14m 01s

17 Syllables Unite the World: Haiku in the Pandemic

Culture Crossroads

Broadcast on February 23, 2022 Available until March 9, 2023

The power of the tiny 17-syllable poems called haiku resonates worldwide. In 2021, an effort was made to share thoughts via haiku in many languages, with the theme of "Life." What kind of thoughts do people express in the midst of conflicts, disasters and the COVID-19 epidemic? We introduce haiku from various countries with the organizer, poet Mayuzumi Madoka. (This program was broadcast on February 9, 2022.)

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Haiku poet Mayuzumi Madoka invited haiku lovers around the world to submit their poems. More than 1,000 haiku were submitted from 36 countries.
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The World Online Kukai (haiku session), held in December 2021.
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People from various countries wrote haiku in their own languages. NHK WORLD-JAPAN cooperated with Mayuzumi's project by calling on radio listeners to submit their haiku.

Program Outline