Dividing the autumn sky
into two
a huge chinquapin tree
Takahama Kyoshi was a Japanese poet active during the Shōwa period of Japan. He was the editor of the haiku magazine Hototogisu (previously edited by Shiki), where he promoted a more traditional style of haiku, as opposed to other popular schools that did not follow the pattern of seventeen syllables at that time.
Kyoshi also highlighted the symbolic function of the kigo (the seasonal reference), even though the more modern trends were already tending towards seasonless haiku.
Haiku by Kyoshi Takahama
Picture by Will
This haiku poem is part of the Naviar haiku music challenge, where artists are invited to make music in response to a weekly assigned haiku poem. Participation is free and there are no limitations in the songs’ length or genre.
You have seven days from the posting of this haiku to submit your track. For information on how to make a submission, visit the Naviar Haiku Music Challenge page.
Submission deadline: 24th May 2023