An haiku (俳句) is a Japanese form of poetry that consists of five moras for the first line, seven moras for the second line, and back to five moras for the third line. Let’s look at some examples of Japanese haiku. By the end of this post, I hope you will be inspired to write your own!

The haiku below is a very famous Japanese haiku. Every student of Japanese should be able to recognize it:

古池や (fu-ru-i-ke-ya) Old pond

蛙飛込む (ka-wa-zu-to-bi-ko-mu) Frog leaps in

水の音 (mi-zu–no -o-to) Water’s sound

This poem is by Matsuo Bashō (松尾芭蕉). He is one of the more famous masters of haiku poetry. One thing that I want to point out is that in the first line the や (ya) in (古池や) serves as a kireji (切れ字,). Kireji is often used to close or give pause to a line or thought. In other words, it sort of serves as a comma, semicolon or a period. Kireji literally means “cutting word” in Japanese, and that’s what kireji words do. They “cut” or interrupt the stream of thought in the haiku. Moreover, the word itself, in this case it happens to be や, doesn’t have a literal translation in English. That’s because there really is no meaning to a kireji word. A kireji word simply functions as a device to pause or bring closure to a line.

Now take a look at this haiku:

露の世は (tsu-yu- no- yo -wa) World of dew

露の世ながら (tsu-yu -no -yo –na-ga-ra) World of dew indeed

さりながら (sa-ri-na-ga-ra) And yet, and yet…

This haiku was written by Kobayashi Issa (小林 一茶), who was also a famous haiku poet. It’s not unusual for Japanese haikus to be vague and seem incomplete. Lots of haikus are reflective pieces that may have several interpretations. If you’re having trouble writing your own haiku, try thinking about what you want your reader to feel. In other words, what impression do you want the reader to get from reading your haiku? For example, when I read the haiku by Kobayashi, I get a sad and ephemeral feeling. You may not get that impression from Kobayashi’s haiku, and that’s okay. It’s normal for people to have differing views of the same haiku. In case you’re wondering, this haiku was written after Kobayashi’s daughter died prematurely. To me, the world of dew is a commentary on how life is fleeting. As soon as dew drops in the morning, it dries up by night. I get the feeling Kobayashi knows this intellectually, but is unable to accept this emotionally; hence the last line.

I have more haiku posts on the way, so be sure to look out for the next post!