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Murakoshi Kaseki

むらこし かせき

Murakoshi Kaseki

Aliases: 村越 英彦
Pen Names: Kaseki（Haiku pen name used in submissions and haiku circles.）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1922-12-17 （Nyubune, Okabe Town (former Asahina Village), Fujieda City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan）
Died
2014-03-08 （Kurio Rakusenen (National Sanatorium), Kusatsu, Agatsuma District, Gunma Prefecture, Japan） age 91
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Fujieda, Shizuoka (birthplace) → Kurio Rakusenen sanatorium, Kusatsu, Gunma (residence/treatment)

Career

Occupations
haiku poet
Active Years
1938-2013
Affiliations
Kuri no Hana Haikai / Takahara Haiku-kai, Shigino (under Honda Issan), Hama (associated with Ohno Rinka), Hototogisu (influence/association)
Memberships
Takahara Haiku-kai, Shigino, Hama, Hototogisu (association)
Influenced By
Honda Issan, Ohno Rinka, Asaka Koyo

Education

Former Shizuoka Prefectural Shida Middle School (now Shizuoka Prefectural Fujieda Higashi High School)
Country: Japan
Withdrew from school after contracting Hansen's disease at age 16 and moved to Tokyo for treatment.

Awards

Kadokawa Haiku Prize
1958
Work: "Yamama" (50 haiku)
Organization: Kadokawa Shoten
Result: winner
Haijin Kyokai Award (Haiku Poets Association Award)
1974
Work: Yamagunsho
Organization: Haiku Poets Association
Result: winner
Jakkotsu Prize
1983
Work: Tanza
Organization: Jakkotsu Prize Committee
Result: winner
Shika Bungakukan Prize
1989
Work: Tsutsudori
Organization: Poetry and Song Literature Museum
Result: winner
Tenji Mainichi Culture Award
1990
Organization: Tenji Mainichi
Result: winner
Medal with Purple Ribbon
1991
Organization: Japanese government
Result: recipient
Yamamoto Kenkichi Literature Award (haiku category)
2008
Work: Hachijuuji
Category: 俳句部門
Organization: Yamamoto Kenkichi Literature Award Committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Dokugan

1962 haiku

An early collection of haiku reflecting the poet's struggle with illness and inner life.

illnesssolitudenature

Yamagunsho

1974 haiku

One of his representative works, featuring many mountain-themed haiku.

mountainsnostalgiaseasons

Tanza

1982 haiku

A more mature collection of haiku; recipient of the Jakkotsu Prize.

inner lifenatureageing

Eighty-Eight Nights

1997 haiku

Contains poems imbued with longing for his hometown; a haiku from this era was later engraved on a monument.

homesicknessseasonstea

Bibliography

  • Dokugan (1962, Rokan-do)
  • Yamagunsho (1974, Hama Publishing)
  • Tanza (1982, Hama Publishing)
  • Tsutsudori (1988, Hama Publishing)
  • Ishi to Tsue (1992, Hama Publishing)
  • Eighty-Eight Nights (1997, Kindai Bungeisha)
  • Hotarubukuro (2003, Kadokawa Shoten)
  • Hachijuuji (2007, Kadokawa Shoten)
  • Uchiwa (2010, Kadokawa Gakugei Publishing)
  • Kagomakura (2013, Bungaku no Mori) Selected Poems

Style & Themes

Literary Style
concise, sharp haiku stylea severe gaze confronting illness and deathintrospective voice expressing human dignity and attachment to life
Recurring Motifs
nature (mountains, forest fruits, seasons)illness and its sequelaenostalgia and hometown landscapesageing and loss of sight

Health

  • Hansen's disease (leprosy) and its sequelae
    1938頃 - 生涯にわたる後遺症
    Contracted Hansen's disease around age 16 and lived in sanatorium care. Due to side effects of promin lost sight in one eye and became fully blind by 1970, yet continued composing haiku.

Legacy

Celebrated as a "haiku poet of the soul" who composed throughout his life while battling Hansen's disease; commemorated with monuments and local honors.

Museums

  • Fujieda City Museum of Local History & Literature Fujieda, Shizuoka, Japan

Academic Societies

  • Modern Haiku Association
  • Haiku Poets Association

Archives

  • Materials held by Fujieda City Museum of Local History & Literature
  • Kurio Rakusenen sanatorium related archives

In Popular Culture

  • Murakoshi Kaseki Haiku Competition (held in his hometown Fujieda)
  • Haiku monument at the roadside station 'Gyokuro no Sato' featuring his poem

Quotes

  • In the New Year's Eve bath, skin touches—I shall live on
    Source: source unknown (representative haiku)
  • When I extinguish the cold lamp, I am tied to my mother
    Source: source unknown (representative haiku)
  • Forest hears the nuts falling in the woods
    Source: source unknown (representative haiku)

Trivia

  • Real name was Murakoshi Hidehiko.
  • Used the haiku pen name "Kaseki" (Kaseki means fossil).
  • Contracted Hansen's disease at age 16 and spent much of life in sanatorium care.
  • Lost sight in one eye due to promin side effects and became completely blind by 1970, yet continued writing.
  • A haiku monument was erected in his hometown Fujieda and local commemorations are held.