The Japan Society

17th World Children’s Haiku Contest 2021-2022 – Results

We are delighted to announce the winners of the JAL Foundation 17th World Children's Haiku Contest 2022. The Japan Society was thrilled to receive so many entries from both schools and individuals and would like to thank everyone for their support of this year’s contest. 

This year, entrants were asked to compose their own haiku on the theme of Towns and submit it with accompanying artwork for a chance to win the top prize of a Canon digital camera. Judges from the Embassy of Japan, Japan Airlines, the Japan Society, and Haiku Poet Paul Conneally were faced with the difficult task of choosing the winners from so many wonderful entries and were impressed with the diversity of responses to the theme. 

The results will be displayed on the JAL Foundation website, along with translations of the winning haiku in Japanese, in August 2022. 

See below for all the winners and runners-up!


Grand Prize Winners (1st place)

This loud town
Even the quiet cat
Watches the cars rush by

Isabel, 14 years old

Skipping home from school
Red light flashes, bus splashes
Puddle in my shoes

Amelia, 8 years old

Summer town aglow
Sunshine gives warm hugs around
Thrusting off the shadows

Lydia, 9 years old


Grand Prize Runners Up (2nd place)

Lights noise and chaos
Wandering through the city
See how small I am

Hector, 12 years old

Out of the foggy window
The gargantuan lift tower
Guiding us home again

Samuel, 10 years old

Ding dong goes the bell
Seagulls squawk and people chat
My home's melody

Liliana, 10 years old


JAL Prize Winners (3rd place)

Howl in the moonlight
A scavenging street shadow
The glowing eyed fox

Isaac, 13 years old

There is fun ahead
The castle is standing proud
Windsor is my town

Lola Allen, 9 years old

Thunder of traffic
Spires shooting up to the sky
Oxford never sleeps

Aoife, 12 years old

Walk down hot streets to
The shade of a leafy oak
Haven in the park

Emilie, 9 years old

Moonlight dazzling
On the darkend street
Zebra crossing flashing

Alfred, 6 years old

Rooftop sunrises
On medieval town homes
Morning crows take flight

Iona, 15 years old

In the street at night
Each lamp a star, my town a
Glowing galaxy

Noa, 11 years old

Dull yellowed houses
Against cerulean skies
Something pressing in

Aurora, 12 years old

The town's grey glory
The way the dogs bark with joy
Parks buzzing with life

Chieyiem, 9 years old

Big, tall colourful buildings
Bright lights, busy streets,
The city that never sleeps

Noorhanis, 8 years old

I have lost my way
In a strange town at night
A sky of old cold stars

Lesley, 9 years old

Missing home town
My father interrupts me
From my memories

Sophie, 11 years old

Houses with thatched roofs
Pot-holed, bone-shaking stone roads
Brightly coloured doors

Matteo, 12 years old

Hustling towns calling
Life is turning a new page
Climate is changing

Almira, 9 years old

Endless roads stretch far
To places beyond my town
Adventure awaits

Ogochukwu, 15 years old

Orange matted fur
The fox prowls silently by
Hunting his prey

Naveen, 8 years old

Cars chug belching smoke
Hazing the blossoms with fumes
Blood orange dusk sun

Jet, 11 years old

Moss covers the walls
It is always raining here
But it is my home

Alice, 11 years old

Lush green hills above
Bumpy cobbled streets below
Happiness hugs me

Mimi, 8 years old

A flower unfolds
Nourished by differences
Town communities

Martha, 12 years old

 

Haiku Reading Corner


Skipping home from school
Red light flashes, bus splashes
Puddle in my shoes

Amelia, 8 years old




Summer town aglow
Sunshine gives warm hugs around
Thrusting off the shadows

Lydia, 8 years old




Walk down hot streets to
The shade of a leafy oak
Haven in the park

Emilie, 9 years old



Rooftop sunrises
On medieval town homes
Morning crows take flight

Iona, 15 years old



Dull yellowed houses
Against cerulean skies
Something pressing in

Aurora, 12 years old



Endless roads stretch far
To places beyond my town
Adventure awaits

Ogochukwu, 15 years old



Cars chug belching smoke
Hazing the blossoms with fumes
Blood orange dusk sun

Jet, 11 years old


There is fun ahead
The castle is standing proud
Windsor is my town

Lola Allen, 9 years old


In the street at night
Each lamp a star, my town a
Glowing galaxy

Noa, 11 years old


Lights noise and chaos
Wandering through the city
See how small I am

Hector, 12 years old



Moonlight dazzling

On the darkend street
Zebra crossing flashing

Alfred, 6 years old


Orange matted fur
The fox prowls silently by
Hunting his prey

Naveen, 8 years old

 


17th World Children’s Haiku Contest 2021-2022 – Rules and Entry Guidelines

Haiku Contest

First Prize for 3 students: Canon digital camera. Other prizes will also be awarded.

Closing Date for Entries: Monday 28 February 2022


Over the last 18 months we’ve all spent more time locally, exploring the places closest to us where we live, play, shop, and go to school. This year we are looking for haiku on the theme of ‘towns’ and we encourage you to look at the places around you for inspiration. Any haiku connected to the theme is eligible for the contest.


About the Contest

The first Haiku Contest was organised by the JAL Foundation in 1990 and has been held every two years since then. Japan Airlines, with support and assistance from the Japan Society, is pleased to announce the 2021-2022 Contest.

Entries should be submitted to the Japan Society by Monday 28 February 2022. 

See Results here.

Find information about the 2019-2020 contest here.


Rules and Entry Guidelines

Applications

  • One entry per child (either typed or handwritten) on the theme of "Towns".
  • Applicants must be aged 15 and under on 28 February 2022.
  • The haiku must be accompanied by hand-drawn or hand-crafted artwork on the same page, using A4-sized paper (21 cm x 29.7 cm) or letter-sized paper (8.5in. x 11in.).
  • Glue the application form on the back of the work. 
  • Please note that the Japan Society can only receive entries from applicants based in the UK.

Composition

  • Any form of artwork (except photographs or digital images) can be submitted.
  • Every entry must be the original and unpublished work of the child themselves. Assistance by others (parents, other adults, siblings, or other children) is prohibited.
  • The haiku must be presented in three short lines.
  • All rights (for compositions and artwork) will be reserved by JAL Foundation.

Contest Results

  • Contest results will be announced on the JAL Foundation and Japan Society websites in August 2022.
  • Haiku By World Children, Volume 17 will be shown in the entertainment program on Boeing 787 international Japan Airlines flights.

Group & School Entries

Entries from the same school may be parcelled together for submission. Each entry must have an application form glued to the back with the applicant's name and age filled in (the other fields are not mandatory for school entries). The parcel must also include the United Kingdom Application Form for Schools.

Individual Entries

Please complete and attach the application form to the back of all entries. The applicant’s name, age and contact details must be clearly marked on the reverse. Please note that the Japan Society can only receive entries from applicants based in the UK.

School, group and individual entries should all be sent to:

Haiku Contest
The Japan Society
13/14 Cornwall Terrace

London NW1 4QP


Haiku Tips

Haiku are short poems split over three lines and usually contain a seasonal word. Did you know that haiku don’t have to be 7-5-7 syllables in English? For more tips on writing great haiku, download the Beyond 5-7-5 booklet and check out our short film How to Haiku.

You can also take a look at JAL Foundation’s Guide to Writing Haiku and you can read the haiku from the winners and runners-up of the 16th World Children’s Haiku contest 2019-2020 on the theme ‘Sports’ for inspiration.


Contact Us

For more information on the JAL Foundation or to enter the Haiku Contest from outside the UK, please visit the JAL Foundation website.

If you have any questions regarding the competition in the UK please contact the Japan Society Education Team on education@japansociety.org.uk