The Poetics of Japanese Verse

Rating:
Summary: Something I've Waited For
Review: This is the sort of book I have long sought in order to advance my understanding of haiku as the Japanese read and enjoy them. For example, we begin with a dispute over a particular poem. The poet mentions that his feelings were upbeat and positive on an autumn evening. His critic demanded that the poem be withdrawn and redone because the poetic meaning of 'autumn evening' was 'forlornness.' If the poet didn't say he felt forlorn on an autumn evening, then he was betraying the poetic art, according to the critic. The author withdrew the poem. The critique also mentions the other kigo which were meant to indicate that the poet felt forlorn.

Kawamoto takes off from this anecdote for a general discussion of the emotional effects meant by the various kigo. That's something I've wanted to know for a long time.

A later chapter is on poetic meter, or "mora." This brings to mind the art of Seishi Yamaguchi, much praised for his rhythm. The 'mora' of the Japanese language are larger than the onji/jion traditionally used to describe the haiku-- the lines 5, 7 and 5 so often given as defining haiku. Mora are described metrical speech units covering whole 5 or 7 onji segments. Their purpose is to make each segment identical in how long it takes to say them.

This book is not for the beginning student of haiku. The target audience is the advanced student working on his own or as part of a college class in Japanese poetry. Such students are strongly encouraged to add this book to their collection.