Haiku Form. Joan Giroux
Kaete mo tabi no
Shirami kana
The change of clothes;
Changed, yes,
But the same lice of my journeying.
It is a familiar and disheartening experience, in an overcrowded country, that it is difficult to get rid of lice.
Next in time to Issa comes the modern poet Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902). Born in Matsuyama, Shiki worked for a newspaper after graduating from Tokyo University. Although he had earlier contracted tuberculosis, he fought in the Sino-Japanese war (18941895). Returning with his illness aggravated, he worked from his sickbed on the renewal and improvement of waka and haiku, editing the famous haiku magazine Hototogisu (Cuckoo). Shiki is the first poet to use the term "haiku." He gives new characteristics to the form—greater variety of subject matter and increased objectivity. That he is an admirer of Buson's descriptive haiku may be seen by the following:
Iriguchi ni
Mugi hosu ie ya
Furu-sudare
Barley drying
In front of the door:
Old bamboo blinds hanging.
This poem presents an objective, almost harsh picture of a farmhouse.
In recent times, with the recommendation of a freer verse style by the poet Ogiwara Seisensui (b. 1884), the new tendency towards greater freedom in haiku begins. Experiments are made with titles, with two-line haiku or with longer lines. For example, the following haiku has 24 syllables divided into 10, 6 and 8 syllables to the line.
Hibari tenjo de naki
Daichi de naki
Nakinagara nobori
The lark sings in heaven
Sings on earth
Sings as it rises.
Blyth remarks that the rhythm of this verse by Seisensui "expresses the flight of the bird and its song."2 Each of the four great haiku writers illustrates a certain style of haiku, and each (with the exception of Issa) left a school of followers to continue his work. One of the early developments was senryu.
Senryu is the satirical form of haiku originated by Karai Senryu (1718-1790) in Edo. As mock haiku, it allows greater liberty of diction including the use of vulgarisms; it also permits more obvious humour, moralizing and philosophical comment. More than haiku, perhaps indeed in opposition to haiku, it expresses the incongruity of things. The tone is less elevated than that of haiku. As Geoffrey Bownas states, "it stops short at the particular and deals in distortions and failings, not in the beauty of nature."3
When she wails
At the top of her voice,
The husband gives in.
This senryu contains a universally humorous situation, indicating human failings on the part of both persons. Mothers-in-law, the clergy, shrewish wives, women of easy virtue and bachelor life are favorite targets of senryu. Would-be writers of English haiku are often dismayed to have their Japanese friends remark, "Your poem is more like senryu. It is too philosophical." It is not surprising, therefore, that senryu appeals strongly to Western readers. The Western tradition of logic rather than intuition makes senryu in some respects easier to write than haiku.
Having traced the growth of haiku from waka to the modern free haiku, and keeping in mind above all the haikai of Basho, a tentative definition of haiku may be attempted at this point. A haiku is a 17-syllable poem arranged in three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables, having some reference to the season and expressing the poet's union with nature.
Haiku is short; the Japanese like to call it "the first in the world for shortness." Seventeen syllables, for reasons which will be clarified later, is judged to be the number usually most suitable for haiku; similarly the three-line form is found best to support the imagery of haiku. The season word adds a whole atmosphere to the poem, thus permitting brevity without loss of significance. The raison d'être, the whole purpose of the poem, is to express the poet's union with nature, his flash of intuition concerning the objects which his senses perceive. The same definition will be seen to apply equally well to English haiku.
Once Japan was opened to the West in 1868, envoys from England became interested in translating and studying haiku. Later, Ezra Pound and the Imagists were influenced by the short poems. At present there is a growing interest in the form, as evidenced by the fact that in North America there are at least four "little magazines" devoted to the publication of haiku in English. Translations of Japanese haiku are very popular; Miyamori Asataro, R. H. Blyth, Harold G. Henderson, Peter Beilenson and Yuasa Nobuyuki are among the better-known translators. Although the translators have used a variety of forms, those who write English haiku have been, on the whole, faithful to the three-line form. Greater freedom is taken with regard to the 17 syllables.
The haiku form has been in existence in Japan for centuries and is still vigorous there. Whether or not the genuine haiku will take root and flourish in English-speaking countries remains to be seen. There is no doubt, however, that a knowledge of haiku has been found to be an enriching experience which the West seems to be welcoming with increased respect.
Footnote
* Where no other translator is identified, all translations and romanizations from Japanese and Chinese in this volume are by R. H. Blyth.
II INTRODUCTION TO ZEN AND JAPANESE CULTURE
No complete discussion of haiku is possible without mentioning Zen. Yet the Zen content of haiku is little understood and often ignored by would-be writers of English haiku. Zen Buddhism has its roots in the religion founded in India by Gautama, the first form of which was Theravada or Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle) Buddhism, a later development being Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism. When it entered China, the Indian religion assimilated elements of Taoism and Confucianism and found practical expression in Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism. Chinese painting and poetry were permeated with these religious influences. Eventually, the several branches of Buddhism, along with Chinese literature and art, were introduced into Japan, where they came into contact with Shinto, the indigenous religion of the country. The search for the satori of Zen was associated with several typically Japanese forms of art—Noh, the tea ceremony, flower arranging and the code of chivalry. These religious and artistic influences all culminate in the Zen satori, or moment of enlightenment, the concept of which will be examined briefly later.
BUDDHISM, TAOISM AND CONFUCIANISM
Zen is a development of the Buddhism founded in India by Gautama Buddha in the sixth century B.C. In his first sermon, Gautama taught that there are two extremes to be avoided—sensual indulgence and self-mortification. By avoiding the two extremes he gained the enlightenment of the middle path. The Four Noble Truths of the middle path are, first, the Truth of Pain or Suffering—the pains of birth, old age, sickness, death, union with the unpleasant, separation from the pleasant and the pain of not obtaining what one wishes; secondly, the Truth of the Cause of Pain, which is craving—lustfulness, the craving for existence and the craving for nonexistence; thirdly, the truth of the Cessation of Pain: that is, the cessation of craving and detachment from it; and lastly, the Truth of the Path that Leads to the Cessation of Pain—the eightfold path, the final goal of which is Nirvana. Nirvana is a transcendent state free of craving, suffering and sorrow, the state of freedom from the self and absorption into the great Self, analogous to that of a candle held against the sun; the candle retains its identity yet merges with the light of the sun. The essence of the doctrine of Gautama may be summed up as transience and detachment—the transience of life and the detachment from its joys and sorrows which is necessary for the faithful. These two religious notions are prevalent in haiku.
As Buddhism developed, the earlier version came to be known as Hinayana or Theravada (Lesser Vehicle) Buddhism, a later version