The Loke Hilikimani Haiku Contest was first held in 1987, the project of haiku poet and critic Leatrice Lifshitz of Pomona, New York. The contest was established in memory of Rose Hirshman, who published under the nom de plume of Loke Hilikimani and who died in 1984. The contest, coordinated by Lifshitz and sponsored by the Rockland County (New York) Haiku Society, ran for five years, 1987–1990 and 1992. Modern Haiku editor Robert Spiess was judge for all five contests.