haikai

Haikai, or haikai no renga, refers to a branch of the Japanese linked-verse tradition that flourished from the Muromachi through Edo periods. It emphasizes humor, everyday speech, and accessible diction within collaborative poetry. The term also designates the hokku, the opening stanza of a linked sequence, which gradually came to be prized as a standalone poem in its own right.

Origins lie in the late 16th century as a more playful alternative to courtly renga; haikai poets sought livelier language and popular appeal. In the Edo period, practitioners such as Matsuo Bashō, Yosa Buson, and Kobayashi Issa refined the hokku and the linked form, contributing to the rise of the standalone haiku and a flourishing vernacular poetics. In the 19th century Masaoka Shiki promoted “haiku” as the modern name and pushed reforms that helped the form gain international attention.

Form and technique: Haikai was initially tied to renku, a collaborative sequence; the hokku, a 5-7-5 morae stanza, typically contains a seasonal word (kigo) and a cutting word (kireji) to create pause or contrast. Although modern haiku often omits the collaborative context and allows flexible length, its aesthetic remains rooted in brevity, suggestion, and a moment of insight tied to nature or everyday life.

Legacy: Haikai influenced later Japanese poetry and helped propagate haiku abroad. Today the term haikai is mainly historical, signaling a school and period within the broader continuum of linked-verse and haiku, rather than a current literary movement.