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Ibaraki Kazuo

いばらき かずお

Ibaraki Kazuo

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1939-01-11 （Koriyama Town, Ikoma District, Nara Prefecture (now Yamato-Koriyama), Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Yamato-Koriyama, Nara Prefecture, Japan → Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture (work residence)

Career

Occupations
haiku poet, high-school teacher (classical Japanese literature), critic
Active Years
1956-
Affiliations
Un'ga (editor/host; later honorary host), Haijin Kyokai (Poets' Association) — vice president, Nara Haiku Association — chair
Memberships
Haijin Kyokai (Haiku Poets' Association), Member of Un'ga haiku group
Influenced By
Ujō Kureishi, Yamaguchi Seishi
Influenced
Taniguchi Tomoyuki (succeeded as Un'ga host)

Education

Nara Prefectural Koriyama High School
Country: Japan
Osaka City University, Faculty of Letters
Faculty of Letters
Country: Japan

Awards

Haijin Kyokai Criticism Prize (11th)
1997
Work: Nishi no Kigo Monogatari (Stories of Western Seasonal Words)
Organization: Haijin Kyokai (Haiku Poets' Association)
Result: winner
Haijin Kyokai Prize (41st)
2002
Work: Ikoma (Oku-ma?) — title: 往馬
Organization: Haijin Kyokai (Haiku Poets' Association)
Result: winner
Haiku Shiki Grand Prize (13th)
2014
Work: Kusurigui (Yakugui)
Organization: Haiku Shiki (seasonal haiku magazine)
Result: winner
Shiika Bungakukan Prize (31st, haiku division)
2016
Work: Madori (Manatori?) — title: 真鳥
Category: 俳句部門
Organization: Japan Contemporary Poetry and Song Museum
Result: winner
Ono City Shiika Literary Prize (9th)
2017
Work: Kumagashi
Organization: Ono City Shiika Literary Prize Committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Ki no Kuni

1979 Haiku collection

Early collection containing representative poems that meditate on nature and everyday life.

seasonal awarenessrural landscapesfamily

Tōtsu-gawa

1984 Haiku collection

Contains many haiku using rivers and water as motifs.

waterspring scenery

Ouma

2001 Haiku collection

A mid-career collection gathering representative haiku characterized by delicate observations of nature.

satoyama (village landscapes)seasons

Yakugui

2013 Haiku collection

Works reflecting a late-life perspective, evoking keen observation of details and life's delicacies.

agingdetails of nature

Madori

2015 Haiku collection

Collection including the work that won the Shiika Bungakukan Prize (haiku division) in 2016.

birdsmemory

Kumagashi

2016 Haiku collection

A collection that won the Ono City Shiika Literary Prize in 2017.

mountain forestsdaily life

Bibliography

  • Ki no Kuni
  • Tōtsu-gawa
  • Nosegawa
  • Nyu
  • Miwa-zaki
  • Yamato
  • Ouma
  • Tatami-komo
  • Shidehara
  • Salamander
  • Yakugui
  • Madori
  • Kumagashi
  • Jun
  • Megu
  • Wakana

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise, lyrical haikua refined style expressing the junction of everyday life and nature
Recurring Motifs
seasonswatersatoyama (village landscapes)family

Legacy

One of the notable haiku poets active from the late 20th century into the 21st. He produced numerous collections and critical works, praised for poems depicting local nature and daily life. He also contributed to haiku organizations and mentored younger poets.

Academic Societies

  • Haijin Kyokai (Haiku Poets' Association)
  • Nara Haiku Association

Archives

  • National Diet Library (holds works and materials)

Quotes

  • Licking a wound — my mother, omnipotent, the peach blossoms
    Source: from Ki no Kuni (1979)
  • Changing the water — the carp in a basin, mountain cherry blossoms
    Source: from Tōtsu-gawa (1984)

Trivia

  • Joined the Un'ga haiku group in 1956 while in high school, beginning his haiku activities.
  • Served for many years as a classical Japanese literature teacher at Takatsuki Junior & Senior High School.
  • Succeeded Ujō Kureishi as host of Un'ga and later became honorary host.