Haiku facts for kids

Haiku (俳句) is a special type of Japanese poetry. It was once called hokku. The Japanese writer Masaoka Shiki gave it the name "haiku" around the end of the 19th century.

Traditional haiku usually have three lines with a pattern of 5, 7, and 5 sounds. These sounds are called morae in Japanese. A mora is like a syllable, but not exactly the same as in English. Haiku also often include a special "season word" called a kigo. This word helps you know what season the poem is about, or it refers to something from the natural world.

Haiku often have a break in them, called a kireji. In Japanese, these are actual words. In English, we often use commas, hyphens, or line breaks to show this pause. Japanese haiku are usually written in one long line. But in English, they are almost always written in three separate lines. The word "haiku" is used for both one poem and many poems in English, just like in Japanese.

What Haiku Looks Like

Japanese haiku are traditionally written in one vertical line. Here are some examples to help you understand.

• A famous old haiku by the poet Bashō:

古池や蛙飛込む水の音　

Furu ike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto

An old pond

When the frogs jump in

The sound of water

• Another haiku by Bashō:

初しぐれ猿も小蓑をほしげ也

Hatsu shigure saru mo komino wo hoshige nari

The first cold shower;

Even the monkey seems to want

A little coat of straw.

(Coats and straw hats were used in Japan to protect from rain back then.)

Famous Haiku Writers

Many poets have written haiku. Here are some of the most well-known.

Early Haiku Poets (Hokku)

These writers lived before Masaoka Shiki gave haiku its current name. Their poems were called hokku.

• Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694)
• Onitsura (1661–1738)
• Yosa Buson (1716–1783)
• Kobayashi Issa (1763–1827)

Later Haiku Poets

These poets wrote after Masaoka Shiki named the style "haiku."

• Masaoka Shiki (1867–1902)
• Kawahigashi Hekigotō (1873–1937)
• Takahama Kyoshi (1874–1959)
• Taneda Santoka (1882–1940)
• Iida Dakotsu (1885–1962)
• Nakamura Kusatao (1901–1983)

Haiku Poets from Other Countries

While haiku started in Japan, poets from all over the world write them now. Some poets, like James W. Hackett and Nick Virgilio, are especially known for their haiku. Others, like Richard Wright, wrote many haiku later in their lives.

Images for kids

• 

  Haiku by Matsuo Bashō reading "Quietly, quietly, / yellow mountain roses fall – / sound of the rapids".

• 

  Grave of Yosa Buson

See also

In Spanish: Haiku para niños