haiku
the seventeen-syllable poem
俳句（はいく）
In one line
The shortest answer that works
A haiku is a very short Japanese poem in a five-seven-five pattern that includes a season word.
俳句とは、五七五の形をとり、季語を含む非常に短い日本の詩です。
In 30 seconds
The standard explanation
A haiku has seventeen sound units arranged five, seven, five, and in traditional practice it must contain a kigo, a word indicating the season. It usually also has a cutting point that divides the poem in two. English versions often keep only the syllable count, which is why many poems called haiku abroad would not count as haiku by traditional Japanese standards.
俳句は十七の音を五、七、五に配した詩で、伝統的な作り方では季節を示す季語を含まなければなりません。ふつう、句を二つに切る切れも持ちます。英語の作品は音数だけを守ることが多く、そのため海外で俳句と呼ばれる作品の多くは、日本の伝統的な基準では俳句と見なされません。
As a short speech
A full paragraph you can read aloud
A haiku is a Japanese poem of seventeen sound units in a five-seven-five pattern, but the count is only part of it. Traditionally a haiku must contain a kigo, a season word, which does a great deal of work: naming a frog, a cicada or a plum blossom places the poem in a season and carries centuries of association with it.
There is also usually a break, a point where the poem turns and two images are set against each other without explanation. That gap is where the poem happens. The form grew out of the opening verse of a longer linked-verse game, was raised to an art by Matsuo Basho in the seventeenth century, and had its modern name popularized by Masaoka Shiki in the late nineteenth.
It is still a living popular practice: newspapers run haiku columns, companies hold contests, and groups of retired people meet monthly to share what they have written.
俳句は十七の音を五、七、五に配した日本の詩ですが、音の数はその一部にすぎません。伝統的に俳句は季語を含まなければならず、これが多くの働きをします。
蛙、蝉、梅の花と名指すだけで、句は季節の中に置かれ、何世紀もの連想を背負います。さらにふつう、句には切れがあり、そこで向きが変わり、二つの像が説明なしに並べられます。その隙間でこそ、詩が起こります。
この形は、連歌という長い連ねの遊びの発句から育ち、17世紀に松尾芭蕉が芸術に高め、19世紀末に正岡子規が今の名を広めました。今も生きた大衆の営みで、新聞には俳句欄があり、企業は俳句の公募を行い、退職した人たちが毎月集まって自作を持ち寄ります。
Questions people actually ask
And how to answer them.
Does an English haiku need seventeen syllables?
Japanese counts sound units, which are shorter than English syllables, so seventeen English syllables generally carries far more content than a Japanese haiku. Many English poets deliberately write shorter, aiming for the effect rather than the count.
日本語が数えるのは音の単位で、英語の音節より短いので、英語で十七音節にするとふつう日本語の俳句よりずっと多くの内容が入ります。英語の作り手には、数ではなく効果を目指してあえて短く書く人が多くいます。
What happens if there's no season word?
Traditionalists would say it is not really a haiku, although some modern poets do write haiku without season words. A related seventeen-sound form called senryu needs no season word and focuses on human affairs, often with humor, and Japanese competitions keep the two categories separate.
伝統を重んじる人なら、それは俳句ではないと言うでしょう。ただし近代以降、季語のない俳句を作る俳人もいます。季語を必要とせず、人の世を滑稽に詠むことの多い十七音の形は川柳と呼ばれ、日本の公募では両者は別の部門として扱われます。
A common misunderstanding
MYTHAny three-line poem of five, seven and five syllables is a haiku.
FACTIn traditional Japanese practice the season word is essential. A seventeen-sound poem about human foibles with no season word is usually called senryu instead.
Phrases you can use
- It needs a season word, not just the syllables.音数だけでなく季語が必要です。
- Japanese counts sounds, not syllables.日本語は音節ではなく音を数えます。
- Without a season word it's called senryu.季語がなければ川柳と呼ばれます。
- Newspapers still run haiku columns.新聞には今も俳句欄があります。
Words you need
- season word季語
- cutting word切れ字
- sound unit音
- poetry circle句会
Watch
From YouTubeBackground (Japanese)
季語を集めた辞典を歳時記と呼び、春夏秋冬と新年の五つに分けて数千語が収められています。「蛙」は春、「蝉」は夏、「天の川」は秋の季語です。松尾芭蕉の『おくのほそ道』は俳句と紀行文を組み合わせた作品で、今も読まれています。「俳句」という呼び名を広めたのは明治の正岡子規で、それ以前は連歌の最初の句を意味する「発句」と呼ばれていました。学校では小学生から作らせることが多く、日本人にとって最も身近な詩の形の一つです。