Haiku Day (Haiku no Hi)

What is Haiku Day?

August 19th is celebrated every year as "Haiku Day." It was proposed by Toshinori Tsubouchi, a haiku poet and noted scholar of Masaoka Shiki, and others, and began in 1991. The date comes from a wordplay on the numbers: in Japanese, 8 can be read as "ha," 1 as "i," and 9 as "ku," together spelling out "ha-i-ku" (8/19 = ha-i-ku). The same date is also "Haiku Commemoration Day," established by the "Oshaberi HAIKU no Kai" haiku group led by poet Takako Ueno and registered with the Japan Anniversary Association, with the aim of sharing the joy and depth of haiku and the importance of seasonal awareness through haiku gatherings. Haiku Day is also described as a day for children on summer vacation to get familiar with haiku.

Masaoka Shiki and the Birth of "Haiku"

The haiku we know today went through a major turning point in the Meiji era.

• Masaoka Shiki's Haiku Reform: In the Edo period, haikai — linked verse that began with an opening 5-7-5 stanza called hokku — was popular. In the Meiji era, Masaoka Shiki promoted treating the hokku as independent literature called "haiku," and advocated "shasei" (sketching from life) — describing things as they are seen.
• One of the World's Shortest Poems: Haiku, with its 5-7-5 structure of 17 sounds, is often called "the world's shortest poem." Today it is loved internationally as "Haiku."

Season Words and Cutting Words

Haiku has its own devices for saying a lot in very few words.

• Kigo (season words): A haiku traditionally includes a word that evokes a season, such as "cicada," "morning glory," or "moon." Collections of season words are called saijiki. Interestingly, in haiku the morning glory and the moon are autumn words.
• Kireji (cutting words): Words like "ya," "kana," and "keri" create a pause and leave a lingering resonance. The "ya" in Bashō's "furuike ya" (an old pond) is a classic example.

Fascinating Facts About Haiku

• Bashō's Long Journey: For "The Narrow Road to the Deep North," Matsuo Bashō traveled from Edo through the Tōhoku and Hokuriku regions to Ōgaki over about 150 days — a distance said to be about 600 ri (roughly 2,400 km).
• Shiki's Pen Name: "Shiki" is another name for the lesser cuckoo (hototogisu), a bird said to sing until it coughs blood; Shiki, who suffered from tuberculosis, is said to have taken the name with this in mind.
• Season-Free and Free-Verse Haiku: There are also haiku without season words (muki haiku) and free-rhythm haiku that do not follow 5-7-5, known through poets such as Santōka Taneda and Hōsai Ozaki.
• "HAIKU" Goes Global: Haiku are now composed in English and other languages, typically as short three-line poems.
• Also "Motorcycle Day": August 19 is also "Motorcycle Day," since 8-1-9 can be read as "ba-i-ku" (bike).

Tips for Spending Haiku Day

• Try turning a scene from your commute, or your mood right now, into a 5-7-5 verse.
• Go for a walk and try to spot just one sign of the changing season.
• Copy out a favorite haiku by hand in your notebook.
• Flip through a saijiki and look for season words you didn't know.

Capturing a Moment in Just 17 Sounds

August 19th is a day to notice the scenes that come into view once you strip away excess words. The spirit of shasei, passed down from Masaoka Shiki, reminds us of the seasons around us that we tend to overlook in our busy lives. Today, why not capture a fleeting moment of light or breeze in 17 sounds of your own?