HAIKU

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INTRODUCTION

Japan is the land of anime. It is the land of the rising sun. In my opinion, it is also the land of short poetry. Dispute me. I dare you. There is tanka, dodoitsu, and sedoku, just to name a few. And last but not least, there is haiku.

THE SHORTEST POEM IN THE WORLD

Haiku is considered the shortest poem in the world. It traditionally consists of three phrases and 17 morae, and follows its characteristic 5-7-5 pattern. A kireiji, "cutting word", and kigo, "seasonal reference", are also often part of its structure. (2)

IN THE BEGINNING

In the beginning, haikus were the opening part of a larger Japanese genre of poetry called renga. They were known as hokku, and over time, began to be written as stand-alone poems, or were incorporated in haibun and haiga forms. (2)

It was Masaoka Shiki that gave our the-liner its renowned name haiku at the end of the 19th century.

KIREIJI

A kireiji typically appears at the end of one of the verse's three phrases and helps mark rhythmic divisions. It lends a verse structural support, so it can stand as an independent poem.

ON

Also known as morae, on is a Japanese sound unit, often defined as one kana character. 17 on units do not always translate into 17 syllables. They tend to be shorter.

KIGO

Kigo is a word or phrase that implies the season of the poem. They evoke images associated with that time of the year.

NOTABLE HAIKU COLLECTIONS

Here are some known haiku collections:

1. Bashō: The Complete Haiku.

2. Kobayashi Issa: The Spring of My Life

3. Yosa Buson: Collected Haiku of Yosa Buson.

4. Robert Hass: The Essential Haiku

5. Cor van den Heuvel: The Haiku Anthology

6. Yoel Hoffmann: Japanese Death Poems

7. Richard Wright: Haiku: This Other World

8. Jack Kerouac: Book of Haikus.

FUN FACT - HAIKU KARUTA

Karuta is a Japanese card game based on the usage of tanka poems. But there is another version called haiku karuta.

Application

Write a haiku using the word spring.

Here I go!

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IN CONCLUSION

Japan is known for many things, among them also happen to be haikus. Haiku is considered the shortest poem in the world. It contains three phrases, 17 ons, and the kireiji and kigo words.

SOURCES

1. Image created via canva.com.

2. Wikipedia. Haiku. Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku.

3. Image created via canva.com.