The hokku (発句) originated as the starting verse of the renga. Over the development of time, the hokku began to separate into its own poetic vehicle, still containing the rule of 5-7-5.
(As an interesting historical note, the hokku was renamed as haiku (俳句) - the changed first character means "actor" in the 19th century by the Japanese poet Masaoka Shiki (A.D. 1867-1902) and have since been applied retrospectively to all previous hokku written as such, although the original authors would not know the word.)
The 5-7-5 verse breaks the verse in the 17 on, the smallest grammatical Japanese language unit (typically a consonant and noun for English speakers). The rule is strictly adhered to - except, of course, when it is not for artistic reasons (as it turns out, there is at least one whole haiku school that does not hold to it).
Rules that applied to the hokku as used in renga continued to apply:
- It needed a kireji (切れ字), a "cutting word", a word to break the stream of thought connect the previous and current verse through parallels, or give a "dignified ending".
- It needed to reflect the current state of the poet when writing the poem.
One of the greatest haiku poets is the poet Bassho (A.D. 1644-1694), a master of both renga and haiku. Likely he is the most famous haiku poet outside of Japan and certainly one of the definers of the genre. One of his most famous works goes as follows:
frog leaps in,
water's sound
(Note: Typically haiku are presented in Japanese as a single sentence, whereas in English we separate each verse.)
An alternative reading is:
of an ancient pond,
A frog jumped into water -
A deep resonance
Reading this, likely we can all think of a moment in time like this: a setting, an action or event, and the momentary realization of the event. The great haiku masters became experts at this, the capturing of moments.
Sources cited:
Basho, Matsuo: The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches (translated by Yuasa, Nobuyuki): Penguin Classics, New York: 1966
Wilson, William Scott. A Beginner's Guide to Japanese Haiku: Tuttle Publishing, New York: 2022.
I like that there are rules to it. That somehow makes it both easier and more challenging. Maybe what I'm trying to say is that it gives structure to the creative process. One thing I recall in reading about haiku several years ago, is that the Japanese meaning loses something in the English translation. Not that we can't still enjoy an English translation. I suspect that's not only a language issue, but also one of culture and worldview.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, I like the fact that there are rules as well. It often feels that in the modern world, "art" is suggested to a free-form free for all - which is really chaos.
DeleteOne of the things I do know that does not translate as well is some of the suggestions and double meanings of words, as well as possible jokes by using one word for another - and the cultural references as well. This always a challenge for every translation; one wonders how well Frost or Shakespeare translates in other languages as well.
I suppose the Japanese language is much like the English language in that there are two camps. The first camp are the traditionalists that uphold such rules as described above. The second camp are those who embrace change and allow phrases such as "six seven" with the accompanying motions to enter our lexicon. Like I do in politics, I fall somewhere in the large gray middle ground.
ReplyDeleteEd, there are probably at least two camps for everything. I tend to be on the "traditionalist" side, as my impression of the other is that they simply do not have the ability to find a stopping point. Once the unraveling begins, there is no end until the form is completely lost.
DeleteW. in CA
ReplyDeleteAll of the "rules" sort of take the middle school fun memories away when I first learned about Haiku as a form of poetry. I have to admire the rules that are included to make the artform more challenging.
The visuals I received about the frogs bring back great memories of frog hunts as children. A neighbor girl let her polywogs grow legs and go free. After a few summers we were a neighborhood full of these smiling jumpers of all sizes.
Years later, a little bass fishing hole had frogs that stayed in the shallows where my husband liked to fish. When the family made the circuit looking for a new spot the frogs would let out a squeak as they plunged into the water. They didn't know they were safer with us than the bass. I wondered if the fish were warned by the frogs alarm. My husband always caught many (with his frog lure), he liked what good fighters they were. He would give them a kiss and throw them back to breed more just like them. Some good memories of long summer evenings after work!
W - Having read through Wilson's book, frogs play a surprisingly large role in traditional haikus. Your experiences are apparently shared by others for hundreds of years!
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