A Hidden Pond: Anthology of Modern Haiku, 2nd Edition

Kôko Katô, Editor
Translated by Kôko Katô & David Burleigh

Brooks Books is pleased to provide USA distribution for:

Kôko Katô, Editor. Hidden Pond: Anthology of Modern Haiku 2nd Edition. Translated by Kôko Katô & David Burleigh. Tokyo: Kadokawa Shoten Press, 2003. ISBN: 4-04-883453-3


Ms. Kôkô Katô is one of the most active Directors of the Haiku International Association, who has been devoting herself to spread haiku throughout the world for more than a decade.

I am convinced that haiku can and should contribute to the spiritual exchange between the peoples living in different countries. It is essential, however, for us to introduce to each other verses written by respective haiku poets in other languages through accurate and appropriate translation.

Since a variety of contemporary Japanese haiku is translated with comprehensive notes in A HIDDEN POND, this book will be very useful for the exchange of culture between the peoples in different countries through haiku.

—Sonô Uchida, First President
   Haiku International Associatio


ISBN: 4-04-883453-3

We no longer have any copies of this anthology available for purchase.

sample haiku:

The fluffy lightness
of my woollen sweater I make
into a fortress

     Shimizu Kinuko (1929~)


Sitting by the fire -
another self is walking
into the north wind

     Matsuzaki Tetsunosuke (1918~)

sample haiku:

Winter setting in—
the sound of a writing brush
touching the paper

     Kamikura Utsuwa (1927~)


Hoot of an owl—
the rays of moonlight shimmer
on a hidden pond

     Toyonaga Minoru (1931~)

Katô Kôkô

Born in Kyoto in 1931. Graduated Nagoya First Girls' School. Graduated from Aichi Prefectural Women's College. Graduated in English literature from Dôshisha University. Completed Doctor Course in Japanese literature at Chûkyô University, specializing in the Edo period (1600-1864). Doctor of Literature. Presently teaching at Nagayo Junior College. President of the Kô Poetry Association. Editor and publisher of Kô haiku and essay magazine in Japanese and English. Serves on the Board of Management of the Museum of Haiku Literature, and as a Director of the Haiku International Association and the Modern Anglo-American Poetry Association. Member of the Japan PEN Club, and the Japan Writers' Association.

David Burleigh

Born in Northern Ireland in 1950. Graduated in Social Administration from the University of Ulster and did research in English literature at the University of Sussex. Presently Associate Professor at Ferris University. He serves on the Committee of the International Association for the Study of Irish Literature (Japan Branch), and belongs to the Working Group for the Masaoka Shiki International Haiku Awards. Member of the Haiku International Association, and the Japan Comparative Literature Association.