During March and April 2021, the Mukai Farm & Garden on Vashon Island will sponsor its second annual Haiku Festival, a juried competition for people of all ages to submit their haiku poems.

Categories include Heritage Award, Nature, Social Justice, The Young Poets Award, People’s Choice (selected from votes collected between April 24 and April 30) and other categories that may occur to the jurors.

Haiku is a poem of three lines, with the pattern of 5-7-5 sounds, or syllables. Matsuo Basho, Japan’s most famous poet described haiku as, “Simply what is happening in this place at this moment.”

“Last year’s Haiku Festival drew 250 entries from all over the world, from people aged five to 95,” said Rita Brogan, President of the Mukai Farm & Garden Board. “This year we look forward to an equally delightful burst of creativity from poets from Vashon and beyond.”

Vashon’s Mukai Farm & Garden is a place that nurtures awareness of Asian-Pacific culture and history. The former strawberry farm has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as one of the few surviving Japanese farmsteads in the US.

“In many ways, the Mukai property embodies the Japanese experience in America, “said Ms. Brogan. “The Haiku Festival and Contest gives us a way to channel the power of poetry to express our appreciation of Japanese culture, our shared life on the island as well as to invite people to visit our lovely gardens in April—all while practicing social distancing.”

The deadline for entries is April 24. There is a limit of three entries per person. Entries must be submitted electronically on the form accessible at mukaifarmandgarden.org/events. Entries will be displayed (with appropriate distancing) throughout the Mukai Farm & Garden throughout the month of May.

All entries must follow the haiku convention of 17 syllables. Please include the name, contact information and age (optional) of author. Contest participants are encouraged to become members of Friends of Mukai.