haikai

I'll be publishing pics here as well, as I experiment with haiga, a haikai form I'm not entirely comfortable with yet.

by An Xiao 2006

The most attenuated form of all is the hokku (or haikai) which consists of only three lines, namely, 17 syllables.

A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era Dairoku Kikuchi 1886

Afterwards, by the addition of the hokku, an abbreviation of the already brief renga and haikai, which adapted itself to the capacities of anyone possessing a nimble wit or a sparkling thought, without any preparation of literary study, the range of poetry was still further extended.

A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era Dairoku Kikuchi 1886

Matsuo Basho Was the father of the haikai and the hokku, and his mantle descended upon

A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era Dairoku Kikuchi 1886

This now found a substitute in the haikai, which admitted language taken from purely Japanese sources and could thus be produced without any exercise of special scholarship.

A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era Dairoku Kikuchi 1886

There have been books on the history of Japanese humor before, but I’ve never felt that they captured any of the actual fun being had by the authors of haikai, senryu, satirical enga or kyogen.

井の中の蛙 » Laughter and Tears on the Charles » Print 2006

There have been books on the history of Japanese humor before, but I’ve never felt that they captured any of the actual fun being had by the authors of haikai, senryu, satirical enga or kyogen.

Laughter and Tears on the Charles 2006

There have been books on the history of Japanese humor before, but I’ve never felt that they captured any of the actual fun being had by the authors of haikai, senryu, satirical enga or kyogen.

Laughter and Tears on the Charles 2006

There have been books on the history of Japanese humor before, but I’ve never felt that they captured any of the actual fun being had by the authors of haikai, senryu, satirical enga or kyogen.

Carnival of Bad History #6 2006