Kiyoko Tokutomi was born in a small farming community called Nabeshima, near Nagasaki, Japan. The family earned their living by raising silk worms. She attended the Saga Girls' High School and enrolled to the Saga Teachers' College. That summer in 1945, America had a nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki. The family survived by hiding in caves in the nearby mountains but lost family members. In 1948, Kiyoko majored in Japanese literature with the emphasis on haiku and became a teacher at Nabashima in literature and dance. There she met her future husband Kiyoshi who was born in America. He was sent to Japan earlier on by his Japanese mother when his father had died. A time of hardship followed during wartime and Kiyoko was mainly busy attending to Kiyoshi who had developed tuberculosis. When he had the possibility Kiyoshi returned to America in 1951, inviting Kiyoko to follow. Kiyoko came to America only in 1954 unable to read or speak in English. It took Kiyoko another three years to fully integrate into her new language. Because of her husband's illness, she took on a job and was continually promoted for her accuracy. She was noted for having an eye for details and her well-developed sense of aesthetics is reflected in her haiku.
Later on, she succeeded to win her husband for her passion - writing haiku. In 1975, they founded the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society. They taught English-speaking writers to write haiku focusing mainly on the essence of the kigo, the traditional haiku form, and the importance of simplicity. The cited haiku is a beautiful example for that. Another simple but strong haiku I like is a beautiful 'picture' of the English saying "Take time to smell the flowers":
Wisteria:
inside its fragrance
I pause
Kiyoshi died in 1987 and Kiyoko continued the work at the society they had started writing haiku in both Japanese and English. In 1999, she was named dojin in Kari, a designation given to the most accomplished members. In 2000, the Yuki Teikei Haiku Society celebrated its 25th anniversary and in September 2001, she read at the celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United States–Japanese Peace Treaty. That time Kiyoko was also diagnosed with cancer and Alzheimer's disease. Still, she continued writing haiku and visited Japan in August 2002, seeing her hometown, siblings and childhood friends. This would be her final visit to Japan. Kiyoko died on Christmas Day, 2002, two weeks after a final performance at the Yuki Teikei's winter party where the above mentioned book was being presented.
And since haikus are short - here another haiku from Kiyoko from the book haiku mind I've bought at the Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh which made me aware of this particular writer:shaking
the packet of seeds
asking, are you still alive?
Have a wonderful and inspiring year 2014!