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Madoka Mayuzumi

まゆずみ まどか

Mayuzumi Madoka

Pen Names: Madoka Mayuzumi（Pen name used for literary activities (haiku)）

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1962-07-31 （Yugawara, Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese

Career

Occupations
haiku poet, essayist, writer, media personality, visiting professor
Active Years
1988-
Affiliations
Haiku society 'Kawa', Tokyo Hepburn (founder/representative), Monthly Hepburn (founder/representative), Kyoto Tachibana University (visiting professor), Kitasato University (visiting professor)
Influenced By
Hisajo Sugita, Koshi Yoshida

Education

Ferris Women's Junior College
Period: 〜1983
Year of Graduation: 1983
Country: Japan

Awards

Kadokawa Haiku Award (Encouragement Prize)
1994
Work: B-side Summer
Organization: Kadokawa Shoten
Result: 奨励賞
Yamamoto Kenkichi Literary Prize
2002
Work: Love in Kyoto
Organization: Yamamoto Kenkichi Prize Committee
Result: 受賞
Tokyo Kimono Queen
1988
Organization: organizer unknown
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

B-side Summer

1994 haiku

Her first haiku collection, capturing modern life and women's perspectives with vivid imagery.

modern lifeseasonswomanhood

Hanagoromo

1997 haiku

A collection that blends seasonal sensibilities with images of clothing and adornment.

seasonsattireeveryday life

Love in Kyoto

2001 haiku / photo collaboration

A haiku collection themed on Kyoto, paired with photographs by Katsutoshi Okada.

travelKyotolove

Forgotten Shells

2006 haiku

A collection themed around the sea and memories.

seamemoryloss

Top Star (Haiku Collection)

2012 haiku

A collection of haiku reflecting on everyday life from a mature perspective.

maturityeveryday lifenature

Hokurakushimon

2022 haiku

A recent collection gathering contemporary haiku.

seasonsreminiscencetravel

Bibliography

  • B-side Summer
  • Summer Love: Haiku Manuscript
  • Hanagoromo
  • Kuchizuke
  • Love in Kyoto
  • Forgotten Shells
  • A Haiku for You
  • Top Star (Haiku Collection)
  • Hokurakushimon
  • Morning of the Holy Night
  • Haiku in Love
  • Star Traveler: Spain's 'Oku no Hosomichi'
  • Saranghaeyo: Falling in Love with Korea
  • The Miraculous Shikoku Pilgrimage
  • The Twenty-Four Solar Terms in Daily Life: Living Mindfully

Translations by Author

  • Picture Book of Korea's Four Seasons (co-translation)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
modern haikuconversational, image-focused styledepictions from a woman's perspective
Recurring Motifs
seasonstravellove/affectionsnapshots of everyday life

Legacy

Regarded as one of the leading contemporary female haiku poets in Japan; she has contributed to popularizing haiku through media appearances, teaching at universities, and public lectures.

In Popular Culture

  • Frequent TV and radio appearances (e.g., Sekai Ururun Taizaiki, NHK programs)
  • Organizing cultural haiku events such as the 'Hundred Nights Haiku Meeting' (99 sessions)

Quotes

  • Haiku is the world's shortest literature. Through words, one can encounter the richness of this world.
    Source: Interview (published by Gojinsha Planning Research Institute) (2004)

Trivia

  • Real name is Madoka Mayuzumi (same reading).
  • Her father was haiku poet Osamu Mayuzumi.
  • In 1999 she walked approximately 900 km of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route.
  • Her 1994 haiku collection 'B-side Summer' won the Kadokawa Haiku Award (Encouragement Prize).
  • An essay 'Kunpu' by her is included in an elementary school Japanese language textbook published by Kyoiku Shuppan.