Winter Haiku Written by Issa Sangedastsu by Kawase Hasui

Winter Haiku Written by Buson Kameyama, Yukibare by Ando Hiroshige Winter Haiku Written By Basho Girl In A Snowstorm. What do you see in the 6-word poem?Īs you read these poems, take a moment to notice what images you see and feelings you have. I sense both solitude and companionship within the fleeting moment. Her master is enjoying a hotpot with the local farmers who are itching for news from outside their snowed-in village. What is her master doing? I picture the horse outside a ryokan, an inn. The horse has been waiting for her master for quite some time. Let’s look at this poem by Buson as an example: Imagine the picture the words paint and what they suggest. It’s tempting to read over haiku, but it works better to pause on each poem and savor it. The smallness of haiku belies the mix of images and feelings its few words suggest. Jisei, for example, are poems written before someone dies. Buson feels observational and more even-tempered while Issa makes you grin. Basho’s work has a melancholy feel similar to the later concept of wabi-sabi. Through their haiku you get a sense of each author’s personality. Basho warns us to “prefer vegetable broth to duck soup.” That is, to prefer the literal, plain meaning over seeking something complicated. It’s tempting to read too much into a haiku. Most haiku seek to suggest a moment in time along with a feeling. It follows a 5-7-5 syllable rule with the 3 lines rarely rhyming. Haiku is a style of poetry that requires plain language and a season reference.

This collection of haiku includes Basho, Buson, Issa, and a few others. As the heat of summer wears on, winter haiku gives us a chance to think on cold days and all the pleasures of winter.

A complete haiki