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D
uring the Heian period of
Japanese culture (700-
1100), it was a social re-
quirement to be able to instantly
recognize, appreciate and recite
Japanese and Chinese poetry. It
was around this period that short
forms of poetry (tanka) grew in
popularity over long forms of
poetry (choka).
The rigid lifestyles of the time
carried over into art; every poem
had to have a specific form. The
approved form was the 5-7-5
triplet followed by a couplet
of seven syllables (this was the
Japanese equivalent to the iambic
pentameter of Shakespeare’s
England).
From this form developed
the renga (linked verse) and the
kusari-no-renga (chains of linked
verse). These forms were used
almost as parlor games for the
elite. However, in the mid-16th
century there began a rise in
“peasant” poetry. It was then
that Japanese poetry underwent
a rebirth in which the staid forms
of the past were replaced with a
lighter, airier tone. This new form
was called haikai and was later
named renku. It consisted of a
beginning triplet called a hokku.
The hokku was considered
the most important part of the
poem. It had two principal
requirements: a seasonal word
(kireji) and a “cutting word” or
exclamation.
The Godfather of the Haiku
The Japanese poet Basho (1644-
94) infused a new sensibility and
sensitivity to this form in the late
17th century. He transformed
the poetics and turned the hokku
into an independent poem, later
to be known as haiku. Basho’s
work focused around the concept
of karumi (a feeling of lightness)
– so much so that he abandoned
the traditional syllabic limitations
to achieve it.
Basho also was one of
the earliest proponents of
spontaneous prose. He believed
in and preached the concept of
Shasei (on-the-spot composition
and tracing the subject to its
origin). To give an idea of his
influence, a contemporary school
of haiku, Tenro, today remains
popular all over Japan. It includes
some 2,000 members all over the
country who meet at designated
temples to write as many as
100 haiku a day. The goal is to
attempt to enter objects and share
the “delicate life and feelings.”
Since the time of Basho, the
history of haiku mirrors the
Zen ideal that it often relates.
While it has gone through many
transformations, developments,
and revisions, good haiku today
is surprisingly similar as to when
Basho developed the form in the
17th century.
In the early centuries of
Japanese history, there was a
strong tradition of pilgrimage,
particularly among poet-monks.
This can be seen as a parallel to
similar movements in medieval
Europe and in America.
Some of the best known poet-
monk-travelers include Sogi
(1421-1502) and Saigyo (1118-90),
as well as the Chinese poet Li
Po (705-762). But it was Basho
who perhaps had the greatest
influence on those who followed
him.
Literary Review
38
thePeorian.com
A Haiku Primer:
The Story of Basho & The Creation of the Form
By Kevin Kizer