Haiku
A short Japanese poem of seventeen sound units in three phrases of five, seven and five, usually with a seasonal word and a cut between two images. In English it is often written as three short lines.
- The image
- An old pond, still.
- After the cut
- A frog jumps in: the sound of water.
In practice
A haiku is a short poem from Japan, traditionally of seventeen sound units called on in three phrases of five, seven and five. It usually holds a kigo, a word that names a season, and a kireji, a cutting word that splits the poem between two images and asks the reader to feel the connection between them.
The form grew out of the opening verse of linked poetry and became a poem of its own with Matsuo Bashō in the seventeenth century. His most famous haiku, "furu ike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no oto", sets an old pond against the sound of a frog jumping in. The cut after "furu ike ya" lets the stillness and the splash meet without explaining what they mean.
In English, haiku is usually written as three short lines, and schools often teach it as five, seven and five syllables. English syllables carry more sound than Japanese on, so many poets now write shorter, in about ten to fourteen syllables, and care more about a clear present-tense image, a season and a cut than an exact count.
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Haiku examples
Bashō: "furu ike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no oto" (an old pond / a frog jumps in / the sound of water). Bashō again: "natsukusa ya / tsuwamono domo ga / yume no ato" (summer grasses / all that remains / of warriors' dreams). Each sets something lasting against something brief.
Yosa Buson: "haru no umi / hinemosu notari / notari kana" (the spring sea / rising and falling / all day long). Kobayashi Issa: "yare utsu na / hae ga te wo suri / ashi wo suru" (don't swat it / the fly wrings its hands / and wrings its feet). Issa's small creatures show how a haiku can be funny and tender at once.
How to write a haiku
Start with something you noticed, not an idea: a sound, a smell, a light at a particular time of year. Write it in the present tense, as if it is happening now. Name or imply the season.
Find a second image and set the two side by side with a cut, a pause marked by a dash, colon or line break. Do not explain how they connect. Cut every word the poem does not need, then count: aim for three short lines, or five, seven and five syllables if you are writing to the classic count.
Haiku in English vs. Japanese
Japanese haiku is usually printed in one vertical line, and its seventeen on are shorter than English syllables: "haiku" is three on but two syllables. A literal seventeen-syllable English poem holds more than a Japanese haiku does, which is why translations and many English haiku run shorter.
A related form, senryu, uses the same shape for human nature and humor rather than the seasons. The tanka is longer, with five phrases of 5-7-5-7-7. If a poem is about people and has no seasonal image, many editors would call it senryu rather than haiku.
Common questions
What is a haiku?
A haiku is a short Japanese poem of seventeen sound units in phrases of five, seven and five, usually with a seasonal word and a cut between two images. In English it is often three short lines.
Does a haiku have to be 5-7-5?
Not in English. The 5-7-5 count comes from Japanese sound units, which are shorter than English syllables. Many poets write shorter, keeping the image, the season and the cut.
What is a famous haiku?
Bashō's old pond: "furu ike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no oto", an old pond, a frog jumping in and the sound of water.
Do haiku rhyme?
No. Haiku traditionally do not rhyme. Their effect comes from the image, the season and the cut between two parts.
What is the difference between haiku and senryu?
Both share the short three-part shape. Haiku traditionally centers on nature and the seasons; senryu centers on people, often with humor or irony.