Haiku of the Day Theme October 2026: Dealing with Patriarchy in and Through Haiku
the rainbow
having vanished
I’m back to being a wife
– Mitsuhashi Takajo (White Bones, 1953)
Writing, I believe, is one of the most powerful forms of resistance.
Drawing inspiration from this simple yet profound haiku, I have curated this month’s Haiku of the Day feature with poems that speak of patriarchy in its subtlest and loudest forms. These voices, spanning continents and contexts, converge in solidarity. Whether it is the hush of a home or the noise of a street, these spaces become battlegrounds for dignity and autonomy. These poems acknowledge women’s identities in roles often overlooked, in phases of the biological cycle rarely spoken aloud, and most importantly, as poets who speak their minds without hiding beneath the skin of words. By embedding gendered realities into haiku, these poets strive to dismantle stereotypes and give women’s voices their rightful place in haikai literature.
Through this selection, we celebrate these poems as part of a global chorus, affirming that haiku, even in their succinct form, can carry the weight of resistance and the power of resilience.
The Haiku of the Day feature displays a new haiku each day at the top of our home page. See also our Haiku of the Day Archive.
– Teji Sethi
A very relevant topic, that I have come to realise remains significant through all time.
Perhaps, felt and experienced more so in the Asian sub-continent.
Looking forward to this collection put together by Teji Sethi.
A small edit to my previous post:
his and hers
aprons in the kitchen –
equally stained
his and hers
aprons in the kitchen –
equally worn
A very important topic. It seems to me that gender differences divide people more than language, country, skin color, or other factors.
The first haiku makes a tremendous impression.
My thanks to the author and the person who made the selection.