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Ogawa Keishu

おがわ けいしゅう

Ogawa Keishu

Pen Names: Keishu（Pen name taken from a line in Li Bai's seven-character quatrain 'Early Departure from Baidi City'）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1961-02-07 （Chiba City, Chiba, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Chiba City → Various locations across Japan (transfers with Nippon Development Bank) → Osaka Prefecture (transferred to Hanshin Electric Railway)

Career

Occupations
haiku poet, railway executive, editor
Active Years
1984-
Affiliations
'Taka' haiku magazine (chair), Hanshin Electric Railway (Executive Director)
Memberships
Haiku Poets Association, 'Taka' haiku magazine
Influenced By
Yamamoto Kenkichi, Fujita Shoko, Li Bai

Education

University of Tokyo
Faculty of Law / Law
Degree: 学士（法学）
Period: 1980-1984
Year of Graduation: 1984
Country: Japan
Graduated from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law; joined Nippon Development Bank after graduation

Awards

Haiku Poets Association Rookie Award
2001
Work: Kinjo
Organization: Haiku Poets Association
Result: winner
Haiku Poets Association Criticism Rookie Award
2004
Work: Mesmerizing Poetic Forms
Organization: Haiku Poets Association
Result: winner
Haiku Poets Association Criticism Award
2024
Work: Guide to Notable Haiku
Organization: Haiku Poets Association
Result: winner
Haiku Poets Association Award
2019
Work: Asaban
Organization: Haiku Poets Association
Result: winner
Jakko Prize
2022
Work: Muben
Organization: Jakko Prize Committee
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Kinjo

2001 Haiku

First haiku collection focusing on careful observations of everyday life.

everyday lifeseasonal awarenesshuman observation

Techo (Notebook)

2008 Haiku

A collection of haiku capturing moments from daily life.

memoryobservation of daily life

Kororin (Doorbell)

2012 Haiku

Features haiku that sharply capture small sounds and gestures.

soundeveryday gestures

Asaban

2019 Haiku

A collection exploring the flow of time through contrasts of morning and evening.

passage of timeseasons

Muben

2022 Haiku

Recent collection that sings of expanses and stillness.

expansesilence

Bibliography

  • Kinjo (Fujimi Shobo, 2001)
  • Techo (Kadokawa SS Communications, 2008)
  • Kororin (Kadokawa Gakugei Publishing, 2012)
  • Palms Raised: Haiku Diary 2014 (Furansudo, 2015)
  • Asaban (Furansudo, 2019)
  • Muben (Furansudo, 2022)
  • Mesmerizing Poetic Forms (Fujimi Shobo, 2004)
  • Chart of Contemporary Haiku (Kadokawa Gakugei Publishing, 2008)
  • One Hundred Poems of Fujita Shoko (Furansudo, 2014)
  • Haiku Basics You Want to Know (Kadokawa Gakugei Publishing, 2014)
  • Living with Haiku (Chuko Shinsho, 2016)
  • Guide to Notable Haiku (KADOKAWA, 2024)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
careful, steady styleblend of respect for traditional forms with a modern perspective
Recurring Motifs
details of everyday lifeseasonal changedomestic and household scenes

Legacy

As chair and editor of the haiku magazine 'Taka' and recipient of several major haiku awards, he is highly regarded in contemporary haiku circles. His style is characterized by careful portrayals of everyday life rooted in tradition.

Academic Societies

  • Haiku Poets Association

Quotes

  • When I die, like setting down chopsticks — wildflowers
    Source: Haiku collection 'Asaban' (2019)
  • The soda-water equation — it wets
    Source: Representative haiku (collected in his works)

Trivia

  • The pen name 'Keishu' comes from a line in Li Bai's poem 'Early Departure from Baidi City'.
  • A haiku poet with professional experience in finance and the railway industry after graduating from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law.
  • Serves as editor and chair of the magazine 'Taka'.