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Gajou Shimada

しまだ がじょう

Shimada Gajou

Pen Names: Gajou Shimada（Pen name used for haiku composition and editorial work. Legal name is Hiroo.）

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1957-02-09 （Okazaki, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan）
Nationality
Japan
Languages
Japanese
Residence History
Okazaki, Kyoto (birthplace) → Tori-no-kubai-chō, Muko / Mukō (childhood residence) → Tokyo (moved for work in 1981) → Shinkoda, Saku City, Nagano Prefecture (moved in 1999) → Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture (moved in 2015)

Career

Occupations
haiku poet, editor
Active Years
1973-
Influenced By
Sōjō Hino, Sōha Hatano, Kanta Ishi, Banya Natsuishi

Education

Takatsuki Junior & Senior High School
Period: 高等学校在学（〜1977年）
Country: Japan
Kansai University
Faculty of Letters, Department of Philosophy / Department of Philosophy
Period: 1977–1981（中退）
Country: Japan
Entered 1977; left university in 1981 without graduating

Awards

Setsuryōsha Haiku Grand Prize (Book Prize)
2001
Organization: Setsuryosha Museum (Setsuryosha Haiku Convention)
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Hi o Takaku

1984 small haiku collection

Early small collection of short haiku, published with a foreword by Sei Imai; gathers brief early poems.

Japanese culturerediscovery of seasonal words (kigo)close observation of daily life

Sōchinsō

2000 haiku collection

A haiku collection published by Yūshorin; the book that won the Setsuryōsha haiku prize (book prize).

seasonal wordslocal landscapestradition and personal experience

Goshoku

2011 haiku collection

Second haiku collection published by Yūshorin, containing mid-career poems.

social gazememory and place

The Backbone of Haiku

2017 essay collection

Collection of essays on haiku including proposals for new seasonal words and reflections on haiku composition.

haiku theoryexpansion of kigo (seasonal words)editing and publishing

Bibliography

  • Hi o Takaku (1984, Minamisha)
  • Sōchinsō (2000, Yūshorin)
  • Goshoku (2011, Yūshorin)
  • The Backbone of Haiku (2017, Yūshorin)
  • Co-authored/edited works (e.g. Famous Songs & Verses Dictionary; Talking about First Collections)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realist haiku expression based on thorough researcha civic-researcher perspective that rediscovers seasonal vocabulary
Recurring Motifs
kigo and proposals for new seasonal wordsJapanese culture and quotidian detailslocal/home landscapes

Legacy

Noted both as a haiku poet and as an editor/publisher who has discovered and promoted younger poets. Contributed to haiku studies by reassessing seasonal words and proposing new kigo.

Quotes

  • Tsubakura ya / a blood blister — / a thick needle pierces
    Source: Haiku (source unclear)

Trivia

  • Legal name is Hiroo.
  • Entered Kansai University (Faculty of Letters, Department of Philosophy) and left in 1981 without graduating.
  • As an editor at Yūshorin he was involved in publishing many haiku collections and critical works.
  • While still living, a tombstone has been established for him at the cemetery outside Katsuji-ji (requires primary-source confirmation).