A kukai is a Japanese haiku meeting or contest where poets share poems for discussion, judging, or both. The word combines ku, meaning a verse or poem, with kai, meaning a gathering or meeting.
Kukai developed from the communal traditions surrounding haikai and linked-verse composition. Participants may submit poems on a theme, read one another’s work, and receive comments from an experienced poet or judge. Modern kukai can be held in person, through clubs and societies, or online, making the format an important part of contemporary haiku culture.
The alternatives describe related but different forms. Haibun combines prose with haiku; senryu resembles haiku in structure but commonly focuses on human behavior and humor; and renga is a collaborative linked-verse form made from multiple stanzas. A kukai is therefore an event or gathering, not a poetic form itself.
Kukai should also not be confused with Kukai, the ninth-century Buddhist monk and founder of Shingon Buddhism, whose name is usually written Kūkai in English-language sources. In haiku terminology, the ordinary meaning is the poets’ gathering or contest.