@freehaiku
History of Haiku
(Part 2)
“That’s not a haiku, a haiku has 17 syllables!”
🧐😒🤨
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I said in my first post on the #HistoryOfHaiku that the way that many English language haiku writers have of writing haiku – in 17 syllables arranged over three lines in a 5-7-5 pattern – is based on something of a misunderstanding of Japanese haiku.
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Japanese haiku are usually, but not always, 17 “onji” long (an “onji” is a sound symbol in Japanese language).
The problem is that “onji” are shorter than English syllables, so in writing a haiku in 17 English syllables, we are writing poems that are quite a bit longer than a Japanese haiku (I’ve heard it said 12 English syllables may be closer in length to 17 Japanese “onji”).
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If you’d like to read more about this aspect of haiku, it is discussed in The #HaikuHandbook by #WilliamJHigginson & #PennyHarter, and by #MichaelDylanWelsh on the #NaHaiWriMo website, here: https://www.nahaiwrimo.com/why-no-5-7-5.
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Japanese haiku writers don’t all stick to the 17 “onji” length anyway.
The #NewTrendHaikuMovement in Japanese haiku in the early 20th century moved away from strictly adhering to a 17 onji pattern. These poets include #Hekigotō, #Seiensui, and a personal favourite, #Santōka.
And centuries before that Matsuo #Bashō himself (one of the earliest and most famous writers of what we now recognise as haiku) sometimes wrote haiku with extra onji.
#Haiku #FreeHaiku #Poetry

History of Haiku
(Post 1)
Ask anyone to tell you one think they know about haiku and they’ll probably tell you:
“It’s a poem written in 3 lines and 17 syllables
5 syllables in the first line, 7 in the second line, and 5 in the third line” (“575Haiku”)
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But unfortunately this:
1/ Hasn’t actually been true for most of the time people have been writing English language haiku
2/ Isn’t true for most people who write haiku in English today, and publish them in Journals dedicated to haiku, such as Frogpond, Modern Haiku (and many others)
3/ Is based on an almost complete misunderstanding of what Japanese haiku poems are like
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So, how did #575Haiku become so fixed in minds of so many people?
Probably because most people first learn about haiku from a teacher at school, and many teachers think of haiku as just “a great way to teach kids about counting syllables”, and (maybe?) not much more
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Over the next few days I’ll write some more posts that expand on these ideas a little further
And hopefully show that while haiku can be the simple fun poems we often see posted under the #575prompts tag
Haiku can also be
a
whole
lot
more
#Haiku #FreeHaiku #Poetry #17Syllables #HistoryOfHaiku @freehaiku