 MDT, you were being asked to submit your Haiku using a Google form 
• Our jury was reviewing the submissions throughout July and selected the winners in our three categories

• Everyone is invited (whether EJCA member or not) to participate
  
• You can submit up to two unpublished Haiku that you have authored.
• To be considered for prizes, your poem should follow the spirit of good Haiku form - see below, section "What is a Haiku?"
  
• You should have made sure to give your Haiku a Spring theme by including a Spring seasonal word of your choice.
  
  
  
• Our jury does evaluate all submissions to determine winners in the various categories

Jury: Shajin Watanabe, this year supported by Kiki & Brooklin from STARK Poets, St. Albert. 

Shajin Watanabe sensei:

Watanabe sensei is a protege to Kusatao Nakamura and was awarded the Saitama Literature Award. After his retirement from teaching Japanese literature (kokugo) at Urawa Akenohoshi Girls' Senior High School, he taught haiku poetry at Saitama Police Academy for a number of years. Currently, he is the chair of Haiku Society, "Sumeraki, " while teaching haiku at numerous workshops.

-参加資格　－EJCA会員である必要はなく、どなたでも応募できます。

兼題（事前に課題として出された「季語」の意の語）を「日本語による俳句または英語による3行詩」に詠みこんだ未発表の作品を募集します。

　　　　・投句数：1季語に1作品、計2作品まで応募可。

兼題　－ご自分で選んだ春の季語

ご投稿いただいた全ての作品は選者により審査され、それぞれの部門の入賞作品が決められます。

応募部門・賞

俳句部門（日本語部門）優秀賞賞金３０ドル　準優秀賞　賞金２０ドル

三行詩部門（英語部門）優秀賞賞金３０ドル　準優秀賞　賞金２０ドル

１６歳以下の部門（英語もしくは日本語）優秀賞賞金３０ドル

選者：渡辺舎人 
（今年はセントアルバートのSTARK PoetsのKiki & Brooklin氏の支援を受けています。）

渡辺舎人先生：

渡辺先生は中村草田男の弟子であり、埼玉文芸賞の受賞者です。浦和明の星女子高等学校の現代国語の教諭から引退された後、埼玉警察学校にて俳句を長年教えておられました。現在は俳句結社すめらきの代表であり、また数々の講座・句会にて俳句指導をされています。

なかや　せつお (カナダ)

蹴球の新しき靴に芝青む

Setsuo Nakaya (Canada)

Playing soccer
In brand-new shoes
Grass is glistening in green

エリック・チエン (カナダ)

雪解川議事堂の風頬をなでる

Eric Chen (Canada)

By a snow melt river
A wind from the legislature building
Softly touches my cheeks

俳句部門

選評 渡辺舎人

特選

なかや　せつお

蹴球の新しき靴に芝青む

句　評

冬にサッカーを楽しんでいたが、芝が青む春に新しいサッカーシューズを購入した。土のコートではない芝のコートでのドリブルやパス回しに心浮き立つのである。

　「おニュー」のユニホームやシューズで練習すると、下手なプレイには「ユニホムが泣いてるぞ」などとからかわれたものである。皆がそう簡単には購入できなかった昭和30年代はそうであった。身に着けるもので世界が変わる喜びは特に子ども時代は強かったが､女性は老若関わらずそうなのであるかも知れない。サッカーは常に足元を見るので、「おニュー」のシューズが意識されるが、なかやさんの句もまた心浮き立つ世界なのである。

特選

エリック・チエン(Eric Chen)

雪解川議事堂の風頬をなでる

句　評

議事堂は議員が集まって会議する建物。国・郡市町村の施設がありますが、みな地域住民の生活のレベルを上げ、一人ひとりの人権を保護し､よりよい社会の実現のための衆知により議事・審議する機関です。

一句は春の雪解けの水が河に注がれ､暖かい春の風が人々を慈しむように吹いていると云うのです。自然の神の恩愛を感じ取って謝恩の句です。

Haiku -Japanese Division

Selection & evaluation by Shajin Watanabe

Excellent

Setsuo Nakaya

Playing soccer

In brand-new shoes

Grass is glistening in green

In the haiku, a person purchased a new pair of soccer shoes in the spring when the grass turned green after having played soccer throughout the winter. He is excited about dribbling and passing a ball on a grass field that is no longer wintery brown.

I remember the time when somebody in a "brand new" uniform and shoes was not playing well at a practice, a teammate would tease him by saying, "Your brand-new uniform is crying." This was the case in the Showa 30s (the mid-1950s to mid-1960s). In those days, not everyone was able to afford a new uniform or a new pair of shoes very easily. The joy of changing the world with what I wear was especially strong in childhood, but for a woman, it may be always true regardless of her age.

When you’re playing Soccer, you keep looking at the feet, which makes you  conscious of the "Brand-new" shoes, and just like “brand-new” shoes, Mr. Nakaya's haiku gives us a world that floats our hearts.

Excellent

Eric Chen

By a snow melt river

A wind from the legislature building

Softly touches my cheeks

A legislature/parliament building is a building where elected members gather and hold meetings. There are facilities to house such meetings for nations, counties or municipalities, and all of them are institutions that conduct deliberations based on the wisdom of the public to build a better society, to raise the residents’ standard of living, and to protect each individual’s human rights.

The haiku describes that the water from snowmelt in the spring pours into the river, and the warm spring breeze blows as though the wind is cherishing people who are there. It is a haiku of gratitude that feels the benevolence of the gods of nature.

ENGLISH 1st place
Dan C. Iulian

weeding the garden -
kneeling grandfather holds
the sky on his shoulders

This poem is a unique nod to spring honouring an elderly man who holds the world on his back while completing the simple spring task of weeding. Imagery pays homage to the process and respects the importance of growth cycles. The older man nurtures the rebirth of the young garden by ridding it of its obstacles. The idea of him kneeling and taking care of the garden encaptures the form and function of the earth in spring time.

庭にて草むしる

膝つきし祖父

空を肩に背負いて

この詩は、春へのユニークな賛同であり、草むしりという単純な春の作業をしながら世界を背負っている老人を称えている。この比喩的表現は過程や経過に敬意を表し、成長の循環の大切さを尊重するものである。年配の男性は、若い庭の障害を取り除くことで、その再生を育む。彼がひざまずいて庭の世話をするというアイデアは、春における地球の形と機能を捉えている。

ENGLISH 2nd place

Ealia Sadeghi

In winter's shadow,
softening snow still lingers
halfway between change

Shows a nice contrast between winter and spring. The transitional period through the use of sibilance softens the image and provides a gentle segue between the seasons.

冬の影にて

柔らむ雪居残る

変化の半ば

冬と春の対比が素晴らしい。冬から春への移行期を歯擦音の使用で描写することにより、そのイメージを柔らかくし、季節の間の穏やかなセグエ（連続）を表現した。

ENGLISH 3rd place

Richard Matta

dandelion fluff
she asks the wind
for one more day

Although it doesn't follow the standard 5-7-5 syllable format, its shorter but unique structure becomes a modern interpretation of the haiku. The personfication of the dandelion shows her audacity as she asks for more time as part of the flower echoing the perseverance of the weed itself. There is a sense of humour that we enjoyed as she speaks to the wind, asking for one more day.

たんぽぽの綿

彼女は風に乞う

あともう一日と

標準的な 5-7-5 音節形式に従っていないが、その短いながらも独特な構造は俳句の現代的な解釈となる。タンポポの擬人化は、雑草自体の忍耐力を反映して、花の一部としてもっと時間を求める彼女の大胆さを示す。評者は彼女が風に向かって、あと一日と頼むユーモアのセンスを楽しんだ。

YOUTH 1st place
Anwita D Pillai

plum rain—
a spider rewinds silk
across torn branches

A plum rain is an interesting nod to spring. Rewinding is about change and creating something beautiful with careful attention to detail. The silk repair completes the torn branches so they can regain their former beauty. Fluidity in the language is clear as the spider patiently rebuilds its creation after the destruction of the rain.

梅の雨

蜘蛛は絹の糸を巻き戻す

折れた枝を縫って

梅の雨とは興味深い春への賛美だ。ここでの巻き戻しは、変化と細部にまで細心の注意を払って

美しいものを生み出すことを指す。絹糸の修理で、折れた枝が修復され、かつての美しさをとり戻した。

蜘蛛が辛抱強く、その巣を、雨に壊された後に再構築する様を表現する言葉の流れの良さが際立っている．．．であることは

YOUTH 2nd place
Chloe Careaga

Soft light pools on desks
pens scratch, a quiet melody
outside, trees riot in bloom.

The contrast between quiet melody and riot is seamless. We liked the use of scratching which implies two senses: sound and touch and provides a gentle contrast to the first sense of sight. Interesting and poetic piece that reaches our senses in unique ways. The use of personification with the trees creates a visual moment captured with the loud word of "riot" and thus blending multiple senses together.

柔らかな光が溜まる机の上

ペンが擦る、静かなメロディー

外では木々が花盛りの中暴動を起こす

静かなメロディーと暴動の対比が滑らかだ。評者は、 擦るという言葉を使ったことが良かったと思う。

この擦るという言葉は（五感のうちの）二つ、聴覚と触覚を暗に示しており、一行目で使われた視覚と

のやんわりとした対比となる。興味深い個性的な手法で私たちの感覚に届く詩作品である。木々を擬人化

することで、視覚的な瞬間（花盛りの木々）を「暴動」という大きな言葉で捉え、（五感のうちの）複数

の感覚を融合させた。

YOUTH 3rd place

Heidi Smith

Flowers in storm drains
Forests of moss and petals
Hidden from the eye

The imagery of a storm drain suggest that the flowers have a brief apperance and will be hidden from sight. The moss, the petals, and the flowers are still appreciated but are fleeting much like spring itself.

排水溝の花々

苔の森と花びら

目からは隠されている

排水溝のイメージは、花が見られる時間は短く、そのうち見ることができなくなる（視界から隠される）

ことを示唆している。苔、花びら、花は今でも慈しまれるが、春そのもののように儚いものだ。

What you should keep in mind (continued):

3. Does your poem make a “leap,” by having two parts? In Japanese, a kireji or “cutting word” usually cuts the poem into two parts (never three). It’s not just having two parts that matters, though. Rather, it’s the implication in the relationship of the two parts that matters. Giving your poem two often fragmentary parts is also one of the most important goals in haiku.
4. Is your haiku about common, everyday events in nature or human life? To help you do this, describe what you experience through your five senses.
5. Does your poem give readers a feeling? It can do this by presenting what caused your feeling rather than the feeling itself. So others can feel what you felt, don’t explain or judge what you describe.
6. Is your poem in the present tense? To make your haiku feel like it’s happening right now, use the present tense.
7. Did you write from your own personal experience? When you write other kinds of poetry, you can make things up, but try not to do that with haiku. Memories are okay, though.
8. How did you capitalize or punctuate your poem? Haiku are usually not sentences (they’re usually fragments), so they don’t need to start with a capital, or end with a period.
9. Does your haiku avoid a title and rhyme? Haiku are not like other poems, which may have these features. Haiku don’t have titles and rarely rhyme.

(adapted from Michael Dylan Welch's excellent blog: https://www.graceguts.com/essays/haiku-checklist)

Another source worth reading, with some more historical and stylistic information is  HAIKU: A WHOLE LOT MORE THAN 5-7-5