Haiku is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterized by three qualities:
In contrast to English verse typically characterized by meter, Japanese verse counts sound units known as "on" or morae. Traditional haiku consist of 17 on, in three phrases of five, seven and five on respectively. Among contemporary poems teikei (fixed form) haiku continue to use the 5-7-5 pattern while jiyuritsu ( free form) haiku do not. One of the examples below illustrates that traditional haiku masters were not always constrained by the 5-7-5 pattern.
Although the word "on" is sometimes translated as "syllable", one on is counted for a short syllable, two for an elongated vowel, diphthong, or doubled consonant, and one 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); and the word "on" itself, which English-speakers would view as a single syllable, comprises two on: the short vowel o and the moraic nasal n̩. This is illustrated by the Issa haiku below, which contains 17 on but only 15 syllables. Conversely, some sounds, such as "kyo" (きょ) can be perceived as two syllables in English but are a single on in Japanese.
The word onji ("sound symbol") is sometimes used in referring to Japanese sound units in English although this word is no longer current in Japanese. In Japanese, each on corresponds to a kana character (or sometimes digraph) and hence ji (or "character") is also sometimes used as the count unit.
In 1973, the Haiku Society of America noted that the norm for writers of haiku in English was to use 17 syllables, but they also noted a trend toward shorter haiku.
Some translators of Japanese poetry have noted that about 12 syllables in English approximate the duration of 17 Japanese on.
Kigo are often in the form of metonyms and can be difficult for those who lack Japanese cultural references to spot.[citation needed] The Bashō examples below include "kawazu", "frog" implying spring, and "shigure", a rain shower in late autumn or early winter. Kigo are not always included in non-Japanese haiku or by modern writers of Japanese "free-form" haiku.[citation needed]
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. The kireji lends the verse structural support, allowing it to stand as an independent poem. 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 ( sentence ending particle), do not generally employ kireji.
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 "old pond" and "the wind of Mt Fuji" are both "ya". Neither the remaining Bashō example nor the Issa example contain a kireji although they do both balance a fragment in the first five on against a phrase in the remaining 12 on (it may not be apparent from the English translation of the Issa that the first five on mean "Edo's rain").
Haiku and the Principles of Juxtaposition
"The term juxtaposition . . . can also refer to a rhetorical technique which goes beyond the straightforward placement of communicative elements next to each other. In this more specialized sense, juxtaposition can be defined as:
source: wikipedia and grammar_about
- The essence of haiku is "cutting" (kiru). This is often represented by the juxtaposition (Juxtaposition is the act or placement of two things (usually abstract concepts) near each other.) of two images or ideas and a kireji ("cutting word") between them, a kind of verbal punctuation mark which signals the moment of separation and colors the manner in which the juxtaposed elements are related.
- Traditional haiku consist of 17 on (also known as morae), in three phrases of 5, 7 and 5 on respectively. Any one of the three phrases may end with the kireji. Although haiku are often stated to have 17 syllables, this is inaccurate as syllables and on are not the same.
- A kigo (seasonal reference), usually drawn from a saijiki, an extensive but defined list of such words.
Syllables or on in haiku
Main article: On (Japanese prosody)
Although the word "on" is sometimes translated as "syllable", one on is counted for a short syllable, two for an elongated vowel, diphthong, or doubled consonant, and one 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); and the word "on" itself, which English-speakers would view as a single syllable, comprises two on: the short vowel o and the moraic nasal n̩. This is illustrated by the Issa haiku below, which contains 17 on but only 15 syllables. Conversely, some sounds, such as "kyo" (きょ) can be perceived as two syllables in English but are a single on in Japanese.
The word onji ("sound symbol") is sometimes used in referring to Japanese sound units in English although this word is no longer current in Japanese. In Japanese, each on corresponds to a kana character (or sometimes digraph) and hence ji (or "character") is also sometimes used as the count unit.
In 1973, the Haiku Society of America noted that the norm for writers of haiku in English was to use 17 syllables, but they also noted a trend toward shorter haiku.
Some translators of Japanese poetry have noted that about 12 syllables in English approximate the duration of 17 Japanese on.
Kigo
Main article: Kigo
A haiku traditionally contains a kigo, a defined word or phrase that symbolizes or implies the season of the poem, which is drawn from a saijiki, an extensive but defined list of such words.Kigo are often in the form of metonyms and can be difficult for those who lack Japanese cultural references to spot.[citation needed] The Bashō examples below include "kawazu", "frog" implying spring, and "shigure", a rain shower in late autumn or early winter. Kigo are not always included in non-Japanese haiku or by modern writers of Japanese "free-form" haiku.[citation needed]
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 analogous 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.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. The kireji lends the verse structural support, allowing it to stand as an independent poem. 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 ( sentence ending particle), do not generally employ kireji.
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 "old pond" and "the wind of Mt Fuji" are both "ya". Neither the remaining Bashō example nor the Issa example contain a kireji although they do both balance a fragment in the first five on against a phrase in the remaining 12 on (it may not be apparent from the English translation of the Issa that the first five on mean "Edo's rain").
Haiku and the Principles of Juxtaposition
"The term juxtaposition . . . can also refer to a rhetorical technique which goes beyond the straightforward placement of communicative elements next to each other. In this more specialized sense, juxtaposition can be defined as:
combining together two or more communicative elements so as to suppress the connections between them and emphasize the differences, thereby provoking some surprise or puzzlement at their close placement.Some simple principles of juxtaposition can be illustrated at work in the following translations of 17th- and 18th-century Japanaese Haiku.
Haiku 1. . . In each case there is only an implicit connection between the elements on either side of the colon. Although it is possible to see a causal relation between a harvest moon and pine tree shadows, the lack of explicit connections forces the reader to make an imaginative leap. The connection between a locked wooden gate and a winter moon demands an even greater imaginative effort. In each poem there is a basic juxtaposition between a natural image and a human one--a harvest moon and a bamboo mat, a bolted gate and a winter moon--which creates a tension between the first and second part."
Harvest moon:
On the bamboo mat
Pine tree shadows.
Haiku 2
Wooden gate.
Lock firmly bolted:
Winter moon.
source: wikipedia and grammar_about
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