We know that haiku is the most beautiful form of Japanese poetry with an idea that captures the essence of a moment: a genre of unrhymed verse with a seasonal theme that paints a mental picture in the reader’s mind. It consists of 17 moras (not syllables, moras are a Japanese sound unit), in three phrases or metric units of 5-7-5 moras respectively. The Japanese master Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902) in 1892 called it haiku.
Haiku is written in the present tense; contains a kigo and a kireji. Kigo (seasonal reference) indicates what season (spring, winter, autumn or summer) it is in. Kireji (cutting word) divides the haiku into two independent parts, with some imaginative distance between the two sections.
Traditionally, haiku are printed on a single vertical line, but in English it usually appears on three lines. To break in English, the first or second line usually ends with a colon, em dash, or ellipsis. Modern haiku have fewer than 17 syllables and are written in one, two, three, and four lines. Haiku does not use metaphors, personifications, or similes; It is stated simply and expresses the essence of a moment. It is left open and does not tell emotions but shows them.
Haiku can be of three types: nature haiku with kigo, human haiku (senryu-human nature, physical or psychological; or human artifacts) and human haiku plus nature (fusion-human world and kigo).
Senryu (river willow) is also a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in its construction: three lines with 17 or fewer berries in total. It tends to deal with human nature and is often pessimistic, darkly humorous, or satirical. Unlike haiku, senryu do not include kireji or kigo. In English, it is usually written in three lines of 17 syllables or less. It is named after the Edo period haikai poet Senryu Karai (1718-1790) with his Haifuyanagidaru collection.
Now let’s find out the similarities and differences of haiku and senryu:
1.0 Traditionally, both consist of 17 moras (or syllables in English). Both are similar in structure but the tone is different.
2.0 Kigo and kireji are required for haiku but not required for senryu.
3.0 Haiku contains a nature reference to a serious idea. Human nature in a humorous way is expressed in senryu.
4.0 Haiku is written in the present tense without metaphor or personification that cannot be followed in synryu composition.
In recent days, it is often observed that writers are more interested in bridging the gap between haiku and senryu. As a result, we readers suffer from taste, as well as from distinguishing the two. Although modernizing the form or content and avoiding grammar or meter is a kind of development of poetry, it hinders the beauty and fragrance of it. Haiku and senryu must leave their original charm.