Haiku

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Haiku
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Haiku (disambiguation).
Haiku (俳句 haikai verse?) listen (help·info), plural haiku, is a form of Japanese poetry, consisting of 17 moras (or on), in three phrases of 5, 7, and 5 moras respectively.[1] Although haiku are often stated to have 17 syllables,[2] this is inaccurate as syllables and moras are not the same. Haiku typically contain a kigo (seasonal reference), and a kireji (cutting word). In Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed in a single vertical line, while haiku in English often appear in three lines, to parallel the three phrases of Japanese haiku.[3] Previously called hokku, haiku was given its current name by the Japanese writer Masaoka Shiki at the end of the 19th century.
Contents [hide]
1 Syllables or "on" in haiku
2 Kigo
3 Kireji
4 Examples
5 Origin and development
5.1 From renga to renku to haiku
5.2 Bashō and independent hokku
5.3 Time of Buson
5.4 Kobayashi Issa's humanistic approach
5.5 Shiki's modernisations
5.6 Haibun
5.7 Haiga
5.8 Kuhi
6 Haiku movement in the West
6.1 Blyth
6.2 Yasuda
6.3 Henderson
6.4 Contemporary English-language haiku
7 Worldwide
8 Internet
9 Famous writers
9.1 Pre-Shiki period
9.2 Shiki and later
10 See also
11 References
12 External links
[edit]Syllables or "on" in haiku

Main article: Onji
In contrast to English verse typically characterized by meter, Japanese verse counts sound units (moras), known as "on". Traditional haiku consist of 17 on, in three phrases of 5, 7, and 5 on respectively.
Although the word "on" is often translated as "syllable", in fact one on is counted for a short syllable, an additional one for an elongated vowel, diphthong, or doubled consonant, and one more for an "n" at the end of a syllable. Thus, the word "haibun", though counted as two syllables in English, is counted as four on in Japanese (ha-i-bu-n). This is illustrated by the Issa haiku below, which contains 17 on but only 15 syllables. In addition, some sounds, such as "kyo" (きょ) can be perceived as two syllables in English but as a single on in Japanese. A word that illustrates both these issues is "Tokyo", which is perceived as having three syllables in English (To-ky-o) but four moras in Japanese (To-o-kyo-o).
The word onji (音字; "sound symbol") is sometimes used in referring to Japanese sound units in English[4] although this word is no longer current in Japanese.[5] In Japanese, each on corresponds to a kana character (or sometimes digraph) and hence ji (or "character") is also sometimes used[5] as the count unit.
In 1973, the Haiku Society of America noted that the then norm for writers of haiku in English was to use seventeen syllables but they also noted a trend towards shorter haiku.[6] This trend is borne out by the Winter 2010 edition of Frogpond, which contains haiku with an average of 10.5 syllables, varying from six at the shortest to 15 at the longest.
Some translators of Japanese poetry have noted that about twelve syllables in English approximates the duration of seventeen Japanese on.[7]
[edit]Kigo

Main article: Kigo
A haiku traditionally contains a kigo, a defined word or phrase that symbolizes or implies the season of the poem.
Kigo are often in the form of metonyms and hence can be difficult for those who lack Japanese cultural references to spot. The Bashō examples below include "kawazu", literally "frog" but implying spring time (when frogs emerge into the paddy fields) [8] and "shigure", a rain shower in late autumn or early winter.
Among traditionalist Japanese haiku writers, kigo are considered requirements of the form. Kigo are not always included in non-Japanese haiku or by modern writers of Japanese "free-form" haiku.
[edit]Kireji

Main article: Kireji
In Japanese haiku a kireji, or cutting word, typically appears at the end of one of the verse's three phrases. A kireji fills a role somewhat analagous to a caesura in classical western poetry or to a volta in sonnets. Depending on which cutting word is chosen, and its position within the verse, it may briefly cut the stream of thought, suggesting a parallel between the preceding and following phrases, or it may provide a dignified ending, concluding the verse with a heightened sense of closure.[9]
The fundamental aesthetic quality of both hokku and haiku is that it is internally sufficient, independent of context, and will bear consideration as a complete work.[10] The kireji lends the verse structural support,[11] allowing it to stand as an independent poem.[12][13] The use of kireji distinguishes haiku and hokku from second and subsequent verses of renku which, although they may employ semantic and syntactic disjuncture, even to the point of occasionally end-stopping a phrase with a shōjoshi (少女詩 sentence ending particle), they do not generally employ kireji.[10]
In English, since kireji have no direct equivalent, poets sometimes use punctuation such as a dash or ellipsis, or an implied break to create a juxtaposition intended to prompt the reader to reflect on the relationship between the two parts.
The kireji in the Bashō examples below are, respectively, "ya", "ya" (や) and "wo" (を)

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