On the Poetry Recitation Ceremony of the Hoshi-to-Mori
International Tanka Contest
 The poetry recitation ceremony for the selected tanka is to be held on a certain day daring May and June every year. For the ceremony, a so-called master of ceremonies is not employed, and yet the movements of each part continue.
After all the attendants take their seats, the persons for reciting the poems enter the cermonial hall and take their seats. One of the reciting persons utters "With the heart of Hoshi-to Mori, a tanka composed on, for example, 'The Winds' - the theme for the year - ", which is fallowed first by the recitations of the three tanka from the English field.
The reciting person and the winners of the English field stand in turn silently and the recitation begins. In this case, the winners should not look at the reciting person but face and look at the pine tree placed at the front of the ceremonial hall. This is because the pine tree represents "the heart of the Hoshi-to-Mori", the symbol of the recitation ceremony. It may be interpreted as a heart loving nature and culture.
Thus, the reciting person for the English tanka finishes the recitations of the three Engllish tanka and retires from his reciting seat. This shows a state of the Japanese beauty that any person should retire quickly on finishing one's duty without clinging to one's post.
Next, the utterance "Tanka composed in 'Yamato (ancient Japan's name)' language" announcing the beginning of the
Japanese field follows, and the three tanka are recited in turn.
Only the Grand Prix winning tanka is recited twice.
(The reciting music which is used for the Hoshi-to-Mori International Tanka Contest is the oldest one among the existing musics, which was composed in the Muromachi era-AD 1338-1573.)
In this way, after the three English tanka and three Japanese ones, six tanka in total are recited, the ceremony is to be closed.
Among the reciting group, there is one person who utters no single word. He is the person in charge of the recitation and with his existence a series of movements progress. Toward the end of the ceremony, the caretaker returns the recited musics (award winning tanka) onto the desk where the pine tree is. Then, the recitation ceremony ends.
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Listen to the awards.
AWARD OF THE 2ND HOSHI TO MORI
INTERNATIONAL TANKA CONTEST
〈JAPANESE CATEGORY〉
HOSHI TO MORI GRAND PRIZE
KYOTO/JAPAN TENJI TAKAGI
TATAKAHI-NO
TOKIRESHI-AIMA
IKUSA-HITO
WARE-WO-TERASE-SHI
OKINAHA-NO-TUKI |
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AWARD OF THE 3RD HOSHI TO MORI
INTERNATIONAL TANKA CONTEST
〈ENGLISH CATEGORY〉
FIRST PRIZE
CANADA/WINONA LOUISE BAKER
Strong winds from the sea / have blown these white gulls inland
to this old graveyard. / They cry among the headstones
as if searching for your name.
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