ENG | Haiku

• Haiku

  • A traditional form of Japanese poetry
  • Haikai > haikai no renga, a humorous form of renga
  • Hokku > the opening stanza of renga
  • Renga > linked poem, poets worked in pairs or a small group while taking turns composing the alternating three-line and two-line stanzas
• Edo Period

  • The period between 1603-1867
  • Tokugawa Period
• Tokyo was originally named Edo after Tokugawa Ieyasu established the "Tokugawa Shogunate"
• Daimyos

  • Feudal lords that ruled most of Japan from their vast land holdings
  • Dai > large
  • Myo > myoden, private land
• Samurai

  • The well-paid retainers of the daimyo
  • Katana > a Japanese sword
• Bushido

  • A samurai's code of ethics
• Matsuo Basho

  • Born in Kyoto, Japan, to a minor samurai and his wife
  • He was a teacher
• The Matsuo were a major ninja family in the Edo Period.
• The Basho were trained in ninjutsu during the Edo Period.
• Kobayashi Issa

  • He was a master of haiku. His haiku often reflected the beauty of nature, the fleeting moments of life, and the human experience
• Kobayashi Issa is a pen name. "Kobayashi" is is family name, and "Issa" means "one cup of tea".