We’re going to continue to talk about the haiku. If you missed the previous post about the haiku, please read that first!

Let’s take a look at this particular haiku:

几市 (i-ka-no-bo-ri) a kite

きのふの空の (ki-no-u-no-so-ra-no) in yesterday’s sky

ありどころ (a-ri-do-ko-ro) in the same place

This haiku is by Yosa Buson (与謝蕪村), who was a first rate haiku writer. On first glance Yosa Buson’s haiku is very simple. If you’ve taken college level Japanese at the beginner’s level, you’ve probably seen words like の, (possessive particle), きの, and そら. Like this haiku, you don’t need to use complex words to form a haiku. Yosan Buson used simple words, but the way that he arranged the words to express a deep meaning is what is unique about this haiku. So when you write your haiku, you can use simple words, but try forming those words in a way where the reader may have to think twice about what the haiku means.

Let’s move on to a new haiku:

柿くへば (ka-ki-ku-e-ba)Bite into a persimmon

鐘が鳴るなり (ka-ne-ga- na-ru-na-ri)Bells resound

法隆寺 (ho-o-ryu-u-ji) Hōryūji

This haiku is by Masaoka Shiki (正岡子規). Masaoka Shiki  was also a famous master of haiku writing. When you look at this haiku what do you notice? First off, there are a variety of sensations going on in just a few short lines. There’s the sensation of taste (persimmon), hearing (bells), and even seeing (Hōryūji). Therefore when you write your haiku, you can use a variety of sensations to express your point. If you read Japanese haikus, the theme of contrast is a popular topic. For instance, Masaoka Shiki’s haiku contrasts the earthly world versus the spiritual world. The persimmon is symbolic of the immediate needs of the flesh, but the bells of the Hōryūji temple symbolize the spiritual world. The bells serve as a transition between the earthly world and the heavenly world. Like Masaoka, you can contrast the flesh versus the spirit; the permanent versus the fleeting, summer versus winter, and on and on it goes. Before I end this post, let me give you a little background on Masaoka Shiki. Masaoka was very ill and on several occasions he was on the verge of dying. The thought of passing on to the spiritual world consumed his daily life, and can be seen in this particular haiku.