The Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Awards, named after the founder of modern Japanese haiku, were established on the principles set forth in the Matsuyama Declaration, adopted at the Shimanamikaido '99 Haiku ConventionSHlMANAMI KAIDO99, International Haiku Convention in Matsuyama held in September 1999. The establishment of this award attracts people's attention to Masaoka Shiki as a globally recognized poet and to haiku as a short form of world poetry.
Purpose The Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Award is awarded to people who have made the most remarkable contribution to the development and the raising awareness of the creativity of haiku regardless of nationality or language. Recipients have a strong interest in haiku and a broad, international outlook in their field. The award is not limited to any field of speciality, so that haiku poets, other poets, authors, researchers, translators, essayists, editors, and workers in all professions are considered equally.
Awardees The First Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Awards 2000International Haiku Convention 2000 Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Awards Grand Prize/ Yves Bonnefoy, France Haiku Prize/ Li Mang, China/ Bart Mesotten, Belgium/ Robert Spiess, United States of America EIJS Special Award/ Kazuo Sato, Japan The Second Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Awards 2002International Haiku Convention 2002 Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Awards Haiku Prize/ Cor van den Heuvel, United States of America/Satya Bhushan Verma, India EIJS Special Award/ Shigeki Wada, Japan The Third Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Awards 2004International Haiku Convention 2004 Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Awards Grand Prize/ Gary Snyder, United States of America Haiku Prize/ Hidekazu Masuda, Brazil/Ko Reishi, Taiwan EIJS Special Award/ Bansei Tsukushi, Japan The Fourth Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Awards 2008International Haiku Convention 2009 Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Awards Grand Prize/ Kaneko Tohta, Japan Haiku Prize/ Kawahara Biwao, Japan Haiku Prlze Sweden Award/ Uchida Sonoo, Japan/ Lee O-Young, South Korea
References
International Haiku Awards Announcement of Awardees for 2008 Yves Bonnefoy (translated by Koji Kawamoto) and Description of Haiku and short form of poems and French Poets (translated by Toru Shiga) (『Shincho』 December 2000)