• A panoramic view Kiyomizudera Temple and Kyoto. © John Richard Stephens, 2023.

haiku

John Richard Stephens has been an author for most of his life and when he takes a break from writing, he enjoys the challenge of composing haiku. Some of these have featured in Asahi Shimbun (Japan), Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest (Japan), the 2025 Fujisan Tanka Contest (Japan), Icebox (Japan), Chrysanthemum (Germany), Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal (Romania), Triya (India), Cold Moon Journal (Italy), the zen space (Scotland), and Drifting Sands Haibun (U.S.).

Japan's second largest newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun, features a regular haiku column. Its editor, David McMurray, wrote in Teaching and Learning Haiku in English, "[...] in the Asahi Haikuist Network [the name of his column] ten haiku are selected from among the thousands that contributors send on a daily basis." More than a dozen of John's haiku are featured there. John greatly admires what sensei David is doing to promote haiku worldwide and is often inspired by his column. Check it out at https://www.asahi.com/ajw/special/haiku/.


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scrubbing to and fro—
a cat's paw in the water
washes the river
—First published in the Asahi Shimbun(Japan) on June 6, 2025.

It reappeared in the zen space (Scotland), New Year Showcase 2026, in a journal that rarely republishes haiku.

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forgotten scarecrows—
arms wide awaiting
an embrace
—First published in the Asahi Shimbun (Japan) on September 5, 2025.

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emerging rainbow—
a little flower girl
trails the bride
—First published in the Asahi Shimbun (Japan) on July 4, 2025.

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lost in fog—
surrounded
by an unseen world
—First published in the the zen space (Scotland) in the New Year Showcase 2026.

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meditating—
silently gathering in
the present
—First published in the the zen space (Scotland) in the New Year Showcase 2026.

*
(In Romanian.)
  • A photo haiku with a picture of lavendar flowers.
crescută în grădină—
parfumul de lavandă
trasă în ciocolată
—First published in Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal (Romania), Winter 2025 issue no. 14.

  • A photo haiku with a picture of lavendar flowers.

grown in the garden—
the scent of lavender
its taste in chocolate
—First published in Enchanted Garden Haiku Journal (Romania), Winter 2025 issue no. 14.

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rising and falling,
the kitten's ecstatic dance
mirrors the fireflies
—First published in the Asahi Shimbun (Japan) on June 19, 2025.

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quiet afternoon,
soft paws bat at a flower
playing with their prey
—Written with his friend, Tokyo poet John Gribble. First published in the Asahi Shimbun (Japan) on June 19, 2025.

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fluttering ginkgo leaves—
beneath the tree
geisha fan themselves
—First published in the Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest (Japan) on November 11, 2025.

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road-weary traveler—
trading hats
with a scarecrow
—First published in the Yamadera Basho Memorial Museum English Haiku Contest (Japan) on November 11, 2025.

*
home for the elderly—
dry leaves skip
along the dirt road


(In Hindi.)
वृद्धाश्रम—
पगडंडी के किनारे
सूखी पत्तियों का लुढ़कना
—First published in the Asahi Shimbun (Japan), September 19, 2025 (fall equinox issue).

Then it featured in Triya (India), Sharad Edition 2025.

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(This version, revised by well-known haikuist and editor Chen-ou Liu, provides a slightly different hue that's worth noting.)

dry leaves skip
along the dirt road—
old age home

(In traditional Chinese.)
枯葉沿著泥路
隨風跳動—
養老院

(In simplified Chinese.)
枯叶沿着泥路
随风跳动—
养老院
—These were first published in NeverEnding Story (Canada), Butterfly Dream, November 30, 2025.

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the funeral begins—
in the mailbox
get-well cards
—First published in Chrysanthemum (Germany), Fall 2025 issue no. 35.
Then it appeared in Triya (India), Sharad Edition 2025.

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rising up
from pond scum—
lotus flowers
—First published in the zen space (Scotland), Summer Showcase 2025.

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my face—
how different
the face of a flower

my face—
how similar
the face of a monkey
—First published in the zen space (Scotland), Summer Showcase 2025.

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Kyoto Monkey Park—
macaques run free
people in cages
—First published in Icebox (Japan) on 12/8/25.

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moon through bamboo—
even the monkeys
whisper
—First published in Icebox (Japan) on 12/8/25.

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crab carapace—
a warrior’s
abandoned armor
—First published in Icebox (Japan) on 12/8/25.

*

  • A photo haiku with a picture of street scene surrounded by many angled mirrors, giving it a fractured look.
social media
appointments, commitments,
multitasking—
our minds careening through life
like drunken monkeys
—This photo tanka was first published in the the zen space (Scotland) in the New Year Showcase 2026. The photo was taken in Harajuku, Tokyo.
*
a streetlight turns on
attracting circling moths
watched by a cat below
—First published in Icebox (Japan) on 12/8/25.

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blanketed by clouds
slumbering hills are touched
by the rising sun
—First published in Icebox (Japan) on 12/8/25.

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a long journey’s end—
the river vanishes
into the sea
—First published in Icebox (Japan) on 12/8/25.

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sparrow on a branch—
an old cat
leaps into flight
—First published in the Asahi Shimbun (Japan) on 2/20/26.

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Many of John's haiku are written for a Japanese audience, so for these he provides a bit of background information.
salt in the air
fists on the clay—
tension rises
—First published in the Asahi Shimbun (Japan) on August 1, 2025
This will be understood by those familiar with sumo.

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Nagasaki—
burning embers
fireflies
—This haiku was first published in the Asahi Shimbun (Japan) on August 15, 2025.
In Japanese folklore, fireflies represent the spirits of the dead. They also symbolize that life is fleeting. In the West, people tend to focus on Hiroshima, forgetting about Nagasaki, which was an even worse tragedy. You can read why that is in my book, Weird History 101, as most people don't know what really happened. There you'll find the explanation in the words of most of the top political and military leaders involved.

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ringing bells of dusk
mark the approaching night—
the undertaker sighs
—First published in the the zen space (Scotland) in the New Year Showcase 2026.
Some Japanese Buddhist temples ring their giant bonsho—or temple bell—everyday at dusk, marking the transition from day to night.

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entering the shrine
in moonlight—
alone with the kami
—This was first published in the zen space (Scotland), Summer Showcase 2025.
The kami is the nature spirit or spirits that a Shinto shrine is dedicated to. They can be rather nebulous, specific, or personified as deities.

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high mountain trail—
a woman vanishes
into the mist—kami? fae?
—First published in the the zen space (Scotland) in the New Year Showcase 2026.

*
CEO
in the temple—
praying mantis
—First published in the zen space (Scotland), Summer Showcase 2025.
This one will seem negative to Westerners and positive to the Japanese, since in Japan the praying mantis is a symbol of power and authority.

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rising sun—
bowing before
the torii gate of dawn
—First published in the Asahi Shimbun (Japan) on August 15, 2026, although I slightly revised it to this version after I submitted it.
The zen space (Scotland) republished this in its New Year Showcase 2026.
This one has at least three layers of meaning for me, and when I wrote it, it seemed like it floated out in front of my computer screen like a cube, slowly rotating. I doubt that will happen to others. I have since realized there may be further layers to it, but you'll have to be familiar with Japan and Shinto to spot most of them. Hopefully you'll get some meaning out of it.