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The haiku art exhibition of Yagi Ken in Matsuyama city

My encounter with haiku, as so many things in life, was a coincidence. An unknown neighbour at a birthday party spoke to me about an unknown form of poetry: haiku. I listened politely to him and received a book on haiku, which I only read two years later. After 50 pages of theory, I made my first attempt. I wrote a haiku poem and showed it to my initiator. He encouraged me to continue and I haven’t stopped since then.

As I said, my encounter with haiku was a coincidence. But actually is wasn’t; haiku found me and I was prepared to welcome haiku. I was fifty years old and had found a balance in my life. Haiku is not a form of poetry for people with a broken heart and full of unrest, impatience, and a longing for a lost paradise. Haiku refers to harmony – harmony inside, but also with the outside world. In some way haiku is, according to the standards of “the world”, naïve. Haiku requires the gift of curiosity, of acknowledging our dependence on the cosmos and on nature. Haiku is about the love of life in all its expressions.

Although I was in the complicated world of politics all my life, I was always attracted by simplicity. Simplicity in the perception of what happens around you, in daily life and in nature. Simplicity also in the choice of words and in the literary style. One has to grasp the meaning of a haiku almost immediately. Seventeen syllables is too short for a sophisticated message, but not for a message! Haiku is more than an observation. A good haiku needs an underlying message. A good haiku surprises you and makes you reflect. Haiku is much more than a text with seventeen syllables.

Japan brought haiku to the world. In my view it is part of world cultural heritage. The history of Japan is not so harmonious. In that sense, it is a paradox that the country loves a poetry of harmony. I still think that practicing haiku poetry makes people morally better, because they are focused on something that transcends their ego. Ethics and values are the opposite of egoism. Haiku is of course about beauty, but beauty is only a gate to a better life and it can be selfish too. Haiku refers to more than just to beauty.

I’m very grateful that I found haiku and in this way became closer to Japan and its culture. I’m proud that Japan honoured me with the appointment of “International Haiku Ambassador to the Japan-EU Friendship” in 2015. I cherish that title. I was also very honoured to become an honorary citizen of Matsuyama, the world capital of haiku poetry.

Herman Van Rompuy
President Emeritus European Council
Former Minister of State
President of the European Policy Centre



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