Haiku Contest — Win BitCats Heroes NFT #939!

Hello AlternativeJapan readers, I'm giving away one Bitcoin Cash BitCats Heroes NFT (one with a pretty good rarity score and who looks quite like a hipster) for the best haiku submission in the comments.

Here's the breakdown:

• Submit only one haiku (5-7-5 syllable/ōn pattern) or tanka (5-7-5-7-7) in the comments in English or Japanese.

• Haiku will be judged by an unnamed group of three judges in a completely subjective manner, however things that will be considered are: structure, flow, feeling, mention of nature, and originality. Haiku will be checked for plagiarism!

• Here's an English-translated haiku by Japanese poet Bashō, as an example:

  

  

  Please note: in the above example, the Japanese follows the 5-7-5 pattern, but the English translation does not. All submissions — whether English or Japanese — must follow the 5-7-5 pattern, or the tanka pattern of 5-7-5-7-7 as exemplified here by Zen "anti-poet" Ryōkan:

  

  

  Again, this example is a Japanese example. Where the Japanese sounds follow the tanka pattern of 5-7-5-7-7.
  
  However, here is an English example that follows the haiku pattern:

  smell of fresh green leaves (5)

  mountain stream makes me forget (7)

  the cancerous world (5)

• One final note is that traditional haiku contain a kigo, which is a word that places the poem in a particular season, and a kireji or "cutting word" or break, that provides a dramatic pause or striking juxtaposition. For example:

  Ah, tranquility!
  Penetrating even rock,
  A cicada’s voice.

  I took liberty in translating this one, above, by Bashō, but we see the kigo in the mention of cicada, which places us in the summer, and the kireji between "rock" and "a cicada's voice," as we wait for what could possibly pierce through rock, and are shocked it is something as gentle as a cicada's humming. This juxtaposition truly drives home how tranquil and calm the lazy summer scene is. Your haiku does not need to have these two elements of kigo and kireji, necessarily, but their consideration might point you in the right direction!

That's it! The winner will be announced next week on July 14th, and will need to download a CashTokens compatible wallet (such as Paytaca) to receive the NFT. If you have questions, feel free to ask in the comments. Good luck and have fun scribbling down some haiku!

And, if you get pissed off trying to smash everything into a set format, just remember: this is a silly little contest and you could just say screw it and write a book of brilliant American haiku like Jack Kerouac instead.