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REAPPRAISING MASAOKA SHIKI (1867-1902), May 21, 2001

 

click for picture gallery

At tea break: a chat with speakers

From left, Kazuhiro Kudo, Susumu Takiguchi, Paul Conneally, Barbara Law, Katsushi Wada, Amelia Mervis and Paul Amphlett (standing).

 

The World Haiku Club, SOAS, University of London
 SISJAC (Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts & Cultures)
and University of East Anglia Jointly Run a Conference Dedicated to Masaoka Shiki

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This was part of WHC's three-day London event entitled "Epilogue to World Haiku Festival 2000 & Advent of JAPAN 2001". The theme of the Conference was "Reappraising Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902)" It was held at SOAS, London on 21 May 2001.

The year 2001 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Masaoka Shiki (according to Japanese calculations), providing an apt opportunity to study and reassess this father of modern haiku. The Conference was aimed at a reappraisal in the area of haiku which Shiki reformed and modernised in order to elevate it to the status of "literature", a new notion imported from the West during the Meiji era. The main speaker will be Professor Katsushi Wada, a leading scholar on Shiki, of Osaka Seikei Women's College, Japan, in a special visit to this Conference on Japan Foundation's scholarship.

The Conference presentations included Professor Wada's key-note speech on Shiki as a haiku reformer, reading of a short essay on Shiki and Wordsworth by Martin Lucas, presentation of an experimental English poetry and haiku linkage by Paul Conneally, a lecture on Rogetsu, a leading follower of Shiki, by Kazuhiro Kudo, critique of Shiki's haiku poems by Susumu Takiguchi, a personal observation by Paul Amphlett and general discussion on the life, achievement and oeuvre of Shiki.

In the evening reception at the Brunei Gallery, Doctor Timon Screech, Chair of the Japan Research Centre, SOAS and Senior Research Fellow of SISJAC, gave a welcome speech. This was followed by greetings from Berry Bros. & Rudd Ltd, representing sponsors. Professor Wada delivered a public lecture on the open-mindedness and international outlook of Shiki. There was an award-giving ceremony of WHC Shiki Haiku Contest which was conducted by Rob Scott and winning haiku were read out.

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Read Rob Scott's The Spider's Web: (a report as haibun)
WHC Re-appraising Shiki Masaoka Conference, May 2001