Lafcadio Hearn and Basil Hall Chamberlain are thought to be the first to have introduced readers in the British Isles to Japanese haiku in the early years of the 20th century. In 1990 the British Haiku Society (BHS) was set up, and its quarterly membership journal, Blithe Spirit, was launched. Since the beginning an increasingly active community of poets in print as well as online have taken part in the international haiku scene.