A simple guide to Haiku

After discussing a matter of Haiku with far to many people, and coming to a conclusion that only a minor part of those know what a real Haiku is, and what the difference between it and other Japanese forms of poetry is, I came to think about writing a small guide on the topic.

Much of this guide is collaborated with a person I know only as Clarity on a forum, so due regards go out to her.

The traditional and arguably most debated rule of Haiku is the pattern rule, or the rule that one has to write three lines with five, seven and then five spoken syllables respectively in them. There are certain disagreements in that field between the experts, where some argue that writing a meaningful Haiku is excessively difficult in a language unlike Japanese if one sticks to the rule, whereas others, like myself, consider the shape of a Haiku equally important to the message of it. Therefore I cannot say that there is one and only right way to do this. I do however insist that a Haiku should follow the given pattern.

The second traditional rule of Haiku is the so-called “Kigo”, or season word. Again, there has been much controversy around this one, and arguments about what can and what cannot be called a Kigo, or even about if it should be included at all. My stance on that matter is the same as above, that the Kigo should be included because of the tradition. In my opinion the beauty of Haiku is in its strict form. And mind you, I am no strict poet in general. The only place I consider strictness is needed in literature is in Japanese poetry.

However, enough of that. My reader probably wishes to know what a Kigo actually is…

Basically, a Kigo is a word that places the Haiku in time, so that one knows if the action is happening in the summer, winter, fall or spring. A Kigo is not necessarily a clear-text word, but often an image. For instance, cherry blossoms would indicate spring, falling leaves would indicate fall, and so on. Kigos can be obvious and well hidden, but they have to be there.

Now when we settled the matters of controversy, let us continue on the remaining rules of Haiku.

A Haiku is an objective art form. In a perfect shape, a Haiku should not have a subjective way of describing anything, or draw conclusions. One should not put “I”, “you” or ‘us” in a Haiku. A basic rule to follow is to write only of matters that you can register with your senses.

A Haiku is a writing form which is highly dependant on calling forth images in the head of the reader. The reader should see what the writer sees, and nothing else. Of course, a crimson sky can symbolise blood, but the reader should only make that conclusion if the writer drew it. You should for example never say “Sky red as blood”.

Another matter of style is the traditional three-line pattern. Even if you decide to step away from the pattern of five-seven-five, you should keep in mind that a very important stylistic draw of a Haiku is that it should be made of three lines, and each line should be able to create an own image, without the reader having to rush to the next line in order to understand the line previous to it.

Haikus should contain a moment of revelation, something a friend of mine dubbed the “Zen moment”. I like the term, so I will keep using it. So, in every Haiku there should be a Zen moment. That means basically that the last line has to be an insight. It does not have to be complex. Often it is a fairly obvious thing. Yet, it must strike the reader. Again, to quote a very smart person, “When I read a Haiku, I see an old Buddhist monk who calls a stone exactly that – a stone.”

Of course, before that revelation, one has to put an emphasis on what will happen with the text. Therefore it is natural to put in a pause in the Haiku, at the end of line nr. 2. In most cases it comes natural, without me having to mention it, but I have read a few Haikus which were completely ruined by the lack of that pause. Some choose to mark that pause with sign setting, I however consider it almost cheating. One should be able to do that by using contexts.

An obvious thing to mention is the “filling” of lines. Often people focus too much on fulfilling the pattern rule, using “empty” words to achieve the five-seven-five. If that is the case, I would actually prefer a Haiku without the pattern. I am no fan of unnecessary words that serve no purpose in any case, but in Haiku it is probably the biggest “no-no” you can do.

Another flaw I have seen in many cases is that a Haiku is written about something, or is telling a story. I admit, I have made that mistake more than often myself. After looking at this guide and comparing my Haikus to it, I must admit, that I really haven’t written many true Haikus over the years. However, that is life. Learn from my mistakes now…

So, a Haiku should not be telling a story. It should show to an impression of senses, and nothing else. If you see a butterfly, you should write about the butterfly, not the story behind why you saw it, or what you thought about when you did. Same is the point about a Haiku not being written about something. A Haiku has its meaning, of course, but you just don’t write a Haiku about your lost love, or about your joyous reunion.

Speaking of which, you can’t write a Haiku about those things anyways. Not in clear text anyhow. A Haiku is, and should always be written about nature. What the reader will think or what he will sense when he reads it, is a different matter entirely. But a Haiku is written about nature! If it is written about anything else, for instance humans, their relations and so on, it is not called a Haiku, but rather a Senryu.

And last, but not least, a Haiku is supposed to make the reader think. It can be any kind of thought, from a line of logical conclusions to a vague feeling of sitting with something one doesn’t understand. But it has to leave the reader with something.

That concludes my guide to Haiku poetry for the time being. Perhaps one night I am bored, I will do one on Senryu and Choka as well…

~~Fenix~~
~~31.05.2005~~