(Chinese version: published in 2018; English version: Revised and published on 2023-2-20)
(by Chiau-Shin NGO M.D., Ph.D.; Jau-Shin WU; 吳 昭新; オーボー真悟; 瞈望), (English version edited by Anthony WU, Cornell Law School (J.D., 2017). University of Southern California (B.A., 2014)
“Haiku” is a very short poem that originated in Japan. Now it has spread all over the world and has become a short poem written in various languages, and very popular too. One more note that should be added is that the haiku is the shortest poem in the world.
Indeed, haiku is generally the easiest popular short poem to learn in poetry, and it is also a poem that even elementary school students can write, but it also has its characteristics, that is, the poetic sentiment can reach the realm of profound and infinite, even reaching the realm of Zen enlightenment. We want to be able to write a good work with depth, however, it requires not only painstaking work and various kinds of life experiences but also a gifted ability to understand it.
Generally speaking, haiku can be written by everyone from children to adults, from common people to great Zen masters and thinkers. It is a poem that can be written according to personal ability. It is suitable for all people. This is how haiku can be written smoothly and also the reason it has become popular throughout the world.
However, in Taiwan, different phenomena have delayed its development. In Taiwan, even college students still don’t know what <haiku> is. Many poets find it dry and tasteless. The reasons will be explained later.
In the United States, they have been taught in elementary schools, so American elementary school students, like Japanese students, know what “Haiku” is. But what I want to say is that they don’t necessarily really know or understand the true meaning and the essence of haiku, and Japanese elementary students are the same too.
Because haiku will grow and change with you, that is, it will grow and change with your intelligence, sensibility, and life experience. Everyone has different life experiences, so not
all of them will understand the true connotation of your work, at most the appearance, so there will rarely be resonance. So after writing one or two hundred haikus, there will be no difference in the quality of their works and their ability to write them, I am afraid it just depends on whether there are friends who resonate with them.
The more esoteric people write haiku, the fewer people can resonate with them, so fewer people may consider the work to be excellent, and the so-called score after voting may be lower. But having said that, the more people in the poetry club have a high-level ability, the situation will be reversed. Therefore, the scores of excellent works can communicate the level of appreciation for literature and art.
<Haiku> is one of the short poems in Japanese. It has developed side by side with another short poem, <Tanka>, and <Haiku> is, as a matter of fact, an extension of <Tanka>.
<Tanka> was originally a poem written by court nobles, while <Haiku> was also an extension of the <tanka>, it was a short poem that was circulated among ordinary people. It has a history of nearly 500 years in Japan.
Of course, in an environment where many people have repeatedly debated and discussed, groups have formed, and times and ideas have changed, and despite biases, misunderstandings, and even mistakes and other matters, things have finally become what they are now. Although people still have their own opinions and thoughts, the nature of the genre remains hidden.
The so-called “people” include poets, literati, common people from all walks of life, middle school students, and even elementary school students.
The English term “Haiku”, coupled with the development of the Internet in recent years, has now become a fashion in the international literary world.
However, the situation in Taiwan is a little different, and it looks like it can’t keep up with the current trend. In the first half of the 1990s, some people in Taiwan tried to write haiku in Chinese and Chinese characters for a while, and there was a lot of excitement in the Supplements of <the China Times> and <the United Daily News> papers, for a while, but it didn’t continue later.
Although it is difficult to determine the reason, it is probably due to the lack of a clear understanding of the essence of haiku, which is one of the more important reasons, and because the Chinese poetry circle has become accustomed to modern free-tempered lyric poetry for 100 years. The reason for this cannot be entirely attributed to foreigners’ lack of understanding of Japanese. It is especially likely to be due to the biased understanding of the nature of haiku in Japan in the last 100 years. The quoting of a popular term, <Populism> – for the cause is suitable. Since I am not a linguistics researcher, literary critic, or philosopher, I can only discuss it from the standpoint of an ordinary poet.
From the first appearance of this term to the present, its meaning or explanation has changed according to the times or different fields, and it is ambiguous, but the general meaning is “the trend of the masses”, which is the antonym of <Elitism>.
In Taiwan, it is generally translated in Mandarin Chinese as “popular spirit; “民粹”, although it does not sound very pleasant in Mandarin, the lingering charm is quite similar. I think it is quite a translation of “Shen Yun; 神韻”, which is a short and wonderful translation. In Japanese, as is common practice, the Japanese kana syllabary <katakana> is directly expressed as <ポピュリズム> according to the original sound. The advantage of this type of transliteration is that when the meaning of the original word changes, there is no need to explain or take action following the change.
After the Second World War, the Japanese adopted a large number of foreign words. Nowadays, there is roughly one katakana foreign word in twenty words used in everyday language and narrative. So the elderly people who are very fluent in Japanese, not only in Taiwan but also in Japan feel pain. Therefore, more than ten years ago, the Japanese government formally proposed the case for the translation of dozens of foreign words into Chinese character vocabulary. After that, there seemed to be no follow-up actions. Maybe it is because elderly people passed away one by one, and the necessity disappears naturally is unknown.
These foreign words in Japan have become formal Japanese terms, and they are written in a formal Japanese font. Not only foreigners cannot recognize nor understand when hearing of or looking at them. After World War II, this kind of so-called “Katakana Japanese” has been continuously increasing, as well as the so-called “Japanese English” and its katakana language, as well as a rush to reduce the use of Chinese characters and reduce the number of commonly used Chinese characters. Later, however, changes and the needs of the times have increased the number of commonly used Chinese characters by several times.
However, in Taiwan, some Christian church members(4% of the general population) who advocate the use of <Peh Oe Ji = Church Romanization>, or those who study linguistics and Taiwanese in Western countries, not in Taiwan will deliberately or misinform themselves when they encounter obstacles in promoting the romanization of their mother tongue, and they like to use Japanese English as an example of the use of foreign languages to discard using Chinese characters as a basis for the use of the “Tailuo-Romanizing Taiwanese template”.
<Haiku> is a Japanese poem. It started with <Waka;和歌> in the Heian Period (平安時代：794-1185) of Japan, followed by <Renga；連歌>, <Tan Renga; 短連歌>, <Hokku；発句>, <Haikai；俳諧> and evolved to the <Haiku；俳句> of the Meiji era（明治時代） which was named by <Shiki；子規>.
It is the Japanese short poems that have changed in this way, and another important thing is that Shiki has elevated its ranking to the status of <literature>.
Although the term “Haiku” was named by Shiki in the Meiji era, the poetic form of “Haiku” can be traced back to the Edo period (1600-1868) of the so-called <master of haiku> “Basho” (1644-1694) era or it has existed at an earlier time, so it is difficult to determine the exact time of its origin. However, the Japanese haiku world is roughly based on the founder of <Haikai Renga> Soukan Yamazaki (1465?-1554?) as its origin, followed by Moritake Arakita, and then someone called Teitoku Matsunaga of the Tei sect and the Souin Nishiyama of the Dan Lin sect, and Basho followed Teitoku’s disciple Kigin Kitamura as his teacher. At that time, it had been two hundred years since Soukan. It took another two hundred years from Basho to Shiki (1867-1902), and a total of nearly 500 years after more than 100 years.
The change of the history of <haiku>, continued as follows: after Shiki promoted haiku to the status of literature, it passed through the Hekigotou Kawahigashi, Kyoshi Takahama, Seisensui Ogihara, Housai Ozaki, Santouka Taneda, Ichihekiro Nakatsuka, Sekitei Hara, Syuuoushi Mizuhara, Seishi Yamaguchi, Sozyu Takano, Zenzidou Yoshioka, Sanki Saitou, Shigenobu Takayanagi, Kenshin Sumitaku and others’<New Trend Haiku>, <Spoken Language>, <Free style>, <Kacyoou huuei>, <Objective Sketching>, <Emerging Haiku>, <Sketch>, <Subjective and Objective>, <No Season>, <Personnel>, <Life>, <Analysis>, <Ethics>, <Concept>, <Thinking of Life>, <Thinking>, <Philosophy> , <common language>, <common saying>, <popularization>, <worldliness>, <figures>, <metaphors>, <metaphors>, <internationalization>, <Montage>, etc. have progressed to all directions and divergences, and the reverse traceability to the different nature of the content like Basho’s “Wabi, Sabi”, Buson’s “Painting, Sayings, Chinese”, Issa’s “General Secular, Saying” and Inoue Seigetsu’s “Wandering” are remarkable ones.
In this way, the definition of “Haiku” should be something that has context and is easy to understand, but it still runs into trouble.
“Why?” you may ask. Because in Japan nowadays, when people mention <haiku>, they must first mention the “flower and bird satire, objective sketching and the strict five-seven-five cut-character, and so-called <season-word> of three constraints” of the haiku world. (Populism)
Please take a look, right in front of you, in the newspaper, on the Internet, and on the TV at things of such as ” The Introduction to Haiku”, “How to Make Haiku”, “What is Haiku”, etc., when it comes to haiku, they are all like this. This is not an exaggeration, as many Japanese people would disapprove if you don’t obey those rules.
The reason is that these were due to Shiki’s emphasis on the painting of life and the great nature and finding the buried Buson, and later Kyoshi dealt with the prevailing Hekigotou Kawahigashi’s new trend of haiku and advocated the objective sketch of nature with Kigo (season word) as the main axis, saying that this is closer to the Japanese lifestyle, and it is easier to be accepted by the Japanese public and is especially advocated for. He also defined haiku as “the Landscape Poem”.
Haiku in Japan, since the Meiji era, was introduced by WG Aston (1841-1911; William George Aston), Lafkaji Hahn (1850-1904; Patrick Lafcadio Hearn), BH Chamberlain (1850-1930; Basil Hall Chamberlain), Poer Louis Couchou (1879-1959; Paul Louis Couchoud), Yonejiro Noguchi (1875-1947; Yone Noguchi), Ezra Pound (1885-1972; Ezra Pound), RH Blair Si (1898-1964; Reginald Horace Blyth) and others to the West, and because of Suzuki’s relationship of with Blyth, became associated with <Zen>, and in the early twentieth century, because of the introduction of Y. Noguchi and the promotion of Pondo Imagism in the West, especially after World War II, it spread quickly to the whole world. Nowadays, it is popularly referred to by the word “haiku” and the same name “俳句; haiku” in Chinese cultural areas. Don’t you think that it is an honor in Japanese culture?
However, I can’t figure out why there are still some Japanese people, who have the thought that “Haiku is a uniquely Japanese style of poetry, therefore foreigners will not understand, and want to block the fact that has become a global trend, and restrict the HAIKU to be only in Japan. As a foreigner, I don’t understand it at all, but because of the benefits of being a foreigner, I don’t have to worry about the encirclement and criticism of the Japanese haiku world, and because of the convenience and freedom I won’t be subject to the editor’s opinion, and I can express myself freely. The platform for the opinions of the author is the Internet, which has allowed me an opportunity to bring up my humble opinion, and is also why this article can be seen here.
There are already many people in various countries in the world, who will take all the phenomena and events in life, society, politics, nature, human affairs, feelings, thoughts, etc. that happen around them every day, regardless of subject or objective, ad express them in three lines or one line. The shortest way to write is horizontal or direct writing. In Japan, it was originally written in one line in the old days, but now many people do as described above, especially in modern IT networks. The original vertical writing is changed to horizontal writing and it is also accepted and has gradually become the mainstream. You might take a look at the haiku column in various newspapers, magazines, and the Internet to find out.
However, what confuses people in the world is the three constraints of <kigo=seasonal word>, <575>, and <kireji> and separating into three sections. Many Japanese reluctantly use <seasonal word> without seasonal sense or moveable seasonal word which you can replace with another seasonal word <kigo>.
<Kigo> was originally intended to supplement the amount of information that could not be expressed in the short seventeen tones, and is the words related to <seasonal sense> which are most closely related to Japanese lifestyles. Thus, the <kigo> is originally used as a supplement and is a very good idea, but it becomes something redundant, eventually.
There is also a word called <kidai> with a meaning similar to “kigo” and is difficult to distinguish from “kigo”. It can be said to be the same. It is used at different associations, especially at the “Japanese Traditional Haiku Association”, <kidai> instead of <kigo> to indicate the main purpose of the association.
For example, the original purpose of the aforementioned <kigo> was to add some information but by adding the <kigo> and on the contrary, using the <kigo> which does not have a sense of season or <movable word> the result is that the amount of content that is already very small becomes less and is wasted.
Also, it should be known that the content of “kigo” may change or not be used due to the changes of the times, and the new “kigo” will come out due to progress and development. At the same time, even the same <kigo> sometimes refers to the different seasons and other situations. This not only loses the original purpose of using the seasonal word but also reduces the content of the already short haiku by adding ineffective seasonal words. Isn’t this putting the cart before the horse?
Also, to determine whether it is a <kigo> seems to depend on whether it is recorded in the so-called <saijiki>( a catalog of season-specific words used in composing haiku). Who is to decide which <kigo> is a <kigo>? Who has this power? there are many contradictions, but populism in the haiku world has caused and accepted such a result.
If you think about the reason, it was originally the good intentions of Kyoshi. It is necessary to provide or explain to the general public that the most familiar and easy way to chant haiku form in Japan is “Poetic composition of Flower and Bird -i.e., Nature” to promote haiku, but in turn, the original purpose of Kyoshi was originally only a form of haiku, ” Haiku is a ‘kyakkan-shasei’ (an objective portrayal) and ‘kacho-fuei’ (beauties of nature and the harmony between nature and man)”, but it excludes all other forms of haiku and occupies the status of the principal image of haiku. The most regrettable thing is that in his masterpiece “Haiku Reader”, Kyoshi said “Haiku is a short poem unique to Japan that chants flowers and birds (nature)and momentum has a <kigo> and five-seven-five rhythm”, thus, as a result, he put this sentence to death.
<Populism> is not limited to haiku, it is a phenomenon that can be seen in every corner of society. What’s terrible is that sometimes it may cause riots, wars, revolutions, mass killings, or massacres. To be honest, if <kigo> is used correctly and well, it is a very good tool, but it is sometimes used in the wrong place. This is <the status quo>.
This kind of phenomenon may be referred to as the psychology of a large group or crowd psychology, but generally speaking, usually riots happen like this. In ancient and modern times, the “brainwashing” work that dictatorships find very convenient and are willing to use is also a psychological operation of this category.
Nowadays, the “sharp power” that has become a problem in the world is also a similar one, and those who are interested can only watch it, or even the fire itself will be burned, eaten, and suffer themselves.
There are more than a thousand haiku associations in Japan. Although they are called poetry clubs, they are not purely a poetry club combining poets and colleagues, but a gathering similar to the form of mentor and apprentice <なりわい; nariwai>. Each club is not related to the others, and some Japanese who do not understand the essence of haiku is self-righteous and triumphantly explain it, but foreigners also accept it, which makes the problem more complicated.
People who truly understand the nature of haiku are being pushed back by populist vigor.
They may be worried that it will affect the livelihood of the haiku association. It is natural to be confused. I occasionally encounter self-righteous foreigners and although they know only a few foreign languages, say that their short poems that resemble <tanka> are <haiku> and believe that they are happy, or even accuse others.
Think about it carefully. Indeed, people rely on teaching haiku to make a living in their careers. Although it is very impolite to say, many so-called idle ladies learn haiku for vanity or to kill time. However, certainly learning to write haiku is better than indulging in gambling, mahjong, steel balls, or horse racing. At least you can practice Japanese or learn more concise Japanese.
Furthermore, the so-called <切> means the end of a paragraph of an article in Japanese, and the original structure of haiku can be summarized into two structures of <one sentence and one chapter> or <two sentences and one chapter>, which is called <一物仕立て in Japanese: One thing made or made in one go> or <取り合わせ, 二物衝撃：two things combination: two things impact and makeup>, is a 17-sound Japanese or 10-sound Chinese construction forms. Especially for the first type, the sentence is formed in one go, and its ending point is often at the end and is difficult to notice. Sometimes it is difficult to notice the two things’ combination type whether it is after the first sentence or the second sentence.
Recently, however, some people have deliberately created haiku, because of illusion or desire for innovation, which creates a new type of haiku called “two-line haiku”. Factually, this is the original structure of haiku, and not a discovery or specification, although feasible but not a new game. They have forgotten another characteristic of haiku, which is where the five-seven-five tone and three-paragraph come from.
So, the structure of haiku is one sentence and one chapter or two sentences and one chapter. Why should it be divided into three paragraphs and five seven five? It must have its original meaning, because Japanese is a flat language without rhythm, no flatness, and no accent, and it has been used since ancient times. All kinds of poems are mainly based on the five-seven rhythm. The reason is that Japanese is a language with an eight-beat (mola) as its rhythm. As for this understanding of two paragraphs, I introduced on the Internet as early as 2011, the Chinese translation of haiku published by Dr. Jin Zhong, a Chinese genius poet who studied in Japan for ten years and obtained a doctorate in literature. <One word, one sentence> Introduced in the paper. Jin is currently a professor at the Japanese Department of the School of Foreign Languages, Xi’an Jiaotong University, China (http://grxjtueducn/web/jinzhong/1). This is a new type of Chinese short poem <Jieju; 截句> which was recently created by someone in China intending to distinguish it from <Hanpai> and compete with it. It is not a new creation, as Jieju has existed in China for a long time, and like <Hanpai, 漢俳> it does not have the characteristics of <Haiku>’s “momentary touch and shortness that cannot be shorter”, so it is not a question of comparison at all. In addition, to cut a sentence into paragraphs in an article, various languages have their cutting methods, and it is not necessary to imitate Japanese grammar for discussion.
As for where the five-seven-five rhythm came from, Chinese people always like to attribute it to the metrical pattern of classical Chinese poetry. There is no basis for it, yes or no, but it is not very important. Some Japanese scholars also attribute it to the five-seven boating tune of the marine people, but it doesn’t matter. What is important is that the feature of <short> in <haiku> is the most important. Also, the Japanese five-seven-five is counted as a syllable and Japanese is a polysyllable language, however, Chinese characters are one character per syllable. On average, one character per syllable of Chinese characters is approximately equal to the 1.5 syllable information of Japanese. Therefore, the five-seven-five of Japanese haiku cannot be copied similarly into Chinese characters. This will cause the amount of information in the entire haiku to exceed the amount of information in the Japanese haiku, which is the result of violating the most important feature of the <shortness> of haiku. As a result, Japanese haiku is often translated into Chinese during the five-seventh-five form, which resulted in adding some extra words not contained in the original sentences of Japanese haiku. As a result, making a Chinese haiku may result in “extra icing on the cake” or “adding feet to a snake”. I call these translations masters translators’ re-creation of masterpieces to distinguish them from the translations of the original sentences. If you don’t believe it, analyze the previous name “Re-creation”. There must be one or two more words that do not appear in the original sentence. Therefore, Chinese haiku should be a sentence of 10 characters with 3-4-3 syllables. It will be approximately equal to the amount of information in Japanese five-seven-five haiku, and the number of Chinese characters is approximately equal to five or six main Chinese words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs); more than seven words are too many.
In addition, there are people in Japan who chant non-fixed haiku, called “free-style haiku”. Haiku in Chinese is also feasible, but it is not good for making up an alternative excuse for 343 rhythms before you get accustomed to a 343 fixed-type Chinese haiku. The type stays behind when you have become a recognized haikuist, because <Haiku> is a poem, a poem is a rhyme, and the haiku with the rhyme should be better. Japanese is a language that is difficult to rhyme, so the five-seven-five tune is used to be a supplement for it.
Although there are also rhymes in Chinese, it is quite difficult to rhyme in just ten characters, so a 3-4-3 tone is also much better indeed.
In the past six or seven years, I did meet a few beginners, who asked me whether they could replace the requirements of <343> with <free-style type>. They are now masters of <343> Chinese Haiku, and they have forgotten that they had such a request in the past.
I have mentioned to them that several Japanese famous haiku authors of “free-style haiku” were famous 575 haiku authors already, and when they became famous haiku writers of “free-style haiku”, they abandoned their families and left their hometowns to travel around like a nomad. Examples include Hekigotou Kawahigashi, Santouka Taneda, Housai Ozaki, Kenshin Sumitaku, and so on.
Japanese 5-7-5 and Chinese 3-4-3 haikus are both good rhythms, suitable for many Japanese and Chinese slogans, and suitable for idioms too. They are rhythmic, smooth, and pleasant. It proves the suitability of the 3-4-3 rhythm for Chinese haiku. Three-four or four-three is the disassembly of seven, and the sum of five-five is 10. Everyone knows that the five and the seven tones are the basic structure of Chinese poetry (近體詩). As for four, everyone knows why there are more four-character idioms in Chinese. This is probably because the four characters are easy to read in Chinese. For example, the ancient Chinese poetry collection “The Book of Songs” (詩經) has four-character sentences as the majority, and the last two in the “Three Character Classic”(三字經), “Hundred Family Names” (百家姓), and “Thousand-Character Classic” (千字文) for beginners in ancient China are all four-character sentences. It looks like the four words are also catchy sentences that people like. On chanting, it is easy to chant a rhythmic and pleasant sentence. On the other hand, some people will dislike the slogan tone of three, four, and three, but this is a question of personal wording. I also found that when Japanese people use five-seven-five chanting haiku or three-four-three Chinese haiku if on this occasion the four-character Chinese idiom is added, the Japanese will find it very fashionable and deep, because the idioms originally contain profound connotations. It is suitable to supplement the short haiku, but for a person who understands Chinese, these idioms that have become daily expressions occupy four characters in the short 10-character Chinese haiku, and they will have an unbearable counter-effect.
Some people may say that some “Haiku” has “the indigenous or intrinsic tone”, but the intrinsic tone is difficult for ordinary people to feel unless you are a poet experienced in poetry, so I often say I agree and like “free-style haiku” very much. However, I want to advise you to slow down for a while before becoming a great poet.
As mentioned earlier, there are also several masters of “Freestyle Haiku” in Japan, such as Hekigotou Kawahigashi, Santouka Taneda, Housai Ozaki, Kenshin Sumitaku ( who died at 25 years old), etc. Do you know them? All of them wandered around the country, living like homeless beggars or bohemians, except for one who died young: Kenshin Sumitaku. Can you live such a life? Of course, if you are confident that you have this kind of talent and are willing to indulge in genius and the life of the poet, I have no reason to oppose it.
Next, I will talk about Chinese haiku. The details have been interpreted in a few essays that I have written in the past few years, and I will not repeat them, but only list the main points here. First of all, we often see the word “Hanpai”, because there is a character <pai=俳> in both Chinese and Japanese that everyone thinks is a haiku written in Chinese characters, but it is a big mistake. <Hanpai> only imitates the appearance of Japanese haiku. The seventeen sounds, ignoring the most important point of haiku, “shortness” that is, absolutely need to save redundant vocabulary. The meaning of a Chinese character may be equal to 1.5~2.0 sounds of Japanese. The fact is that the Chinese language is mono-syllable, and Japanese is poly-syllable.
However, the birth of “Hanpai” (漢俳) involved diplomatic and political issues. To take into account the politics of haiku diplomacy and the peace of the world, and although Chinese and Japanese haiku experts already know it, they have to make mistakes and learn from them. Since both China and Japan have a common definition, and there are also many excellent works, there is no need to touch it, and one may leave it be as a “Haiku-looking short poem with five, seven, five Chinese characters, but it is a new three-line Chinese short poem, or 575 fixed new poem or modern poem” to be passed on. Frankly speaking, Liberty New Poetry writers (Chinese) are also subconsciously tired of unrestricted new poems, thinking of some restricted modern poems and thinking of 575 stereotyped modern poems to miss the modern poems of the May 4th era that were called “moaning without illness”.
However, based on the “Chinese haiku” that abides by the true haiku essence of a member of the “world haiku” of Japanese haiku, I advocate that the “Chinese haiku” should be chanted based on the 10 characters (sounds), and one or two words before and after it might be allowed to increase or decrease. Because the “Haiku” chanted with 17 Chinese characters has too much internal capacity or information, which is another short poem named “Tanka” that goes hand in hand with Japanese Haiku and has the same amount of information. There are already both Japanese and Chinese haikuist predecessors in Taiwan: Bing Jan and Ling-jr Huang raised this question more than 40 years ago in Taiwan.
Moreover, many people in Taiwan or China feel that there is no feeling for chanting with only ten characters. I have repeatedly mentioned that haiku is very short so it is difficult to describe a complete lyric. Although it is not impossible, it is only necessary to grasp the moment and just describe it. However, for people in the Chinese-speaking areas, since <the May Fourth New Culture Movement> in China in 1911, the modern style Chinese poems that have strict and complicated rules and are said to be <moaning without illness> have declined. Only a few people with leisurely sentiments and talents can chant them. Many people are accustomed to chanting modern poems of freedom.
I also chanted hundreds of modern poems in the romantic high school age. Sixty years later, when I regained my poetry, I missed the works full of hope and dreams from my youth; however, I could not see my youth again because all of my young days’ works were destroyed by an unknown fire in 1987.
I can’t retrieve my youthful memory. After regaining my poems, I can only chant some old people’s sad life feelings (a fool’s delusion of praying for social justice). There is no justice in society at all. There is no transformational justice. The descendants of anti-Japanese patriots become Japanese, so what about those with lofty ideals? Didn’t the patriots fight each other in the era of the patriots? The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. The patriot is the traitor, and the traitor is the patriot. The law of the jungle, fame, interest, brainwashing, and the emperor’s dream are the real world, but when the dust returns to the grounds, the soil returns to the earth, and it has nothing to do with you now, knowing that you still have to fight. This is the world’s lofty people, the father of the country, the mother of the country, and the great men. They keep bronze statues and portraits and do bad things, and people worship them while scolding them in their hearts.
To get back on topic, these modern poetry chants may have difficulty feeling the so-called momentary touch at first, but in fact, there is no difficulty when you grasp the essence of it. There is another short poem in Japan called <Tanka>, which has a larger lyrical space, however, <Haiku> is more popular than <Tanka>. That is to say, from elementary school students to those who understand profound feelings, they can chant with the depth of their social experience. In Taiwan, when I propose 343 Haiku and 34344 Tanka to let everyone choose freely how to chant, many people choose <Tanka>. This shows that the Chinese community has become accustomed to modern poetic lyric poetry. All poems are lyrical. It is also subjective, but the methods are different.
Concerning the so-called traditional haiku’s <three constraints or rules>, <overlapping season>, <no season>, <disruption of tune>, <too close>, <too far away>, <explanatory text>, etc. are all technical terms for criticisms or deletions on editing haiku works. For the explanation of the terminology of the work, please read materials that can be said to be the haiku bible or classics: <The essential of the haiku>, <haikuist Buson> by Shiki and Kyoshi’s <Haiku Reader>, <Ritual Method of Haiku>, and <The Method of making Haiku >, and <The Way of Haiku>. After reading these texts more than twice, you will know that there is no such serious nagging. To put it more seriously, these remarks are just tools for the instructors of the haiku groups to maintain their lives.
These classics do not need to be bought specially, because most of them have exceeded the fifty-year limit of copyright protection. The public service organization <Aozorabunko青空文庫> on the Japanese Internet has made an online version for free reading. I suggest that you can take just a glance the first time you read classic books, but you should read them carefully the second time so that you will know that there is no good or bad haiku. Appreciation depends on the person who appreciates it. But there are differences. You will know that “Shiki prefers Buson, Kyoshi prefers Basho, and Issa chants common mundane things with common sayings”, but the prerequisite is being able to read Japanese. As far as I know, it seems that there is no complete Chinese or English translation yet.
Another example is the famous story in the Japanese haiku world, “The Second Art Theory of Haiku” by Takeo Kuwabara (1904~1988), a French literature professor at Kyoto University after World War II. He said that it is difficult to distinguish between those haikus chanted by professionals and ordinary people, such as the “Chicken Head Controversy”.
Kyoshi’s haiku works are not all belong to <Kacyouhuuei>, such as <~棒の如きもの; 如棒~>, this haiku is a rational one, not a <kacyouhuuei>, and we have read a comment on the Internet in 2009, in which a young housewife posted: “When I read this haiku, I suddenly felt face flashed. ” Doesn’t this mean that the appreciation of haiku varies from person to person? In addition, both Shiki and Kyoshi in their book, occupying a large part of space unanimously criticized the famous Kaganochiyo(1703-1775)’s haiku: “The bucket taken by Morning Glory” is too exaggerated and hypocritical. Is this the case? Can everyone agree?
Everything has to be attributed to Shiki’s short life. If he can easily live to 80-90 years old like modern people, with Shiki’s seriousness and knowledge of haiku, the current situation in the haiku world should not be like it is today. And is the so-called traditional haiku traditional? This is another question. There are currently three major haiku associations in Japan: 1) Modern Haiku Association, 2) Japan Traditional Haiku Association, and 3) Haiku Association. Each association has different opinions. In addition, there are also the World Haiku Association and other related haiku groups, each with its advocates. It is said that because there are no official statistics, there are thousands or more haiku associations in Japan, and each association is dominated by senior disciples. The associations are not related to each other and do not care about each other. The members get high scores and learn more when they dominate and make haiku with the appearance of senior members.
After the second world war in Taiwan, there was the only Japanese haiku club <Taipei Haiku Club>, led by the teacher Mr. Lingtzr Huang, and the working content is the same as the general Japanese haiku association. There is also another Japanese haiku association, but the membership is only seven or eight individuals. Most of them are members of the <Taipei Haiku Club>. Master Huang is a haikuist who understood clearly the essence of haiku and was also a literary artist (because in addition to haiku, he also wrote novels, sculptures, antique identification, and other works), he passed away in 2016. The last work published half a year before his death revealed his true words:
<As you can see from these works of mine, I am not necessarily surrendered and obeyed the 575 stereotypes, and was not kidnapped by Shiki>, and finally: <I will add one more sentence: “Five Seven Five” is not a definition. And at the end of <俳=pai> word he said, moreover, in the field of novels that belong to the world of literary and artistic circles, it is not bound by a fixed form, and isn’t that one work and one work style what makes a difference?
He did not stick to the constraints of the so-called traditional haiku but was fascinated by the profound meaning and essence of haiku in a broader sense. He had the same purpose as the haiku association in Japan. For the general purpose of ordinary haiku members, he asks the Lord to act in the haiku society, but he asks for the essence of haiku, not for vanity, swagger, and chanting. There should be many haiku association masters in Japan who have the same opinion as Lingtzr Huang, but they dare not say it until death.
In addition to Bing Jan’s chanting of a hundred 10-character Chinese haikus about Chinese haiku, Lingtzr Huang also founded the Chinese haiku association, and there were more than a dozen students, but it lost its profile after a short time.
I started the “Chinese Haiku” club in early 2016 on Facebook. Fortunately, it seems that everyone can still adapt. As long as everyone can grasp the haiku’s <short> and <momentary moving> tips, they will soon get used to learning. Now there are more than 600 members, and more than 30 regular contributors, including from America, Japan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia, as well as from the Netherlands, Peru, African countries, and Japan. As for their ages, many are in the higher age groups. There is also a 15-years-old teenager. She often contributes naive but in-depth content that amazes older readers. We do not limit language, so in addition to standard Chinese (Mandarin), there are many Taiwanese works as well as works in Hakka and Cantonese (Hong Kong). There is still a lack of work in the dialects of Wu (吳), Shiang (湘), and Gan (贛) of the seven branches of Chinese.
After Shiki, Hekigotou Kawahigashi, Senseisui Ogihara, Shantouka Taneda, Housai Ozaki, Nakazuka Ichihekirou Nakatsuka, Hakyou Ishida, Zenjidou Yoshioka, Syuson Kato, Soujyou Hino, Seihou Shimada, Kyouzou Azuma, Seishi Yamaguchi, Murio Suzuki, Hukio Shiba, Shigenobu Takayanagi, Hujio Akimoto, etc. as non-traditional haikuists, and others, such as Kai Hasegawa, Banya Natsuishi, Junnosuke Imaizumi, Satoo Kimura, Sunao Hashimoto, Takasuke Gotou, Reona Takayama, Yukihiko Settzu, Ryu Yotsuya, Tsukushi Iwai, Rie Omori, Kenji Omori, etc. as young haikuists aren’t all of them haikuists? Especially, those of the “Life Exploration group” or “Inscrutable Haiku group” haikuist, such as Kusadao Nakamura, Syuuson Kato, Bon Shinohara, and Hakyou Ishida too. They do not all chant only the haiku of “Kacyouhuuei Flower”. It can be seen that haiku is not limited to “Kacyouhuuei”.
In this way, while chanting haiku, you must also think about the essence or trueness of haiku, and then think of suggestions to colleagues who want to write or chant haiku. And to truly understand <Haiku>, you also need to understand Torahiko Terada, Nobuo Origuchi, Koki Masaoka, etc. The poetry theory and haiku theory of Yuko Takahama, Otoko Osuga, Kenkichi Yamamoto, Tota Kaneko, Zhao Hasegawa, Banya Natsuishi, Yunosuke Imaizumi, Hiroki Yae, Dai Kawana, Toyama Ichiki, Nao Hashimoto, etc. also expressed concern about poetry and haiku. After reading them a few times, I would like to review the various thoughts and comments of the young generations, such as haiku reviews on the Internet, columns, etc., to understand the haiku that changes with the times and society.
In addition, to listen to what the masters of haiku associations say, you must understand the root of “Haiku” and should understand that “Haiku” is not the kind of poem that most people refer to. As a result, the development of haiku is hindered by a wrong understanding. On the Internet, I do not infrequently run into Japanese who are fledglings or who are not afraid of tigers. They criticize and mislead others, especially foreigners, with their narrow and superficial knowledge. On the contrary, they are ridiculed without knowing it and bring unnecessary shame to the Japanese.
In addition, <The Time and Space of 21st Century Haiku Translation in Japanese-English Translation> compiled by the Modern Haiku Association is a simple compilation of the changes and flow of haiku from 1900 to 2000, and it is worth reading. However, some people do not understand or appreciate that book.
What exactly does Basho’s saying “Not Easy to Pop” mean? It should be “This (もと) remains unchanged, but follows the changes of the times and prevails”. And the current haiku has not changed according to what it said, from waka, ren-ga, ha-jo ren-ga, short ren, and haiku and sub-standard <Haiku>? Why do we have to use “flower and bird satire” and its <three constraints> now? <Three constraints>: is it impossible to stop the changes and trends so far?
I am not saying that flower and bird satire is wrong or impossible, but respending flower and bird satire is the most appropriate and conforms to the Japanese lifestyle, and it is the easiest for the ordinary Japanese. In addition to the haiku form that the public accepts and is easy to chant, we must also acknowledge the greatness of Kyoshi that was accepted and his contribution to the promotion of haiku to the status quo.
However, it is necessary to understand that it is a fact that it is a part of haiku instead of all of it, and it is also a fact that haiku has become a worldwide poem. So is it necessary to continue to insist and emphasize that “haiku is a unique type of Japanese poetic that foreigners cannot chant”?
In the Meiji era, Hekigotou Kawahigashi once said: that looking at the same moon, the Japanese feel something special, but the Germans have no special feelings. In addition, Kyoshi Takahama said that no matter how much you explain to the French the importance of <season>, the French always turn a deaf ear to it. We can introduce the characteristics of a nation or country to other people, nations, or countries, but we must never force them to comply. Is it necessary for us to hinder the honor of Japanese-originated culture that has entered and exited the world? Especially when it is a personal claim of haiku itself rather than a form of haiku? This is what I, as a foreigner want to say.
What I want to say is that “Haiku” is haiku, and let it continue to exist in its original meaning; that is, it must be one of the shortest poems one as can’t be made shorter anymore, except for the short poems that describe momentary emotions, and not impose any normative restrictions, mostly for the sake of making it have a more obvious rhythm to show that it is a verse. In Japanese, it is five-seven-five sounds, while in Chinese it is three-four-three sounds; the difference is because the monosyllable in Chinese and polysyllables in Japanese need to result in the total content or information being the same in both languages. For other languages, it is made a prosodic feature by its language features, and the main vocabulary (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs) is mainly expressed with seven words, with no more than seven words, and in three sections to chant. For the time being, I will cite the following articles to understand <Haiku> for your reference (2018-12-18: Chinese version finalized, 2023-2-20: English version published)
<In the following, I would like to recommend those basic documents I have read and referenced by myself.>
1) 吳昭新: ＜季語＞ 與＜基語 -keywordkeyword＞: 漢語俳句短歌短詩第二集; p110-113, 台北,台灣. 2018.8月, (ISBN: 9789574359394)(Chinese)
2) 呉昭新：《季語とキーワード》：(Japanese)
http://oobooshingo.blogspot.com/2018/02/15.html
3) 吳昭新: 《“俳句”的兩種面相》：漢語俳句短歌短詩第二集; p114-116, 台北,台灣. 2018.8月, (ISBN: 9789574359394)(Chinese)
4) 吳昭新:《“俳句”の二つの顔》：(Japanese) http://oobooshingo.blogspot.com/2018/01/14.html
5) 呉昭新：《黄霊芝師逝く》（Japanese）https://oobooshingo.blogspot.com/2016/04/blog-post.html
6) 吳昭新:「俳句」、「世界俳句」及「漢語/漢字俳句」(Chinese) https://chiaungo.blogspot.com/2012/03/blog-post.html
7) 吳昭新: <俳句和伝統俳句與大眾取向主義-populism> (Chinese)
https://chiaungo.blogspot.com/2018/07/2018-7-1.html
8) 吳昭新: 台灣俳句史(補遺)-黄霊芝主宰的俳句観：(Chinese) https://chiaungo.blogspot.com/2016/04/blog-post_13.html
9) 吳昭新:《日本俳句之漢譯－介紹中國金中教授的一詞加一句形式》：（Chinese） http://olddoc.tmu.edu.tw/chiaungo/essay/jin-juong-1.htm
10) 吳昭新：《台湾俳句之旅》：「台湾文学評論」，第十巻第一期，pp75~95，Jan 2010，台湾文学資料館，真理大学，台湾（Chinese） http://olddoc.tmu.edu.tw/chiaungo/essay/haiku-tabi.htm (2022-08-12 reached)
11) 吳昭新：《漢語/漢字俳句》——―漢俳、湾俳、粵俳、…、？（Chinese） http://olddoc.tmu.edu.tw/chiaungo/essay/haiku-kango.htm (2022-08-12 reached)
12) 吳昭新：《吟詠日本俳句－現代俳句的蛻變》：(Chinese)
http://www.worldhaiku.net/criticism/haiku_yomu_c.pdf
13) 吳昭新：《「俳句」並不是只有日語才可以吟詠》：（Chinese）http://chiaungo.blogspot.tw/2011/02/blog-post.html (2022-08-12 reached)
14) 吳昭新： 《日本俳句之漢譯－介紹中國金中教授的一詞加一句形式》：（Chinese） http://chiaungo.blogspot.tw/2011/10/blog-post.html (2022-08-12 reached)
15) 吳昭新：《俳句を詠む－俳句初心者の一外国人の疑問》：「オーボー真悟」 （Japanese）http://oobooshingo.blogspot.com/2010_06_01_archive.html (2022-08-12) reached
16) 吳昭新: (自自冉冉)–「錯把馮京當馬涼」- 將<漢俳>誤當<俳句> (Chinese)
https://chiaungo.blogspot.com/2017/01/blog-post.html(2022-08-12) reached
17) 吳瞈望：《漢語/漢字俳句》：「世界俳句」，2011第7号、世界俳句協会編、（Japanese）文：p101~113;(Chinese)：p98~104 七月堂，東京，日本。
18) 黄靈芝：《臺灣季語及臺灣語解説》，「臺灣俳句集（一）」，1998，pp76～83，台北，台灣。（Chinese）
19) 黃靈芝：《北縣縣民大學「俳句教室」（1）（2）（3）（4）》，「臺灣俳句集（一）」，1998，pp52～70，台北，台灣。（Chinese）
20) 金中 ：《古池蛙縱水聲傳──一詞一句形式的俳句翻譯》：「世界俳句2012第8號」；pp83-89， 2012，東京，日本。（Chinese）
21) 正岡子規：《俳諧大要》（Japanese）岩波文庫、岩波書店、1989、第8刷り。http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000305/files/57350_60028.html （青空文庫：2022-08-12 reached）
22) 正岡子規：《俳人蕪村》（日本語）「日本の文学 15」中央公論社、1973, (Japanese) http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000305/files/47985_41579.html（青空文庫：2022-08-12 reached）
23) 正岡子規：《古池の句の弁》（日本語）「俳諧大要」岩波文庫、岩波書店、1989、第8刷り。(Japanese) http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000305/files/57363_59643.html (Japanese),（青空文庫：2022-08-12 reached）
24) 正岡子規：《歌よみに与ふる書》（日語）岩波文庫、岩波書店、2002、第26刷, (Japanese) http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000305/files/2533_16281.html （青空文庫：2022-08-12 reached）
25) 高浜虛子：《俳句讀本》：《世界教養全集14》，pp221-353， 1962；平凡社，東京，日本。（Japanese）
26) 高浜虚子：《俳句とはどんなものか》（日本語）角川文庫、角川学芸出版 2009（平成21）年11月25日初版発行 (Japanese)http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/001310/files/55509_53180.html （青空文庫：2022-08-12 reached）
27) 高浜虚子：《俳句の作りよう》（Japanese）角川ソフィア文庫、角川書店2009（平成21）年7月25日初版発行http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/001310/files/55510_51028.html （青空文庫：2022-08-12 reached）
28) 高浜虚子：《俳句への道》（Japanese）底本：「俳句への道」岩波文庫、岩波書店1997（平成9）年1月16日第1行 https://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/001310/files/55609_53062.html （青空文庫：2022-08-12 reached）
29) 今泉恂之介：《子規は何を葬ったのか–空白の俳句史百年》新潮選書、新潮社、東京、2011年8月25日（Japanese）
30) 萩原朔太郎：《詩の翻訳について》（Japanese）「日本 の名随筆別巻45翻訳」作品社、1994（平成6）年11月25日第1刷発行http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000067/files/48341_35101.html （青空文庫：2022-08-12 reached）
31) 萩原朔太郎：《詩の原理》（Japanese）新潮文庫、新潮社、1975（昭和50）年9月10日27刷http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000067/files/2843_26253.html （青空文庫：2022-08-12 reached）
32) 萩原朔太郎：《郷愁の詩人与謝蕪村》（Japanese）岩波文庫、岩波書店2007（平成19）年1月25日第22刷發行http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000067/files/47566_44414.html （青空文庫：2022-08-12 reached）
33) 寺田寅彦：《俳諧の本質的概論》（Japanese）「寺田寅彦随筆集第三巻」岩波文庫、岩波書店 1993（平成5）年2月5日第59刷発行http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000042/files/2471_9353.html （青空文庫：2022-08-12 reached）
34) 寺田寅彦：《俳句の型式とその進化》（Japanese）「寺田寅彦随筆集 第五巻」岩波文庫、岩波書店 1997（平成9）年9月5日第65刷発行 http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000042/files/2512_9352.html（青空文庫：2022-08-12 reached）
35)寺田寅彦：《俳句の精神》（Japanese）「寺田寅彦随筆集 第五巻」岩波文庫、岩波書店。1997（平成9）年9月5日第65刷発行 http://www.aozora.gr.jp/cards/000042/files/2513_12242.html （青空文庫：2022-08-12 reached）
36)西尾 実：《日本文芸入門》：《世界教養全集14》、 pp 3-72， 平凡社、東京、日本、1962、（Japanese） 折口信夫：《世々の歌びと》：《世界教養全集14》、 pp125-220， 平凡社、東京、日本、1962 、（Japanese）
34-1) 三好達治：《現代詩概論》：《世界教養全集14》、 pp 355-460，平凡社、東京、日本、1962、（Japanese）
37) 弥栄浩樹： 《1％の俳句ー一挙性、露呈性、写生》、 《群像》、2011、 6月号、 64-90、講談社、東京、日本、2011， （Japanese）
38) 佐籐和夫：《西洋人と俳句の理解– アメリカを中心に–》：日本語学：14：12-181995。（Japanese）
39) 朱實：《中國における俳句と漢俳》：「日本語学」：14： 53-621995，東京，日本。（Japanese）
40)夏石番矢：《現代俳句のキーワード》；「日本語學」14:25-31; 1995; 明治書院，東京，日本。 （Japanese）
41) 楠木しげお：《旅の人－芭蕉ものがたり》，銀の鈴社，東 京，日本，2006 （Japanese）
42) 秋元不死男：《俳句入門》、角川学芸出版、東京、日本、2006 （Japanese）
43) 金子兜太：《造詣俳句六章》（Japanese）「金子兜太集 第四巻」、p211-514筑摩書房。2002（平成14）初版発行
44) 嶋田青峰：《俳句の作り方》、新潮社、東京、日本、1941 （Japanese）
45) 秋尾 敏：「鳴弦窓雑記」，（Japanese），http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cf9b-ako/essay/meigensouzakki.htm (2022-08-12 reached)
46) 鷹羽狩行：《もう一つの俳句の国際化》、 （第17 回HIA 総会特別講演より）(Japanese) http://www.haikuhia.com/uploads/doc/takaha2006.pdf (2022-08-12 reached)
47) 野口 裕：《二物衝撃はものたりない》：「五七五定 型」創刊號，pp:32-40，2006年，和泉市，日本。（Japanese）
48) 小池正博、野口裕：《對談．五七五定型之可能性》：「五七五定型」創刊號，pp:41-55，2006年，和泉市，日本。（Japanese）
49) 小池正博：《コラージュ「座談会」－『「現代川柳」を語る』をめぐって－》：「五七五定型」第4號，pp:28-37，2010，和泉市，日本。（Japanese）
50) 現代俳句協会編集委員会：《日英対訳21世紀俳句の時空》、永田書房、東京、日本、2008。 木村聰雄：《20世紀日本的俳句──現代俳句小史》：《21世紀俳句の時空》：pp2~41 2008，永田書房，東京，日本，2008。（Japanese）
51) 木村聰雄：《現代俳句の詩学――世界詩としての俳句形式》：「世界俳句2017第13號」；pp77-84， 2017，世界俳句協会、東京，日本。（Japanese）
52) 野口る理《ポスト造型論》：《現代俳句協会青年部シンポシオンⅣ-2011-6-11》、「spica」、（Japanese）http://spica.819main.jp/atsumaru/1172.html(2022-08-12 reached)
53)夏石番矢：《Ban’ya》：http://banyahaiku.at.webry.info/ （Japanese）(2022-08-12 reached)
54) 石倉秀樹：《獅子鮟鱇詩詞》：http://shiciankou.at.webry.info/ （日語）(2022-08-12 reached)
55) 高柳重信：《「書き」つつ「見る」行為》（Japanese） http://wwwh4dionnejp/jyusintext/jyuusinkakimiruhtml (2017-05-15 reached, copy)
56) 現代俳句協会青年部–編：《新興俳句アンソロジー（何が新しかったのか）》：ふらんす堂，東京，日本，2018-12-25出版。(Japanese)
57) 菱川英一：《パウンド「メトロ詩」分析におけるロジ ャーの方法論》（Japanese）、神戸大学教育学部研究集録， 90：77-93，1993 http://www.lib.kobe-u.ac.jp/infolib/meta_pub/G0000003kernel_81001512（2022-08-12 reached）
58) 宮坂豊夫：《俳句の周辺：語学的視点からの研究ノー ト》：＜人文研究＞51（1）：117-131、2001
59) 中山逍雀：《曄歌》：（Japanese）http://www.741.jp/kouza07/kou-07D01.htm (2018-05-18 reached)
60) 中山逍雀：《俳句と漢俳》，（Japanese）http://www.741.jp/kouza08/kou-08C43.htm (2018-05-14 reached)
61) 中川広：《中川広の俳句ページ》：（Japanese）http://www1.odn.ne.jp/~cas67510/haiku/index.html (2022-08-12 reached)
62) 川名 大：《戦後俳壇史と俳句史との架橋、そして切断：前篇》：(Japanese)
http://gendaihaiku.blogspot.com/2011/06/35_26.html (2022-08-12 reached)
63) 川名 大：《戦後俳壇史と俳句史との架橋、そして切断：後篇》：（Japanese） http://gendaihaiku.blogspot.com/2011/07/35.html (2022-08-12 reached)
64) 有馬道子: 《記号論から見た俳句》：開拓社，東京，日本，2018-10-23 出版。(Japanese)
(Preliminary draft finished in 2018-12-18; in 2023-02–20 revised)
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