Haiku

=Haiku=

__Origin and History:__
===In Japan's history there are only a few well writers who have become known for their Haiku poems. These poets are Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki. The traditional Haiku contained seventeen syllables, however, Basho refined the art of the Haiku. He was able to write the poems with such simplicity and depth in a way it had never been done before. Basho wrote poetry from the sixteen seventies through the sixteen nineties. He did a lot of traveling using the different places that he visited as inspiration for his poems. During one period, his poetry expresses much spiritual suffering, which shows a struggle he was having through this time.===



This is Basho's most famous Haiku:
Furuike ya, kawazu tobikomu, mizu no oto. Breaking the silence Of an ancient pond, A frog jumped into water- A deep resonance.

===Buson also was both a talented poet and a talented painter. Buson brought back the traditional writing style of Haiku emphasizing on sticking to the classic ways. He created several of his own painting styles including Hai-ga which uses watercolors and often features Haiku poems.===

Example of his poetry:
The air shimmers Whitish flight of an unknown insect.

Plow the furrows the immobile cloud disappears.

A kite floats at the place in the sky where yesterday it floated.



Examples of their poetry:
Issa:

Even with insects-- some can sing, some can't.

The moon and the flowers, forty-nine years, walking around, wasting time.

Shiki:

While I turned my head that traveler I'd just past. . . Melted into mist

After killing a spider, How lonely I feel In the cold of night!



On - the meter of a Haiku
===A traditional Haiku contains seventeen on separated into three lines. The first line contains five on, the second line contains seven on, and the third line contains five on. There is usually no rhyme incorporated in these poems and they are often rather simple. The subject of a Haiku is usually two everyday objects that are juxtaposed.===

__Use of the Haiku:__
===While some poets included some philosophical beliefs midst the lines of their poems, many Japanese poets strayed from including their beliefs in their poems. These poems were mainly used as a mode to express observations or reflect personally. There is no religious use directly affiliated with Haiku and the majority of these poems were simply a form of expression just like many other forms of poetry.===

__Haiku and Japanese Society:__
===The Haiku of Japan shared many characteristics with the art of Japan. There was a huge focus on nature and things found everyday. The majority of Haiku simply describe a phenomena of nature, or an everyday occurrence. The poets who wrote Haiku did not intend on sending messages about society through their poems. More often than not, the poem means exactly what it says. Poets use the structure of the Haiku to record such things as falling rain in a poetic structure. The themes of Haiku and the artwork of the time meshed so well, that many times Haiku were incorporated into works of art, written on the paintings themselves.===





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__ Sources: __
"Buson Yosa." //Amusement BIGNET//. Web. .

"Haiku of Shiki and Others." //- The Gold Scales//. Web. .  "Haiku." //VolWeb//. Web. 2012. .  "Haikus: Basho & Issa." //WisdomPortal.com//. Web. .  <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times; font-size: 16px;">"Index.html." //Index.html//. Web. <http://bhoffert.faculty.noctrl.edu/>. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times; font-size: 16px;">"Passage through August - Kobayashi Issa Haiku." //A Passage through August//. Web. <http://www.augustpoetry.org/poets/Issa.htm>. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times; font-size: 16px;">"Poetry through the Ages." //Haiku Background : Poetry through the Ages//. Web. <http://www.webexhibits.org/poetry/explore_famous_haiku_background.html>. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times; font-size: 16px;">"SPICE." //The History and Artistry of Haiku -//. Web. <http://spice.stanford.edu/docs/138>. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times; font-size: 16px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times; font-size: 16px;">"Yosano Buson." //Web Japan : Top Page//. Web. <http://web-japan.org/museum/others/uta/haiku/haiku_02.html>.