The Japanese haiku master, Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), moved to the outskirts of Tokyo in 1680. From that time forward, Basho took his name from the Japanese banana tree, or ‘basho’, planted in the yard of his rustic hut (known as Basho-an). It was here that Basho wrote many of his most famous works including his ‘old pond’ haiku.

In 2025, the Koto City Basho Museum conducted the 8th Basho-an International English Haiku Competition. The Koto City Basho Museum is located on the banks of the Sumida River in the area where Matsuo Basho’s cottage was thought to be located.

The 2025 competition attracted 1,307 entries from 38 countries. The three judges for the competition were Mr Kai Hasegawa, Ms Naoko Fujita and Mr Dhugal J Lindsay. As usual, each judge chose ten Winners plus an overall winner of the Basho-an Award.

I was very pleased to have a haiku selected by Mr Lindsay as one of his Winners. My haiku was:

paddle steamer
the toot
of a water bird

Spending time in nature can often lead to a new haiku. On this occasion, I was beside a pond listening to waterfowl calling when it occurred to me how much they sounded like a steam whistle. Two sounds that, in the right situation, might both be present at the same time.

As an Australian poet writing haiku in English, I am honoured to have had my haiku recognised in this Japan-based competition on three occasions. In the 6th Basho-an competition, Mr Lindsay selected the following haiku of mine as one of his Winners:

patches of lichen
on a granite face
moon gazing!

While in the 2nd Basho-an competition, Ms Fujita selected this haiku as one of her Winners:

little bits of sky
woven through straw ‒
my hat on my face

I am most thankful to the Koto City Basho Museum for conducting the competition and to the judges for including my haiku among their selections.

You can read the complete list of awarded haiku for all 8 years of the Basho-an International English Haiku Competition via this link.