Departures of note

Akira Ōgushi was a leading Japanese haiku poet, celebrated as one of the representative 'lyrical' haiku poets of modern haiku. Born in Saga Prefecture in 1937, he began submitting haiku to newspapers as a middle school student and joined the haiku circle at Kyoto University before entering the 'Hama' school under master Ōno Rinka in 1959. In 1994 he founded and led the haiku magazine 'Momotori'. He served as president of the Haiku Association, Japan's largest haiku organization, from 2017 to 2025, and was named its honorary president. He was also a selector for the Asahi Haidan from 2007, with his final selection published in October 2026. His first collection 'Asa no Fune' won the Haiku Association Newcomer Award, and his critical work 'Gendai Haiku no Sanga' won the Haiku Association Criticism Award. His representative verse includes 'Kōjin ni katamuki sakeri yamazakura'.