Who is Masaoka Shiki

Masaoka Shiki (正岡 子規, October 14, 1867 – September 19, 1902), pen-name of Masaoka Noboru (正岡 升), was a Japanese poet, author, and literary critic in Meiji period Japan. Shiki is regarded as a major figure in the development of modern haiku poetry, credited with writing nearly 20,000 stanzas during his short life. He also wrote on reform of tanka poetry.Some consider Shiki to be one of the four great haiku masters, the others being Matsuo Bashō, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa.

Early life

Shiki, or rather Tsunenori (常規) as he was originally named, was born in Matsuyama City in Iyo Province (present day Ehime Prefecture) to a samurai class family of modest means. As a child, he was called Tokoronosuke (處之助); in adolescence, his name was chan...
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Spring 16 Autumn 14 Moon 14 Haiku 14 Rain 12 Water 11 Night 10 Winter 10 Tree 9 Wind 7


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Poem of the day

Edgar Albert Guest Poem
The Killing Place
 by Edgar Albert Guest

We're hiking along at a two-forty pace
We 're making life seem like a man-killing race,
With our nerves all on edge and our jaws firmly set
We go rushing along; with our brows lined with sweat
And our cheeks pale and drawn every minute we dash,
And the goal that we 're after is merely more cash.

We 're out for the money, the greenbacks and gold,
...

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