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Haikai (Japanese
Japanese language

IPA: [n?iho?go] is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is related to the Ryukyuan languages....
 ?? comic, unorthodox) is a poetic genre that includes a number of forms which embrace the aesthetics of haikai no renga, and what Basho referred to as the "poetic spirit" (fuga), including haiku
Haiku

' ', plural haiku, is a form of Japanese poetry, consisting of 17 Mora e , in three metrical phrases of 5, 7 and 5 morae respectively. Haiku typically contain a kigo, or seasonal reference, and a kireji or verbal caesura....
, renku (haikai no renga), haibun
Haibun

Haibun is a literary composition that combines prose and haiku. The range of haibun is broad and includes, but is not limited to, the following forms of prose: autobiography, biography, diary, essay, historiography, prose poem, short story and travel....
, haiga
Haiga

is a style of Japanese painting based on the aesthetics of haikai, from which haiku poetry derives, which often accompanied such poems in a single piece....
 and senryu
Senryu

is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 or fewer "Onji" in total. However, senryu tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and senryu are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are more serious....
 (though not orthodox renga
Renga

is a genre of Japanese language collaboration poetry. A renga consists of at least two or stanzas, usually many more. The opening stanza of the renga, called the , later became the basis for the modern haiku style of poetry....
, tanka
Waka (poetry)

Waka or Yamato uta is a classical Japanese poetry form and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. The term was coined during the Heian period, and was used to distinguish Japanese-language poetry from Kanshi , Chinese-language poetry written by Japanese poets, and later from renga....
 or waka
Waka (poetry)

Waka or Yamato uta is a classical Japanese poetry form and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. The term was coined during the Heian period, and was used to distinguish Japanese-language poetry from Kanshi , Chinese-language poetry written by Japanese poets, and later from renga....
).

"Haikai" is sometimes used as an abbreviation for "haikai no renga".

Basho and haikai
Matsuo Basho
Matsuo Basho

was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Basho was recognized for his works in the collaborative Renku form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku....
 (1644-1694) is one of the most famous poets of the Edo period
Edo period

The , or , is a division of History of Japan running from 1603 to 1868. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu....
.






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Haikai (Japanese
Japanese language

IPA: [n?iho?go] is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is related to the Ryukyuan languages....
 ?? comic, unorthodox) is a poetic genre that includes a number of forms which embrace the aesthetics of haikai no renga, and what Basho referred to as the "poetic spirit" (fuga), including haiku
Haiku

' ', plural haiku, is a form of Japanese poetry, consisting of 17 Mora e , in three metrical phrases of 5, 7 and 5 morae respectively. Haiku typically contain a kigo, or seasonal reference, and a kireji or verbal caesura....
, renku (haikai no renga), haibun
Haibun

Haibun is a literary composition that combines prose and haiku. The range of haibun is broad and includes, but is not limited to, the following forms of prose: autobiography, biography, diary, essay, historiography, prose poem, short story and travel....
, haiga
Haiga

is a style of Japanese painting based on the aesthetics of haikai, from which haiku poetry derives, which often accompanied such poems in a single piece....
 and senryu
Senryu

is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 or fewer "Onji" in total. However, senryu tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and senryu are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are more serious....
 (though not orthodox renga
Renga

is a genre of Japanese language collaboration poetry. A renga consists of at least two or stanzas, usually many more. The opening stanza of the renga, called the , later became the basis for the modern haiku style of poetry....
, tanka
Waka (poetry)

Waka or Yamato uta is a classical Japanese poetry form and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. The term was coined during the Heian period, and was used to distinguish Japanese-language poetry from Kanshi , Chinese-language poetry written by Japanese poets, and later from renga....
 or waka
Waka (poetry)

Waka or Yamato uta is a classical Japanese poetry form and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. The term was coined during the Heian period, and was used to distinguish Japanese-language poetry from Kanshi , Chinese-language poetry written by Japanese poets, and later from renga....
).

"Haikai" is sometimes used as an abbreviation for "haikai no renga".

Basho and haikai


Matsuo Basho
Matsuo Basho

was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Basho was recognized for his works in the collaborative Renku form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku....
 (1644-1694) is one of the most famous poets of the Edo period
Edo period

The , or , is a division of History of Japan running from 1603 to 1868. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu....
. For Basho, haikai involved a combination of comic playfulness and spiritual depth, ascetic practice and involvement in human society.

Basho’s haikai treated of the ordinary, everyday lives of commoners. In contrast to traditional Japanese poetry, he portrayed figures from popular culture such as the beggar, the traveller and the farmer. In crystallising the newly popular haikai he played a significant role in giving birth to modern haiku
Haiku

' ', plural haiku, is a form of Japanese poetry, consisting of 17 Mora e , in three metrical phrases of 5, 7 and 5 morae respectively. Haiku typically contain a kigo, or seasonal reference, and a kireji or verbal caesura....
, which reflected the common culture.