In which Japanese city was Masaoka Shiki born?

Masaoka Shiki was born in Matsuyama, Japan. He entered the world on October 14, 1867, in what was then Iyo Province, now Ehime Prefecture.

Born into a samurai-class family, Shiki was originally named Tsunenori and was later known as Noboru before adopting his famous pen name. He moved to Tokyo as a teenager and studied at Tokyo Imperial University, where he became increasingly devoted to haiku and literary criticism.

Shiki is best remembered for modernizing haiku and advocating shasei, or “sketching from life.” He also helped reform tanka poetry and wrote extensively despite suffering from tuberculosis. His hometown remains closely associated with him and with the novelist Natsume Sōseki, whom Shiki met during his student years.

A common mix-up is confusing Matsuyama with Kyoto, Osaka, or Tokyo. Tokyo was central to Shiki’s education and career, but Matsuyama was his birthplace.