2024 Traffic Culture Exhibition Winning Haiku

translations by Emiko Miyashita and Michael Dylan Welch

交通総合文化展2024 俳句入賞作品

Traffic Culture Exhibition 2024 Haiku Winners

Haiku Section   |   The Japanese Railways, the Fascination of Japan

公益財団法人日本交通文化協会理事長賞   Japan Traffic Culture Association Director General Award

天の川見たしと二人小海線 榧野　実

ama no gawa mitashi to futari kōmisen

two of us taking

the Kōmi Line

to gaze at the Milky Way KAYANO Minoru

小海線は小淵沢（山梨県）から小諸（長野県）まで高原を走る電車。 太陽も月も天の川も近々と見える。夫婦二人で眺めたい、この想いがすばらしい。 楽しかったこと、辛かったこと、人生のさまざまな場面が星空に浮かぶだろう。

The Kōmi Line is a train that runs through the highlands from Kobuchizawa (Yamanashi Prefecture) to Komoro (Nagano Prefecture). You can see the sun, the moon, and the Milky Way up close. It is touching that the author wants to share the scene with his spouse. Various scenes from their life, the good times and the hard times, will float up into the starry sky. —Hasegawa Kai

一席   First Place

改札を出れば菜の花限りなく 請関　邦俊

kaisatsu o dereba nanohana kagirinaku

once I’m through

the ticket gate

endless rapeseed flowers UKEZEKI Kunitoshi

いちめんの菜の花畑の中にある小さな駅舎。改札口が不思議な世界への入り口のよう。

A small station building is in the middle of a field of rapeseed flowers. The ticket gate looks like the entrance to a mysterious world. —Hasegawa Kai

二席   Second Place

鹿(しか)羆(ひぐま)眺めて走る宗谷線 酒井　貢

shika higuma nagamete hashiru sōyasen

watching

deer and brown bears

along the Sōya Line SAKAI Mitsugu (kawase akira)

三席   Third Place (tie)

駅名の読めぬ速さの梅雨の旅 三浦　育子

ekimei no yomenu hayasa no tsuyu no tabi

our speed too fast

to read the station names—

rainy season trip MIURA Ikuko

乗り継ぎてふるさと近し天の川 吉野　新一

noritsugite furusato chikashi ama no gawa

transferring trains

my hometown nears

the Milky Way YOSHINO Shinichi

黒き富士新幹線が翔ぶ如く 峯下　秀幸

kuroki fuji shinkansen ga tobugotoku

dark Mt. Fuji—

the bullet train speeds

like it’s flying HIDEYUKI Mineshita

入選   Selected Winners

ふるさとの祭へ続く鉄路かな 柴田　恭雨

furusato no matsuri e tsuzuku tetsuro kana

stretching away

to my hometown festival

railway tracks SHIBATA Kyōu (SHIBATA Kyōu)

寝台車亡き妻と行くライラック 佐藤　克實

shindaisha naki tsuma to iku rairakku

in the sleeping car

I travel with my late wife

the lilacs SATŌ Katsumi

新しき鉄路の鼓動春野へと 五十嵐　裕治

atarashiki tetsuro no kodō haruno e to

the pulse

of the new railway track

into the spring field IGARASHI Yūji

乗客はひとつの家族ストーブ列車 衣川　洋子

jōkyaku wa hitotsu no Kazoku sutōburessha

all the passengers

become one family—

the stove train KINUGAWA Yōko

杖二つ金婚旅行伊豆の秋 奈良　博𠮷

tsue futatsu kinkonryokō izu no aki

two canes

on our golden wedding anniversary trip

—autumn in Izu NARA Hirokichi

そよぎつつ列車を映す植田かな 信安　淳子

soyogitsutsu ressha o utsusu ueta kana

swaying in the breeze

and reflecting the train . . .

planted rice paddy NOBUYASU Junko

駅舎よりまつすぐ秋に続く道 椿　泰文

ekisha yori massugu aki ni tsuzuku michi

the street

from the station

straight into autumn TSUBAKI Yasufumi

路線図が光り輝く夏休み 重岡　秀俊

rosenzu ga hikarikagayaku natsuyasumi

the route map

shines brightly—

summer vacation SHIGEOKA Hidetoshi (Shige3)

除雪車の羽よりレール現るる 小林　幹夫

josetsusha no hane yori rēru arawaruru

from under the blade

of the snowplow

emerging rails KOBAYASHI Mikio (MIYAGISHI Hago)

ひと夏の想い出映る車窓かな 岡田　眞也

hitonatsu no omoide utsuru shasō kana

reflecting memories

from the whole summer

a train window OKADA Shinya

(pen names in parentheses)