18 The Haiku: History and Form
“Haiku is not a shriek, a howl, a sigh, or a yawn; rather, it is the deep breath of life.”
The Haiku
A “deep breath of life” - and inhale and an exhale, a gathering of feeling, a feeling from within thought in a moment - one - in dialogue - delight.
The Haiku: The History and the Form
Originally, a part of a longer style of Japanese poetic form composed between two writers, "haiku" is composed of two Japanese characters and means “little poem.” Often written in three lines, the traditional way to write it is in a single line, though in three distinct units sometimes referred to as phases. Each syllable is important to the haiku as well as the pattern in which they fall. The haiku has 17 syllables total, with a pattern of 5, 7, 5. Contained within this pattern is the kireji, "cutting word," and the kigo, “seasonal reference.” Though popular as early as the 17th century, this style was not called “haiku” until the 19th century when poet Masaoka Shiki established that name. Due to the structure of the haiku being tied to the count of the syllables, it is difficult to translate from one language into another. So, when you are reading translations, and are wondering why the syllables are not adding up, that is why: they were lost in translation.
I am fascinated in the historical details of this style, about how knowledge of this history deepens the meaning for me. The term haiku not only is two sounds, but is derived from two words related to renga: haikai and hokku. The renga is Japanese linked poetry in the form of a tanka or tankas with the first three lines composed by one person and the second two by another. Traditionally the full sequence is given in 100 stanzas all composed by several poets writing together. The haiku - once the opening three lines called the hokku, is born from the way of dialog and retains this essential aspect - being composed between at least two poets, the haiku also is a response to an experience and is used to express a poet’s emotional or spiritual connection with the earth - observing momentary events and responding to those events in the fewest possible words. What I’m trying to say is that the Earth speaks, and the haiku responds.
Working with the hokku (today, the haiku), the great poet Bashō elevated and popularized the form, moving it from mere existence as the opening lines of a comic style of poetry to a complete form unto itself.
Notable Writers
Basho
Kobayashi Issa
Kawahigashi Hekigotō
Buson
Masaoka Shiki
Takahama Kyoshi
Resources
Boucquey, Thierry. “Haiku.” Encyclopedia of World Writers, 14th through 18th Centuries, Facts On File, 2005. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=101204&itemid=WE54&articleId=44259. Accessed 10 Sept. 2021.
Quinn, Edward. “Haiku.” A Dictionary of Literary and Thematic Terms, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2006. Bloom's Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=101204&itemid=WE54&articleId=44781. Accessed 10 Sept. 2021.
Questions
What do you know about the haiku?
Have you ever read or listened to a haiku?
Do you have a favorite haiku?
Have you ever written a haiku?
If you were to write a haiku, what or who would be your subject?