The first translation of Japanese haiku into the Spanish language was thought to be in 1914 by the Mexican poet José Juan Tablada, who also was the first to publish a book of haiku, Un dia …, in 1919. The first original haiku by a Spaniard have been attributed to Antonio Machado a few years later. During the years of the Spanish Civil War and the Franco era (1936–1975) the development of haiku was suspended. Translations and studies of Japanese haiku began to reappear in the 1970s. Only after the year 2000 did haiku composition catch on in Spain, however, and the few Spanish journals and haiku organizations are all younger than 20 years.

Paul Chambers (born March 7, 1986, Newport, Wales). English tutor, poet, and editor. He has published two full-length collections of haiku poetry, won the Museum of Haiku Literature Award, the NHK Haiku Masters Award, the Golden Triangle Haiku Award, and was included in the award-winning A New Resonance series. Chambers is the founder and editor of the Wales Haiku Journal, and has contributed creative and critical haiku material to BBC Television and Radio, the Times Literary Supplement, and the Arts Council of Wales. Author of the Haikupedia article Haiku in the United Kingdom: Wales. Resides in Caerleon, Wales.