Haikai poetry flourished more in Matsuyama ,which was blessed with a temperate climate , than in any other fief during the Edo Period (1603 - 1868). From the early days the people of the Matsuyama domain, especially Okudaira Okyo, sought entertainment from haikai. As a member of the "inner circle" of the Tokugawa shogunate, the city enjoyed peace and . Ohara Kiju, a poet, who like Okyo was active from the late Edo to the Meiji Period, and who was to become Shiki Masaoka's haikai teacher, formed the haikai society, "Meieisha" in his capacity as a disciple of Baishitsu.
Following the poetic style of the traditional school, the society engaged in activities such as the launching of what became the third oldest monthly poetry publication, "Masago no Shirabe"; thus, haikai poetry enjoyed great popularity until Shiki's day.
Japan's modern haiku (17-syllable poetry) originated in Matsuyama mainly through the efforts of Shiki Masaoka. Shiki, who was born into a samurai family in the Matsuyama fief, and like many young people he was interested in poilitic, was unable to fulfill his political aspirations due to the unfortunate circumstances that resulted from the Meiji Restoration (1868) when the Tosa fief gained control of Matsuyama.From an early age, Shiki had learned the basics of kangaku (Sinology) and kanshi (Chinese poetry translated into Japanese) from his grandfather Ohara Kanzan, and Kawahigashi Seikei, the father of Kawahigashi Hekigodo.After various attempts in politics, philosophy, art, and fiction writing,he found his mission in haiku. Like kanshi, or Chinese poetry, haiku was a fixed-verse form, and a familiar genre to most people. Plunging himself into an environment where none of the elite scholars of his day paid any attention to haiku, he attempted to gain the blessing of the Gods of literature by synthesizing the past achievements of haikai and modernizing it by scientific approach.
In addition to Shiki, Matsuyama takes pride in having produced other leading haiku poets. Chief among them are Takahama Kyoshi,Kawahigashi Hekigodo, Nakamura Kusatao, Ishida Hakyo, and others who represent the modern haiku world. As if to compete with this orthodox school, from the Nanyo region of Shikoku there suddenly emerged Tomisawa Kakio, Shiba Fukio, and Takahashi Shinkichi,the poet who is referred to as Japan's first Dadaist. It is truly astonishing that they all had very close relations with Matsuyama, and contributed to the development and enrichment of modern haiku. The rich haiku foundation that they succeeded in building for Matsuyama is truly astonishing.
