What are haikus?

Short literature an ever-widening gap begins to be made in the predilections of readers and new authors thanks to an Internet space that allows us to rescue all those micro-stories, verses and poems to evoke an image, a sensation or a simple excuse to escape.

One of the best examples of this fever for the micro and that surely many of you will already know, is the haiku (俳 句), also known as haiku, a type of ancient japanese poem generally based on a composition of three verses of 5, 7 and 5 syllables, Western translation of the 17 blackberry metric used by the original haiku. Some of the other requirements demanded by this form of oriental literature include what is known as kigo (季 語), a word that refers to a specific time of year or that constant intention to get closer to nature.

Since in the seventeenth century haiku became popular as a form of expression of the Japanese Zen religion thanks to the master BashöMany writers have continued to adapt the original meter while others have modified it slightly, giving birth to haikus with references to other themes and consisting of verses with more syllables.
How the haikus began

The origin of haikus has to do with religion in Ancient China. At that time of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism, they became very popular as a way of reaching out to others and exposing thoughts. However, it was really in the sixteenth century when they began to be better known thanks to Matsuo Bashoo, one of the most representative figures of these poems.

Apparently, the haiku is a variant of the Haikai, which are poems of 36, 50, or 100 verses that were composed in a group, that is, between several people, a master poet and the students he had. The first had to write 3 verses, of 5-7-5 syllables. These were called Hokku. Then the second one, he had to do two verses of 7-7 and so on all the others, giving complete form to the Haikai that seemed to be written by only one hand.

How to write a haiku: the elements

If you are interested in learning to do haikus, first of all you should know what are the essential elements (and what characterize) of haikus. These are:

The metric

A haiku is made up of three verses. The first of 5 syllables, the second of 7 and the third of 5. In total, there must be 17 syllables. This is the classic haiku, although nowadays it is allowed to vary a little between the verses. Now, the total is still at 17.

kigo

A kigo it is actually the inclusion, within the haiku, of the season of the year. It does not mean that you have to name the month in which it is, or if it is spring, summer, fall or winter. But something that represents it: snow, fire, leaves, flowers ...

Nature

There are many haikus, and they are all of varied themes, but the classics use nature as a fundamental element in their creations. So if you want to write as close to the "original" as possible, think about nature.

Create a feeling

A haiku is not a combination of words that fit well and that's it. They should engage the reader and make them feel something when they read it. That is why it is so difficult to write haikus that are really good, because you have to choose the specific words and give them emotion so that people experience sensations with them.

Write haikus: how to do it

Now that you know the elements, it's time to put them into practice. First of all, do not be discouraged if the first ones do not come out, or are bad, because you have to move forward to improve. However, there are some things you can do.

Read haikus

When a writer wants to write, he must first have a base, and this is achieved by reading novels and works that are related to his passion. The same goes for haikus. If you want to write them, first you have to read many to see the essence of them.

Don't be afraid of being influenced by an author. In the first ones that will happen, but little by little you will define your own personality and make creations that are totally original.

Guests

What do you feel when you see the rain water fall? And when do you see sunrise or sunset? Sometimes, everyday things do not make us feel anything, and yet we see them. Therefore, contemplating looking for that emotion that makes us helps us to do haikus.

For example, a cloudy day may mean sadness for some, but for others it is happiness; cold can mean harshness, but also closeness to others.

Tells something

Don't try to find verses that fit if they don't count. It's the worst thing you can do. You must create a very small story in those three verses that excites and that, in addition, it is a whole in a story.

Selection of famous haikus

To finish, here are more examples of famous haikus so that you can familiarize yourself with them.

Why will it be

What am I getting old this fall?

Birds go through the clouds.

Even a hut

in the world of moving,

It is a doll's house.

End of the year.

Always the same hat

and the same straw sandals!

Matsuo Bashō

In the summer rain

The path

He disappeared

Yosa buson

I cut a branch

and it cleared up better

Through the window.

Masaoka shiki

The ceiling burned:

now

I can see the moon

mizuta masahide

Despite the fog

it's beautiful

Mount fuji

Matsuo Bashō

In reason

only doubts will enter

that they have a key.

Mario Benedetti

Alone in bed

I hear a mosquito

Fluttering a sad melody

The children are coming -

they take me out of bed

and the years go by.

For my job

In the sink

The song of the uguisu

I visited his grave in Kiso.

Opening the door would show the Buddha

Flower bud

They point with their hand -

The children on tiptoe

the moon they admire.

Hawaii Chigetsu

In water

fear his reflection

the Firefly.

Snowy morning.

All over

footprints of clogs.

Summer.

Through the clouds

there is a shortcut to the moon.

Not a single leaf

Not even the moon sleeps

In this willow

Den Sute-jo

Galloping horses

They smell their pasterns

A perfume of violets

Roza

The thread of the fishing rod

The moon in summer

Snow

my pale reflection

in water.

Everything we collect

on the beach at low tide-

does it move

No child to come near

Paper walls

They are cold

In the plain and the mountains

Everything seems immobile

This snowy morning

If they close in the morning

the bluebells in bloom.

It's because of the hatred of men!

In the spring rains

Everything

They are more beautiful

The blossoming branch of the plum tree

gives perfume

to the one who cuts it.

From the violet of the clouds

To the purple of the irises

My thought is directed.

Fireflies. Fireflies!

By the river

darkness passes.

Often

Hototogisu, hototogisu!

and it dawns.

Having watched the moon

I leave this life

With a blessing

The water crystallizes

The fireflies go out

Nothing exists

Chiyo-Ni

Loneliness.

Clouds on the mountain peak

And the grasshopper jumps in the valley.

Huyemaruko Shizuku

Cutting the straw

Under withered stars

My scythe hits a grave

Hiramatsu Yoshiko

Thousand little white fish

As if it boiled

The color of the water

Konishi raizan

You hesitate, rosebush.

Do you not want to leave

From the seed?

Carmelo Ursus

Little moon,

remember that love today

is passing through.

freddy nanez

Last night i covered
my sleeping children
and the noise of the sea.

Watanabe Hakusen

The dew flees.
In this dirty world
I don't do anything.

Kobayashi issa

The worst of the echo
is that it says the same
barbarities.

Mario Benedetti

Far a trill.
The nightingale does not know
that consoles you.

Jorge Luis Borges

Made of air
between pines and rocks
the poem sprouts.

Octavio Paz

The Scarecrow
looks human
when it rains.

Natsume Seibi

Going through his fabric
this very clear moon
has the spider awake.

Jose Juan Tablada

A slight instant
lags over the flowers
the moonlight

All over
the flowers rush
on the lake water

Light breeze
barely trembles
the shadow of wisteria

The white chrysanthemum
the eye cannot find
the slightest impurity

To the smell of plum
the sun rises
on the mountain trail

Spring, by Bashö

Last night's rain
covered this morning
by the litter.

Io Sogi

Autumn is here:
a calm rain
clean the grapes.

César Sánchez

Do you dare to share your own or favorite haikus?