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PREFACE

The haiku form was first discovered by English-speaking visitors to Japan about a hundred years ago. In the last twenty years, however—an era which has introduced pocket-sized transistor radios, miniskirts and fast foods—it is not surprising that there has been a resurgence of interest in a brief poetic form expressing an instant of insight. Interest in Zen Buddhism and the contacts with Eastern culture made by the Occupation troops and their families after World War II have contributed to an increased knowledge of haiku. Numerous haiku contests, articles in teachers' magazines, and even several "little magazines" and volumes of poetry devoted exclusively to haiku in English give witness to its popularity as a poetry form. In spite of the enthusiasm, however, it is doubtful whether the majority of these would-be writers of haiku really understand the meaning of haiku, the cultural climate which produces it and the technical difficulties stemming from the differences between Japanese and English.

It is the purpose of this book to examine the problems of writing haiku in English. Several excellent books and articles, it is true, have already been written about the Japanese haiku, and these studies do mention the possibilities of haiku in English. None, however, actually analyses and criticises haiku published in English. Kenneth Yasuda in The Japanese Haiku, for example, places the haiku form in the mainstream of literature; all his remarks point to the suitability of haiku as an English poetic form. But Yasuda (who has made, perhaps, the most comprehensive study of English-language haiku) does not explore the problems arising from the differences in background and language of the two cultures.

A monumental amount of research on Japanese literature and Oriental culture has been done by R. H. Blyth. His excellent translations of many haiku and his perceptive analyses of their cultural content have made his volumes handbooks for serious students of haiku. Two paperback volumes by Harold G. Henderson, one of translations and one entitled Haiku in English, have perhaps done most to popularize haiku. Translations by Peter Beilenson and more recently by Yuasa Nobuyuki have also helped to spread the knowledge of haiku, while the value of an older translator, Miyamori Asataro, must not be underestimated.

Of the volumes of English haiku published, several have originated in California. The Way of Haiku by James Hackett and Borrowed Water by the Los Altos Writers Roundtable are perhaps the best known. One "little magazine" in particular, Haiku West, presents a fairly high calibre of haiku in English and haiku criticism. Even more important to the student of haiku are several perceptive articles on Japanese poetry by Earl Miner, appearing in such periodicals as the Hudson Review and the Bibliography of Japan Asian Studies.

Leaning heavily on recent haiku scholarship and on ten years of experience working with the Japanese language, the writer of the present volume presents a brief explanation of the meaning and history of the haiku; a study of its cultural background centering chiefly on the search for enlightenment fundamental to Zen Buddhism; an investigation of the meaning of the haiku moment, that flash of intuition which gives birth to haiku; and, finally, three chapters dealing with haiku under the aspects of the three-line form, the seasonal elements and the poetic techniques. In general the method throughout consists in examining the Japanese form and then investigating the English form. Where possible, comparisons have been made, contrasts indicated and suggestions given. It is hoped that this book will contribute to a better understanding of haiku.

There were many people whose help made this publication possible. First of all, Mr. Jean S. Moreau of the University of Ottawa gave invaluable criticism. For an overview of the meaning of Japanese haiku, notes by Miyazaki Toshiko have been extremely helpful. English haiku used for comparison with Japanese haiku are by the following poets: Scott Alexander, Peggy Card, Helen S. Chenoweth, Molly Garling, James Hackett, Barbara Ogden Moraw, Violet Parks, Catherine Neil Paton, Anne Rutherford, Joy Shieman and Georgian Tashijian. Anita Feldman, Paul Marcotte, Frances Kirwan, Nishimura Yoshitaro, Mary O'Shaughnessy, Imaizumi Hinako and Florence Gogins added books and encouragement to perceptive suggestions. Uetani Yoshiko and Omizo Setsuko helped with translations and explanations of Japanese terms. Three librarians, Inoue Eishin, Sato Teruko and Yabuki Mihoko, traced obscure references; Patricia King, Yamano Emiko and Kohata Kiyoko did the tedious work of typing.

While this book was being written the author was on leave of absence from teaching duties at Sakura no Seibo Junior College, Fukushima, Japan. The research was financed by the Congregation de Notre Dame of Montreal, Canada. Thanks are due to these institutions and to the persons mentioned above.

Acknowledgments are due to: Columbia University Press for excerpts from Sources of Japanese Tradition by Ryusaku Tsunoda, Wm. Theodore de Bary and Donald Keene (comps.); Doubleday and Company, Inc. (comps.) for excerpts from Introduction to Haiku by Harold G. Henderson; Grove Press, Inc. for U.S. rights for excerpts from An Introduction to Zen Buddhism by D. T. Suzuki; James Hackett for ten haiku from his book, The Way of Haiku, published by Japan Publications; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. for excerpts from Structural Essentials of English by Harold Whitehall; Hokuseido Press for haiku translations and excerpts from A History of Haiku, Volumes I and II, Haiku, Volumes I to IV and Zen in English Literature and Oriental Classics by R. H. Blyth; The Hutchinson Publishing Group, Ltd. for British Commonwealth rights for excerpts from An Introduction to Zen Buddhism by D. T. Suzuki; The Hudson Review for selections from "The Technique of Japanese Poetry," by Earl Miner, reprinted by permission from the Hudson Review, Volume VIII, No. 3 (Autumn, 1955), copyright © 1955 by The Hudson Review, Inc.; Leroy Kanterman for haiku by Molly Garling and Scott Alexander in Haiku West, published by Leroy Kanterman(ed.); the J. B. Lippincott Company for excerpts from the book The Story of Language by Mario Pei, copyright © 1949 by Mario Pei, reprinted by permission of J. B. Lippincott Company; the McGraw-Hill Book Company for excerpts from Twelve Doors to Japan by J. W. Hall and R. K. Beardsley; Penguin Books, Ltd. for excerpts from The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches by Basho, translated by Nobuyuki Yuasa, and from The Penguin Book of Japanese Verse, translated by Geoffrey Bownas and Anthony Thwaite, published by Penguin Books, Ltd.; the Simon and Schuster Publishing Company for excerpts from Japan: A History in Art by Bradley Smith; Taiseido Press for haiku translations and excerpts from Anthology of Haiku Ancient and Modern by Miyamori Asataro; the Charles E. Tuttle Company, Inc. for selections from Haiku in English by Harold G. Henderson; from Borrowed Water: A Book of American Haiku by the Los Altos Writers Roundtable; from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings by Paul Reps (comp.); and from The Japanese Haiku: Its Essential Nature, History, and Possibilities in English by Kenneth Yasuda.