Highest Honors in the World of Haiku and Tanka: 60th Hekketsu Prize and Choiku Prize Award Ceremony Held!

The Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation (headquartered in Tokorozawa City, Saitama Prefecture; President Yuzi Funatsu, hereinafter "Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation") held the award ceremony for the "60th Hekketsu Prize and Choiku Prize" on Sunday, June 28, 2026, at Hotel Metropolitan Edmont in Iidabashi, Tokyo.

Front row, from left: Executive Director Ryohei Ito, selection committee member Mutaro Takahashi, 60th Hekketsu Prize winner Amari Ooki, 60th Choiku Prize winner Masaki Kuwahara, Takako Hitaka, selection committee member Akiko Baba, Honorary Chairman Toshio Kadokawa. Back row, from left: selection committee members Kazuhiro Nakamura, Yūko Masaki, Kimihiko Takano, Shuzo Shimada, Kazuhiro Nagata.

The ceremony was attended by 236 guests, including the awardees, selection committee members, and related parties.

The winning works are as follows:

◎ 60th Hekketsu Prize: Amari Ooki (Ooki Amari) – Haiku collection "Yamanekozā" (published January 2025 by Furansudō)

◎ 60th Choiku Prize: Masaki Kuwahara (Kuwahara Masaki) – Tanka collection "Mugiuru Rurukoro" (published November 2025 by Hon'ami Shoten) ◎ 60th Choiku Prize: Takako Hitaka (Hitaka Takako) – Tanka collection "Hiaraihama" (published November 2025 by Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation)

At the ceremony, Executive Director Ryohei Ito of the foundation presented the awards to the three recipients.

On behalf of the selection committees, Kazuhiro Nakamura delivered the selection review for the Hekketsu Prize, and Kazuhiro Nagata delivered the review for the Choiku Prize. This was followed by acceptance speeches from the awardees.

60th Hekketsu Prize: Amari Ooki 60th Choiku Prize: Masaki Kuwahara 60th Choiku Prize: Takako Hitaka

Award Details

◎ 60th Hekketsu Prize (Selection Committee Meeting held April 14, 2026)

Amari Ooki (Ooki Amari) – Haiku collection "Yamanekozā" (published January 2025 by Furansudō)

[Awards] Certificate, commemorative gift (pocket watch), and prize money of 1,000,000 yen

[Selection Committee] Mutuo Takano, Mutaro Takahashi, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Yūko Masaki (names listed without honorifics, in alphabetical order)

◎ 60th Choiku Prize (Selection Committee Meeting held April 16, 2026)

Masaki Kuwahara (Kuwahara Masaki) – Tanka collection "Mugiuru Rurukoro" (published November 2025 by Hon'ami Shoten)

Takako Hitaka (Hitaka Takako) – Tanka collection "Hiaraihama" (published November 2025 by Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation)

[Awards] Certificate, commemorative gift (pocket watch), and prize money of 1,000,000 yen

[Selection Committee] Shuzo Shimada, Kimihiko Takano, Kazuhiro Nagata, Akiko Baba (names listed without honorifics, in alphabetical order)

* About the Hekketsu Prize and Choiku Prize

Established in 1967 by Kadokawa Shoten to honor the year's most outstanding achievements in haiku and tanka, the prizes were created in reverence of the poet Shaku Choiku (Shinobu Yanagita) and the haiku poet Iida Hekketsu. Since 1976, starting with the 10th edition, the awards have been administered under the sponsorship of the Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation.

About the Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation

To fulfill its founding mission of "contributing to the advancement of Japanese culture," the Kadokawa Culture Promotion Foundation conducts a wide range of activities, including awarding literary achievements, supporting publications and scholarly works in literature, providing grants for film arts promotion, and collecting, preserving, and exhibiting literary and film-related materials.

Official website: http://www.kadokawa-zaidan.or.jp/