An introduction to Haiku #2 - Nature

What is a haiku?

Last post was dedicated to the explanation of rhyme in haiku. Japanese is a musical language, filled with rhymes or near rhymes when considered the western concepts, which explains a different appreciation for the use of such technique in poetry. Matsuo Basho wrote quite a few rhyming haiku, and the strict rule of haiku never presenting any sort of rhyme seems to come from Western culture rather than Japanese culture itself. In other countries, such as Brazil, the use of rhymes in haiku is also common. Famous writers that learned the art of haiku from Japanese poets employed rhymes and suggest that the art of haiku is not as prohibiting as one might think.

The question remains: if rhyming is not a criterion for defining what is and what is not a haiku, then what is?

There seems to be one trait common to all haiku: nature.

Haiku is nature-based poetry.

Matsuo Basho, Kobayashi Issa, Yosa Buson, Masaoka Shiki, Kyoshi Takahama, Kawahigashi Hekigoto, Nakamura Kusatao…

All haiku poets share this common topic. There are, of course, different approaches: some focus on animals, others on plants, others on landscapes… but nature seems to be the common theme that unites all haikuists.

Now, there are poems that follow the 5-7-5 syllable structure common to haiku (though this structure is also not a rule for haiku, but rather a problem derived from translation, such as the rhyme rule, something we will discuss in a future post), and are not related to nature. These fall, according to many authors, in another category named senryū.

Haiku and senryū are usually similar in structure, with English authors distinguishing the two based mainly on this criterion: the first one is about nature; the latter, about humans.

If you are submitting to The Diutay Review, we are not interested in academic debates or rigorous definitions. We only ask that the poetry submitted fits the seven lines limit.

If you are not sure whether your poem constitutes a haiku, senryū, or other form of poetry, don’t worry about it.

Labels don’t convey Beauty. Art does.