Haiku poetry composed by the President, with illustrations

The exhibition “Haiku poetry composed by the President, with illustrations” provides a rare and wonderful opportunity for viewers to see a long Japanese tradition of the unification of art and literature. Poetry has always played an important role in Japanese culture and aesthetics. Haiku poetry is well known for its very short form, consisting of 17 syllables, in three metres 5-7-5, in which a kigo (a seasonal word) is incorporated. The haiku poems composed by the President bear accompanying pictures by the Japanese artist Kasajima Takashi. The combination of haiku poetry and images is a genre of Japanese art called haiga. The themes of haiku written in English inspire the viewers to enter into the enjoyable world of haiku.

This exhibition is located in the corridor between the Buttery and the Cafe.