Came across Basho recently.
Some interesting facts:
He was the father of the haiku.
1644-1694.
The Edo Period in Japan. Also known as the Genroka period
A high point in Japan's Renaissance similar to the Elizabethan Period 100 years before.
His name means a grand tournament in Sumo wrestling...Wow!
His most famous haiku is called The Old Pond
Old pond
a frog jumps in
sound of water
or in Japanese
Furu ike ya
kawazu tobikomu
mizu no oto
So what are the rules for structuring a Haiku?
It has 3 lines
It has 5 syllables in the first and third lines
It has 7 syllables in the second line
Its lines don't rhyme
It includes a kireji or cutting word
It has a kigo, a reference to season.
The kireji had me perplexed but it is apparently a sort of spoken punctuation of one or two syllables that causes you to stop and think...a bit like the word but...
There's an interpretation of this haiku in the link below
So I decided to make up my own haiku which had to involve our one eyed Kit.
Our Kit on patrol
circles winter bird table
feathers fall from sky
Try it for Spring fun
head wrecking to be honest
but worth the effort....
The kireji has got me perplexed too, despite reading the full explanation!!
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