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25th Anniversary Celebration |
The Yuki Teikei Haiku Society of the United States and Canada was founded in San Jose, California, in 1975 by Mr. Kiyoshi Tokutomi and Mrs. Kiyoko Tokutomi. The purpose of the founders was to nourish and foster the art of writing Haiku in English using the traditional guidelines developed by haiku poets in Japan, where haiku originated. As explained by Mrs. Tokutomi, in Japanese "Yu" means "having", "Ki" means "season", "Tei" means formal", and "Kei" means "pattern". Therefore in the founders' view, "yuki teikei" haiku with a season word and utilizing the three-line 5-7-5 pattern of syllables are the proper rendering of the haiku form in English.
Under the leadership of Mr. and Mrs. Tokutomi the Society took root in San Jose, and presently has grown to an international organization of about 90 poets. It is one of the most active English language haiku societies. The Society meets monthly for haiku writing and study; it publishes a bi-monthly work/study journal, Geppo, an annual anthology, and other publications including the highly regarded book Young Leaves. The Society celebrates traditional Japanese haiku-writing holidays including Tanabata, moon-viewing, and cherry blossom viewing. A notable achievement of the Society has been the establishment of an annual haiku retreat held at the lovely and historic Asilomar resort on the Pacific shore of the Monterey Peninsula.
The Society continues to value the principles of the founders and their insights into how the Japanese haiku should be written in English, while continuing to receive guidance from historical and evolving Japanese practices. A number of the members use the 5-7-5 syllables as their preferred form of the English haiku, and it is the required form for submissions to the Kiyoshi and Kiyoko Tokutomi Memorial Haiku Contest. Others provide "good form" in haiku through a variety of line lengths, and such poems constitute the bulk of submissions to the Geppo. The proper use of season words in English-language haiku is encouraged in all the activities of the Society.
On May 20, 2000 the Society arranged for a haiku reading at the teahouse of the Friendship Garden in Kelley Park, San Jose, and a dinner program later that day.
Readers at the teahouse are shown above, (from left to right): Teruo Yamagata; Alex Benedict; Dave Wright; June Hymas; Patricia Machmiller; Jerry Ball, Roger Abe; and Kiyoko Tokutomi. Mr. Yamagata, Director of the Yukuharu Haiku Society, was the Yuki Teikei Society's original adviser from Japan. Alex Benedict, Dave Wright, June Hymas, Patricia Machmiller, Jerry Ball, and Roger Abe had served as presidents of the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society during its 25 year history. Kiyoko Tokutomi co-founded the Society with her husband Kiyoshi Tokutomi. The first two presidents of the Society, Kiyoshi Tokutomi and Dr. Edwin Falkowski, were deceased at the time of the celebration. In 2005 the Society celebrated the 30th anniversary of its founding. Sadly, Mrs. Tokutomi had passed away in 2003.