On Sunday, April 10, a modest group gathered at Mukai Farm & Garden between spots of sunshine to commemorate the winners of Mukai’s third annual haiku contest, and to celebrate the 112th birthday and memory of Masahiro “Masa” Mukai.
The contest drew submissions from 247 poets, many local, and from as far away as Bielsko-Biała, Poland. They were reviewed by a panel of four judges: Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma, Joe Okimoto, John Okamoto and Tim Sproul.
The prize-winning poets in five major categories were:
Young Poet: Elsa Odegard, Vashon
Even when we think
we’re old, important, busy
let’s still be laughing
Heritage: Tomosumi, Bellevue
Strawberry fields
my ojiisan remembers
summertime kisses
Nature: Barbara Hoonan, Vashon
Like silk, the fog drifts,
concealing the outstretched arms
of ancient hemlocks
Reflections: Sebastian Chrobak, Bielsko-Biala, Poland
Friendship in progress
the taste of our strawberries
sweeter every day
Social Justice: a tied score between Julia Mark and Dan Julian
Nine-Zero-Six-Six
When the Order came, they left
Hearts cracked, heads held high
— Julia Mark
Refugee shelter –
the orphan child spelling “home”
in a foreign tongue
— Dan Iulian
The poems are on display along with spring cherry blossoms throughout the Mukai Farm & Garden complex through the end of May.
The public is now invited to take their turn by participating in voting for the People’s Choice award. All haiku entries have been published at mukaifarmandgarden.org, where voting has begun.
Visitors to the grounds can also vote for their favorite haiku in person at the kiosk by the parking lot. Although voting is free, a $2 donation is encouraged.
“Little did we realize when we first started the Haiku Festival what it would come to mean to our entire community. We have gotten entries from people as young as five years and as old as 97,” said Rita Brogan, president of Friends of Mukai. “We have drawn hundreds of haiku entries from places throughout the globe.”
Of course, who could forget about the birthday boy?
Participants sang “Happy Birthday” to Masa Mukai and enjoyed a vanilla frosted sheet cake from Vashon’s Snapdragon Bakery & Cafe, topped with delicious blueberries and ruby red strawberries.
Masa Mukai was born on Vashon-Maury Island in 1911. When he turned 15, the Mukai family bought 40 acres of land in the center of the island under his name to circumvent onerous property ownership restrictions that prevented his immigrant parents, B.D. (Denichiro) Mukai and stepmother Kuni from doing so themselves.
The entrepreneurial family was ultimately able to attain financial and social success through their lucrative strawberry farm, creating a legacy that lives on today, thanks in large part to Masa’s efforts.
When B.D. retired from the farm to travel, Masa, then 23 years old, took over as manager of the 100-acre strawberry farm and fruit barreling facility. In 1942, the Mukai family was forced to self-exile to the Oregon border rather than comply with Executive Order 9066, which authorized the forced removal and incarceration of all Japanese Americans in the West Coast Exclusion Zone.
Upon Masa’s return to Vashon after the war, he resumed managing the strawberry farm, but gradually turned his interest to other enterprises as farming became less profitable in the ensuing years.
Masa finally retired in 1979, and moved with his wife Chiyeko and grown son Milton to Seattle in 1987. He died at the age of 88 in 1999.
May will bring numerous events to the farm and community to mark Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
To find out more, visit mukaifarmandgarden.org or vashoncenterforthearts.org
