[Bards] Haiku

D. Vandever hlannes at ev1.net
Fri May 20 13:04:52 PDT 2005


Thank you, Your Grace, for posting this. I was going to print off something
from a book I have to use as a handout for the Steppes Bardic competition
but if I have your permission, I could just use this with only a paragraph
or two from the book I have.
Annes
>
> HAIKU for PEOPLE
> since 1995.
>
>
>
> What is Haiku?
>
> Haiku is one of the most important form of traditional japanese poetry.
Haiku is, today, a 17-syllable verse form consisting of three metrical units
of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. Since early days, there has been confusion between
the three related terms Haiku, Hokku and Haikai. The term hokku literally
means "starting verse", and was the first starting link of a much longer
chain of verses known as haika. Because the hokku set the tone for the rest
of the poetic chain, it enjoyed a privileged position in haikai poetry, and
it was not uncommon for a poet to compose a hokku by itself without
following up with the rest of the chain.
> Largely through the efforts of Masaoka Shiki, this independence was
formally established in the 1890s through the creation of the term haiku.
This new form of poetry was to be written, read and understood as an
independent poem, complete in itself, rather than part of a longer chain.
> Strictly speaking, then, the history of haiku begins only in the last
years of the 19th century. The famous verses of such Edo-period (1600-1868)
masters as Basho, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa are properly referred to as
hokku and must be placed in the perspective of the history of haikai even
though they are now generally read as independent haiku. In HAIKU for
PEOPLE, both terms will be treated equally! The distinction between hokku
and haiku can be handled
> by using the terms Classical Haiku and Modern Haiku.
>
> Modern Haiku.
> The history of the modern haiku dates from Masaoka Shiki's reform, begun
in 1892, which established haiku as a new independent poetic form. Shiki's
reform did not change two traditional elements of haiku: the division of 17
syllables into three groups of 5, 7, and 5 syllables and the inclusion of a
seasonal theme.
> Kawahigashi Hekigoto carried Shiki's reform further with two proposals:
>
>
> Haiku would be truer to reality if there were no center of interest in it.
> The importance of the poet's first impression, just as it was, of subjects
taken
> from daily life, and of local colour to create freshness.
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> How to write Haiku
>
> In japanese, the rules for how to write Haiku are clear, and will not be
discussed here. In foreign languages, there exist NO consensus in how to
write Haiku-poems. Anyway, let's take a look at the basic knowledge:
>
>
> What to write about?
>
> Haiku-poems can describe almost anything, but you seldom find themes which
are too complicated for normal PEOPLE's recognition and understanding. Some
of the most thrilling Haiku-poems describe daily situations in a way that
gives the reader a brand new experience of a well-known situation.
>
>
> The metrical pattern of Haiku
>
> Haiku-poems consist of respectively 5, 7 and 5 syllables in three units.
In japanese, this convention is a must, but in english, which has variation
in the length of syllables, this can sometimes be difficult.
>
>
> The technique of cutting
>
> The cutting divides the Haiku into two parts, with a certain imaginative
distance between the two sections, but the two sections must remain, to a
degree, independent of each other. Both sections must enrich the
understanding of the other.
> To make this cutting in english, either the first or the second line ends
normally with a colon, long dash or ellipsis.
>
>
> The seasonal theme.
>
> Each Haiku must contain a kigo, a season word, which indicate in which
season the Haiku is set. For example, cherry blossoms indicate spring, snow
indicate winter, and mosquitoes indicate summer, but the season word isn't
always that obvious.
>
> Please notice that Haiku-poems are written under different rules and in
many languages. For translated Haiku-poems, the translator must decide
whether he should obey the rules strictly, or if he should present the exact
essence of the Haiku. For Haiku-poems originally written in english, the
poet should be more careful. These are the difficulties, and the pleasure of
Haiku.
>
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> Akutagawa, Ryunosuke. (1892-1927).
> Akutagawa wrote "Rashomon", "The Nose", "The Handkerchief", "Hell Screen
", "Flatcar" and "Kappa". He didn't start writing Haiku before 1919, under
the pseudonym Gaki.
> Akutagawa biography
> Akutagawa books at amazon
>
> Green frog,
> Is your body also
> freshly painted?
>
>
> Sick and feverish
> Glimpse of cherry blossoms
> Still shivering.
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Anonymous.
>
> Without flowing wine
> How to enjoy lovely
> Cherry blossoms?
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Basho, Matsuo. (1644-1694).
> The name Bashó (banana tree) is a sobriquet he adopted around 1681 after
moving into a hut with a banana tree alongside. He was called Kinsaku in
childhood and Matsuo Munefusa in his later days.
> Basho's father was a low-ranking samurai from the Iga Province. To be a
samurai, Basho serviced for the local lord Todo Yoshitada (Sengin). Since
Yoshitada was fond of writing haikai, Basho began writing poetry under the
name Sobo.
> During the years, Basho made many travels through Japan, and one of the
most famous went to the north, where he wrote Oku No Hosomichi (1694). On
his last trip, he died in Osaka, and his last haiku indicates that he was
still thinking of traveling and writing poetry as he lay dying:
> Fallen sick on a journey,
> In dreams I run wildly
> Over a withered moor.
>
> At the time of his death, Basho had more than 2000 students.
>
>
>
> An old pond!
> A frog jumps in-
> The sound of water.
>
>
> The first soft snow!
> Enough to bend the leaves
> Of the jonquil low.
>
>
> In the cicada's cry
> No sign can foretell
> How soon it must die.
>
>
> No one travels
> Along this way but I,
> This autumn evening.
>
>
> In all the rains of May
> there is one thing not hidden -
> the bridge at Seta Bay.
>
>
> The years first day
> thoughts and loneliness;
> the autumn dusk is here.
>
>
> Clouds appear
> and bring to men a chance to rest
> from looking at the moon.
>
>
> Harvest moon:
> around the pond I wander
> and the night is gone.
>
>
> Poverty's child -
> he starts to grind the rice,
> and gazes at the moon.
>
>
> No blossoms and no moon,
> and he is drinking sake
> all alone!
>
>
> Won't you come and see
> loneliness? Just one leaf
> from the kiri tree.
>
>
> Temple bells die out.
> The fragrant blossoms remain.
> A perfect evening!
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Buson, Yosa. (1716-84).
>
> At the over-matured sushi,
> The Master
> Is full of regret.
>
>
> Pressing Sushi;
> After a while,
> A lonely feeling
>
>
> A whale!
> Down it goes, and more and more
> up goes its tail!
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Etsujin.
>
>
>
> Covered with the flowers,
> Instantly I'd like to die
> In this dream of ours!
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Hashin
>
>
> No sky
> no earth - but still
> snowflakes fall
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Issa. (1762-1826).
> Yoshi Mikami's Issa's Haiku Home Page
> Issa books at Amazon
>
> In my old home
> which I forsook, the cherries
> are in bloom.
>
>
> A giant firefly:
> that way, this way, that way, this -
> and it passes by.
>
>
> Right at my feet -
> and when did you get here,
> snail?
>
>
> My grumbling wife -
> if only she were here!
> This moon tonight...
>
>
> A lovely thing to see:
> through the paper window's hole,
> the Galaxy.
>
>
> A man, just one -
> also a fly, just one -
> in the huge drawing room.
>
>
> A sudden shower falls -
> and naked I am riding
> on a naked horse!
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Kato, Shuson
>
>
> I kill an ant
> and realize my three children
> have been watching.
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Kawahigashi, Hekigodo. (1873-1937).
>
>
> >From a bathing tub
> I throw water into the lake -
> slight muddiness appears.
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Kójó
>
>
> Night, and the moon!
> My neighbor, playing on his flute -
> out of tune!
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Murakami, Kijo. (1865-1938).
>
>
> First autumn morning:
> the mirror I stare into
> shows my father's face.
>
>
> The moment two bubbles
> are united, they both vanish.
> A lotus blooms.
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Natsume, Soseki. (1867-1916)
> Soseki's debut came in 1905 with "I Am a Cat ". In 1907 he resigned his
post at
> Tokyo University as Professor in English, to devote his entire time to the
writing of
> novels. His writings include "The Three-Cornered World" (1906), "The
Wayfarer" (1912-13)
> "Kokoro " (1914), and "The Grass on the Wayside" (1915).
>
>
> On New Year's Day
> I long to meet my parents
> as they were before my birth.
>
>
> The crow has flown away:
> swaying in the evening sun,
> a leafless tree.
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Raizan.
>
>
> You rice-field maidens!
> The only things not muddy
> Are the songs you sing.
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Ryusui. (1691-1758).
>
>
> In all this cool
> is the moon also sleeping?
> There, in the pool?
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Shiki, Masaoka. (1867-1902).
>
>
> I want to sleep
> Swat the flies
> Softly, please.
>
>
> After killing
> a spider, how lonely I feel
> in the cold of night!
>
>
> For love and for hate
> I swat a fly and offer it
> to an ant.
>
>
> A mountain village
> under the pilled-up snow
> the sound of water.
>
>
> Night; and once again,
> the while I wait for you, cold wind
> turns into rain.
>
>
> The summer river:
> although there is a bridge, my horse
> goes through the water.
>
>
> A lightning flash:
> between the forest trees
> I have seen water.
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Takahama, Kyoshi
>
>
> A dead chrysanthemum
> and yet - isn't there still something
> remaining in it?
>
>
> He says a word,
> and I say a word - autumn
> is deepening.
>
>
> The winds that blows -
> ask them, which leaf on the tree
> will be next to go.
>
>
> A gold bug -
> I hurl into the darkness
> and feel the depth of night.
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Morten Paulsen (MOPA95AB at prelux.cbs.dk):
>
>
> An island song
> Like a floating river
> Rain Rain Fall Fall
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> Christmas
>
>
> Ron Loeffler
>
>
> Glass balls and glowing lights.
> Dead tree in living room.
> Killed to honor birth.
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> Computers.
>
>
> Andeyev, Alexey V. (alexey at cerc.wvu.edu):
>
>
>
> Spring backup in CS lab:
> time to fall in love with
> certain humanware.
> Ed \"Darts Vapor\" Button
>
>
> alone, on the web,
> drops of sensitivity
> embrace an eyelash
> Chris Spruck
>
>
> Faceless, just numbered.
> Lone pixel in the bitmap-
> I, anonymous.
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> Flowers.
>
>
> Dave McCroskey. (mccroskeyd at hal.hahnemann.edu):
>
>
>
> on the Chinese vase
> flowers retain brightness
> - - pouring out water.
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> Food
>
>
> Paulsen, Morten:
>
>
> Sushi and Soya
> The Spring comes
> When the day is over
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Thomas Grieg
>
> Pond with ice
> tadpoles
> summer
>
> Looking at the clouds
> blue in the ice-wind
> space flows
>
> Quiet around the point: ducks;
> up down birches
> helicopter
> Vince
>
>
> Darkended dreams
> become modern grapes of wrath
> reaping a bitter wine.
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> Summer.
>
>
> Dhugal Lindsay. (dhugal at ori.u-tokyo.ac.jp):
>
>
>
> they've gone...
> where the beach umbrella was
> the sand not quite so hot
>
> Paul Mena:
>
>
> through the fingerprints
> on my window-
> cloudless blue sky.
> John. (JThomp7102 at aol.com):
>
> Deserted steel-mill.
> Along the Ohio River,
> Chromatic butterfly.
>
> James Dolan. (james.dolan at mindspring.com):
>
> Dallas summer song:
> cicadas whir, the
> sirens call
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> Time
>
>
> Phil Wahl
>
>
> The flap of a bat,
> drip drip of monsoon waters.
> Ancient image stares.
> Noel Kaufmann
>
>
> Behold the ego
> Set in glowing emptiness
> On the edge of time
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> Urban Haiku
>
>
> Michael R. Collings mcolling at pepperdine.edu):
>
>
>
> Silence--a strangled
> Telephone has forgotten
> That it should ring
>
>
> Freeway overpass--
> Blossoms in grafitti on
> fog-wrapped June mornings
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> World.
>
>
> Dave McCroskey. (mccroskeyd at hal.hahnemann.edu):
>
>
>
> the morning paper
> harbinger of good and ill
> - - I step over it
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> Links to other Haiku-pages:
>
>
>
> Haiku books at Amazon
> Dogwood Blossoms: Online Journal of Haiku
> The art of Haiku-Poetry.
> The SPAM haiku archive
> AHA!POETRY's Haiku-page
> Bob Zimmerman's own haiku-poems
> Le site-anthologie haïku
> CAQUI uma revista de haicai (in portuguese)
> Yoshi Mikami's Issa's Haiku Home Page
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
>
> References:
>
> - Makoto Ueda ( Modern Japanese Haiku -An Anthology: 1976).
> - Kodansha (Encyclopedia of Japan: 1983).
> - Kenneth Yasuda (The JAPANESE HAIKU: 1957).
> - Harold G. Henderson (An introduction to HAIKU: 1958).
> - Daniel C. Buchanan (One hundred Famous HAIKU: 1973).
> - Other haiku books
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
> Feel free to use anything from this page as long as you make references to
HAIKU for PEOPLE
> Last updated: Jan 10th. 2001. Editor: Kei Grieg Toyomasu kei at toyomasu.com
>
>
>
>
>
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