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The Haiku: A Theoretical Manual

Mahesh Paudyal

BK Palpali

[Late poet and journalist BK Palpali was prolific and multi-dimensional, and has left a marvelous body of literary legacy even in the short life he lived, before succumbing to kidney-related issues recently. Of all the major contributions he made including in poetry and epic, he is remembered most intimately for popularizing the Japanese poetry patter haiku, and for guiding burgeoning haigins with the theoretical nuances of haiku. Haiku Kasari Lekhne (How is a Haiku Written?), a manual for novice users had been published under the editorship of Renuka Bhattarai in 2018, and the publisher, Perole Literary Foundation Nepal, had wanted to publish its English version during writer Palpali’s lifetime. But this could not happen for reasons. Finally, the English version of the same has been published under the title The Haiku: A Theoretical Manual. A portion of this book has been reproduced here to mark the birthday of poet Palpali. May he rest in peace wherever he is!]

Background

The haiku is a simple and a highly minimalistic form of poetry. Linguistically, it sprouted in China but as a literary genre, it developed in Japan. Its linguistic origin is in China because it is a genre of heliographic representation. When it came to Japan, the Japanese used the Kanji script for writing the same. Even these days, the practice of writing the haikus in Kanji continues.  

Kanji is not a script of Japanese origin. It originated in China and spread elsewhere. For this reason, the haiku had its linguistic origin in China. Its generic development, however, took place in Japan because its name was coined by Japanese poet Masaoka Shiki (1867 AD – 1902 AD) between the year 1880 and 1882 AD. Yet the practice of writing the haiku is believed to have started around the year 1662 AD. Matsuo Munefusa, considered the first poet of haiku, had written one when he was only eighteen years old:

Furu ike ya
Kawazu tobikomu
Mizu no oto

English meaning:

Old pond
Frogs jumped in
Sound of water.

(Palpali, BK. Haiku and Its Theoretical Assumptions)

Munefusa, who loved to write after traveling a lot, lost his father in the year 1856 AD, following which, he left his birthplace. In 1861 AD, he abandoned his earlier name and adopted the new name Matsuo Baso. This came to become his famous literary name later.

Thus the haiku that developed in Japan came to assume its present structure, passing through several interstitial structures like that of haikai, tanka and hokku. Haikai, written in as many as hundred lines, shrunk to five lines with time. It shrunk further to three lines, like in haiku and hokku.

It we scrutinize its historical development in Japan, the practice of writing the haiku appears to have started much before the advent of the Heian Age (794-1185 AD). The fact is confirmed by references to the genre in Nihon Shoki (History of Japan) dated 720 AD, and Manyoshu (Innumerable Generation) dated 760 AD.

In fact, Japan had seen the rise of literature as a means of entertainment and self-satisfaction in the palace. The kings and emperors entertained themselves by attending recitals of various literary genres inside the palace. In the meantime, they started looking for scholars who could profess duets in their creations. The haikai emerged out of the creations of those scholars who professed such duets.

Though the practice of writing the haiku is still meager in Nepal, it should be acknowledged that it is gaining popularity, together with the tanka, as their writers are increasing day by day. Its history is developing gradually, and its study has slowly become as part of the curriculums at Tribhuvan University and other universities and colleges. Yet, its salience and writing practices are being interpreted differently by different people and therefore, there are a lot of confusions and curiosities in its structure. It is therefore essential for us to gradually remove the confusions.

At a time when a lot of confusions and problems are looming on the actual practice of writing the haikus, we felt the need for a manual like this to address some of those confusions and problems. So we considered it pertinent to describe how the haiku, tanka and senryu are written.

Making a new creation is one of man’s best capacities and distinguished achievements. Literature is found to be dotted with the belief that a person, who can control himself, can control the entire world. Literature not only generates footmarks of human civilization but also keeps the humankind under restrain, and the human is found restrained by different means, including morality, ethics, conduct, social practices, penalty, rewards and many sorts of allurements and fears that come embedded in literature. The civilization we stand in is the highest point in the development of human civilization so far. The haiku is full of these kinds of ideational images.

Kakinomoto Hitomaro (630-708 AD) was the editor of Manyoshu published in the year 760 AD. Of the 4516 creations published there, about four thousand were his own creations, and this confirms that he was the main force behind the publication of Manyoshu. This book that appeared as a collection of tankas turned out to be the first milestone in the Japanese literature. In appreciation of this colossal task, Kakinomoto Hitomaro is honored as the first poet in Japanese literature.  

The tanka is accorded high honor in Japan. The Japanese say ‘Tanka wa saunka da’, meaning tanka is your highly honored poetry. The genre, which developed as an expression of hobby in the beginning, has become a highly popular genre at the present time. The genre is not limited to Japan alone; it has travelled and development in many other countries of the world as well. Remodeled and divided into many genres and sub-genres, the tanka has now become a global phenomenon. Its dimensions are constantly expanding.

In Nepal, the genre entered some six decades ago as the haiku. When the tanka had its advent in writing and publication is still a matter of research. The Japanese honor the tanka as the grandfather of the haiku. In China, it is regarded as the mother of haiku.

In Nepal, the haiku published by Shankar Lamichhane in August 1962 is considered the first haiku. His haiku was titled ‘Suryodaya’ (Sunrise), and published in the 16th issue of Rooprekha, read like this:

Makura jaal
Jholliyeko oslé
Tankindai gayo.

[Web of a spider
Sagging with humidity
Stretched longer.]

Another haiku, written in 1964 and published in 1965 in the first page of novelist Parijat’s novel Shirishko Phool (Blue Mimosa), encapsulating the entire theme of the novel, is more famous:

Shirisko phool
Bhramar chumbanmai
Oili jharchha.

[The Blue Mimosa
Withers at the debut kiss
Of a bumblebee.]

Later in the year 1970, Shankar Lamichhane published the Nepali translation of some of the Japanese haikus in the 113th issue of Rooprekha, a part of his longer article. In the article, he not only articulated his understanding of the haiku but also revealed that ‘the editor’s desk was littered with a deluge of haikus’, revealing the fact that that haiku had become quite popular as early as that. In the meantime Parijat, the writer who was closest to Shankar Lamichhane, seemingly tried her hands in writing haikus though she never herself visited Japan. This, however, is still a matter of research.

The haiku, which remained in a dormant stage for about five decades after this, seemed to be smirking up again after the end of the 90’s. Though it developed generically quite well, its practitioners lacked authentic theoretical guides, because of which, newer norms were suggested by different people on different occasions. This brought forth the realization that our forerunners in the haiku have failed to show us the right path. For want of a guiding principle, the new generation too seems stuck to nothing but the 5-7-5 structure. Yet, we need to know that structure alone cannot make the haiku what it ought to be.   

The genre, however, is quite popular. Writing haikus is considered easy but it is not easy as it is thought to be. This genre of the Japanese origin, which is gaining popularity among writers across the world, has become an emblem of cultural identity in China and Japan. In Nepal, it is being practiced as an imported genre, and its writing is limited to personal entertainment and self-satisfaction. We need to gradually extend it to schools, colleges and universities. In addition to that, our intellectual community should also consider the haikus written on political and contemporary issues and make them a subject of discussion.

In one hand, development of the haiku can contribute a lot to the development of the country and its literature. On the other hand, it can strengthen the ancient relationship of friendship between Nepal and Japan, making it even stronger, firmer and reliable.

How, then, is this genre that is becoming popular day by day, actually written?

If analyzed in the light of Nepali literature, the renowned practitioners of this genre themselves gave wilful interpretation of their own formulations. This is sure to lead to accidents, as such fallacious interpretations can be collectively championed by followers. We need to discourage such wilful interpretations. Theory is something that should be acceptable to everyone. On top of that, the haiku is a genre that developed fully in Japan before moving into Nepal, and therefore, it is ironical to have theoretical confusions in the genre, as its theory has developed fully in Japan. Still, this has become a matter of curiosity among everyone in the later days. In the subsequent sections of this booklet, attempts have been made to discuss the methods of writing various forms of the haiku in the most appropriate way.

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The Haiku

Of the various forms of written Japanese literary creations that have entered Nepal, the haiku is perhaps the most popular one. Though the practice of writing the haiku commenced in the seventeenth century, the genre was given the name ‘haiku’ only after 1880. Poet Masaoko Shiki (1867-1902) established poet Basho as the first haiku writer of the world. Along with that, he also put forward five new and highly important points in relation to the haiku. By giving the name ‘haiku’ to Basho’s hokku, he produced a new fervor in Japanese literature.

The first three lines of haikai or tanka, consisting of lines with 5, 7 and 5 syllables, developed into an independent poetic form called the haiku. Such haikus, composed of 17 syllables in three lines (5-7-5) appeared for the first time in Nepali literature in the year 1962. Poet and exponential essayist Shankar Lamichhane, during his one and a half-month long stay in Japan from 14 December 1960 to 27 January, 1961 learnt the art, and through him, the haiku had the privilege of entering Nepal. The theory of the haiku requires an image from nature to occur as an essential element of the haiku. Besides this, the haiku has other theoretical requirements which are considered essential:

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