Welcome to an explanation of Japanese poetry. I am writing it because I have been asked, not because I am filled with zeal to show off my knowledge, and by the end of the explanation I feel I can guarantee that nothing will be any clearer than when I started. This is the nature of Japanese poetry and the mist that surrounds it. In the UK we are still debating if poetry should rhyme, in America (the home of complexity) they are debating concepts which require at least two degrees before you can even start to understand the vocabulary they use. Look at most of the poet bios in an American haiku/Haibun magazine and you will see what I mean – degrees, stellar careers and huge numbers of publications are the norm.
However, I was asked, I have had a go and this is the result. This is just the haiku explanation. Haibun and tanka will be next.
A haiku is a poem of three lines with syllables arranged in a 5-7-5 pattern. Everybody knows that and it is there multiple times on the internet. Unfortunately, it isn’t true. It never was particularly accurate, and it hasn’t been representative of actual published haiku for years. Classic haiku writers didn’t always write in this format and the word syllable is wrong in this context.
The word which the Japanese use for a sound unit is “on” and it is much more, or less, than a syllable. The word “haibun”, to take information from Wiki, is four “on” rather than our two syllables and “on” is actually two “on” rather than one syllable. That is simple compared to the next fact – the word “kyo”, which is clearly two syllables in English, is one “on” in Japanese.
And that, when added to various opinions and translations, is why there is confusion.
The seventeen syllable model is alive and well in junior schools and various other places which need a quick fix for poetry writing classes. However, it is now generally accepted that if you are writing in English, 12 syllables are about right. It is considered desirable to write a poem that can be read in one breath, if you want a more aesthetic way of looking at things. I’m not sure about other languages, but I’m sure they all have definitions of varying subtlety.
That is the easy bit.
There are more rules than syllables, which is where I always get lost. In no particular order – haiku should be about nature, they should have a season word, they should be in two parts, they should be separated by a cutting word. There should be no repetition, rhyme, title or other poetic device. They should feature only concrete images. They shouldn’t be single sentences, shouldn’t be sarcastic and should involve “haiku aesthetics” – there are whole articles about aesthetics. It includes age, impermanence, being broken, being unknowable and other similar things.
If they don’t include this sort of thing they may be senryu, which are similar but without much of the baggage. They have extras in the form of human nature, sarcasm and even crudity.
Alternatively, it could just be a bad poem or a greeting card verse. And just to add another layer of mystery and complexity I will add some links in a moment. They are for reputable haiku magazines (you can tell they are reputable because they have been rejecting me for years) and here you will find poetry of exquisite quality which disobeys many of the rules I have just discussed.
Perhaps I’m not the best man to ask about this . . .
Wales Haiku Journal (who used to accept some of my haiku but stopped when editors changed).
Cattails (who accept tanka, tanka prose and Haibun from me. I tried haiku but failed and gave up.)
Goose poem – Anderby Creek
Pingback: Childhood Reading and Other Stories | quercuscommunity
Pingback: Tanka & Tanka Prose | quercuscommunity
Poetry seems to take many forms and has many venues. I have even come across one individual “busking” poetry on the street for small bills and change.
It is very varied, and it seems to keep on changing, even in modern times.
Pingback: Haibun – One Step Beyond | quercuscommunity
I’ve never known the rules, but when I see a poem in three lines I think it must be haiku
Or a tercet, or an unsatisfactory limerick . . . 🙂
Thank you Simon. I wait with bated breath for more.
I’m currently exploring new and convoluted ways of using the word “pedagogical” with a straight face. However, I’m not sure the world is ready for my views on the pedagogical inconsistencies inherent in trying to make myself sound like someone who knows what they are doing. 🙂
The word pedagogical come from the early Australian word “ped — al” as in the things you use to push a bicycle along with. As used in the sentence “The boy had to pedal like buggery to get to school on time.’ Inserted into the word pedal is the word ‘agog’ as in “The boys sat open mouthed and ‘agog’ for most of the lesson but understood little.” The two letters ‘ic’ are just chucked in for good measure because pedagogal sounds stupid.
Thanks for explaining that, particularly the bit about the *ic”, as that had been worrying me. This is the magic of WP, I can sit here with a cup of tea and find out that Australians have bicycles. I always thought you just had horses or walked round with a bundle on your back.
In researching this last point I found this link – that really is the magic of WP – so much to learn!
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofWales/Joseph-Jenkins-Jolly-Swagman/
I, too, never realized the complexity. Many thanks for this informative post!
No problem – however, it may have been even more informative if written by someone who could actually write them. 🙂
Quercus, your poetry is so good. And trust me, I have a lot of poetry in my time. When you have retired, perhaps you might want to consider putting a book together of your favorites.
Yes, I’m planning some things for retirement, but I’m better at planning than I am at actually doing the work . . . 🙂
When you are rested, the work might seem less arduous.
I’m sure it will. I have a year to move house. get fit and organise my new life as a retired man. After that, who knows what can happen?
Yes, indeed!
🙂
Who would have thought it?
This foreign stuff’s not cricket.
I like my own way.
Oh well–the mistaken notion has spawned countless rather bad (and some good) efforts in the world, mercifully muchmuch briefer than the Nanowrimo wheeze!
All writing is good if it encourages people, though the shorter the better in many cases.
I’d vote for seventeenish syllables-sort-of over a month’s pressured outpouring almost any day.
I’m not much of an aesthete and would be happy with a decent Limerick most of the time. 🙂
Those sre more challenging to me to write, but I enjoy reading them.
🙂
Interesting and useful, thank you.
It is always good to learn new things, and I found new things, despite thinking I knew all I needed to know about the subject.
Almost all of it was new to me.