Feature ~ The Distinct Brilliance of Zappai:
and
the Need to Reconsider its HSA Definition
by
Richard Gilbert and Shinjuku
Rollingstone
Introduction
This article
argues for the removal of the term zappai from the recently
published Haiku Society of America (HSA) definitions of both haiku and
senryû. Zappai in
the HSA definition is equated with "pseudohaiku" and "doggerel
verse." Statements are also made inferring that zappai are
without literary value, and it is implied that zappai are not
worth memorializing as literature. The HSA valuation of zappai states:
Many so-called "haiku" in
English are really senryû. Others, such as "Spam-ku" and "headline
haiku", seem like recent
additions to an old Japanese category, zappai, miscellaneous
amusements in doggerel verse (usually written in 5-7-5) with little
or no literary
value. Some call the products of these recent fads "pseudohaiku" to
make clear that they are not haiku at all. [1]
As the HSA mentions in
its "preliminary notes" to the definitions: "we
hope the results of our efforts are faithful to the spirit of these words'
Japanese origins . . . ;" if there is veracity to this statement, the
HSA needs to reconsider its definition and completely disassociate the term zappai from the connotations given in their present definition. Zappai is
an important literary term, pre-existing in Japanese literature and culture
that has been introduced as an English-language term in order apparently
to lend credence to what is an English-language literary issue. Since there
has been scant public mention of zappai, or substantive discussion
relating to potential problems of its use in English [2], it
is unclear how this term has suddenly found its way into two important English-language
haiku-genre
definitions. A closer look at the literature of zappai as it exists
in Japanese literary history and contemporary literary culture seems warranted.
Several haiku and haikai poets we have spoken to in our locale of Kumamoto
feel that the linking of zappai to such writings as spam-ku and headline
haiku in English is inappropriate and culturally offensive, as zappai has
evolved directly out of the ancient haikai tradition. That is, to equate
zappai—a genre of Japanese literature with a publication history reaching
back, as haikai, to at least the 14th century—with spam-ku and the
like is culturally demeaning. The use of zappai as a term meant
to indicate a "trashbin" category
of the English-haiku genre is, thus, inappropriate.
We would like to answer several questions in this article: What constitutes
zappai? Why might the derogatory appellation of zappai in
English be considered culturally insensitive, in Japan? Are zappai poems
really "pseudohaiku," or
something else altogether? Is there authoritative evidence establishing
the literary value of zappai in Japan? Is zappai a poetic
genre which garners respect in contemporary Japanese literary circles? We
wish to shed light
on zappai by providing examples of prevailing expert opinion, poetic
examples, and sources which may offer clues to its Japanese cultural context.
A number
of excellent books have been written on the subject in Japanese; this present
article presents an overview of preliminary findings. For the sake of brevity
and relevance, we will focus this article on a point-by-point refutation
of the HSA statements found in the definition of zappai.
Disagreements with the HSA definition
1) HSA Statement: "An
old Japanese category." Zappai developed
out of haikai (humorous linked verse, an outgrowth of renga)
and importantly, survive as a contemporary literary form of
cultural expression, with
composition groups, competitions, etc. To say it is an old category
implies that zappai are defunct. Zappai is
no more an "old category" than haiku (viz
the hokku of Bashō) or senryû are old categories—the
appellation is misleading. Further, the term "category" seems
demeaning, as zappai constitute a separate literary
genre; the main zappai tradition has not evolved
from the haiku/hokku.
2) HSA Statement: "Miscellaneous amusements in doggerel
verse." (See Appendix
A: Definition of "doggerel.") We show below that
several esteemed literary critics consider some zappai equal
in aesthetic and literary merit to haiku—and that the genre
as a whole warrants
treatment
as a serious and important literature. In other words, the global
appellation of "miscellaneous amusement" is not an
acceptable definer of zappai,
if "miscellaneous" is taken to mean unimportant and
forgettable. Just as with senryû, certainly, some zappai over
the centuries of its history were miscellaneous amusements and
doggerel verses. There
have also been
many inferior and forgettable haiku (hokku) published. We strongly
object to the term "doggerel verse" for zappai,
particularly in that: "almost
by definition examples of doggerel are not preserved, since
if they have any redeeming value they are not considered doggerel" (Appendix
A).
The term should not be applied to zappai.
3) HSA Statement: "Little or no literary value." This
statement has offended our local region here in Japan, which
has had a long and
unbroken tradition of writing a form of zappai in local-language dialect: higo-kyōku.
Information and examples of contemporary zappai from two different regions
of Japan will be given below.
4) HSA Statement: "Pseudohaiku." Zappai in
Japan as practiced both today and historically, for the most
part use haikai "linking" and "verse
capping" stylism, and are not directly related to haiku, Masaoka Shiki's
late 19th century innovation, which developed from the hokku, the first
stanza of a renga or haikai-renga. The hokku, that is, the 5-7-5 first stanza
of the linked-stanza poem-forms just mentioned, typically written by two
or three (though sometimes one, or additional) poets, began to be treated
as a separate poem about 160 years before Bashō's publishing career got
underway—the first anthology exclusively devoted to hokku
was Sōgi's posthumous Jinensai hokku (1506).
In fact, zappai find their main lineage in the broader genre
of haikai humor, and particularly in the hiraku verses of haikai—as
such, inferring that
zappai have a direct relationship with the genre of haiku (the
hokku, particularly as exemplified by Bashō) is questionable:
evidence contradicts the assertion.
Hiraku indicates stanzas which are found in the body of a haikai-renga,
ergo, after the first three stanzas, and excepting the concluding stanza
of a haikai (note: haikai, haikai-renga and haikai-no-renga are synonyms. "Haikai-no-renga" is
quite an uncommon, or unknown, phrase in Japanese literary circles—hence
we avoid it; the others are commonly used). Zappai do have
many varieties; while there is a historic form related to the hokku,
most, including those
we have found used at present are based on the hiraku stanzas of haikai
(the scholars quoted below relate zappai to hiraku verses only,
as a distinguishing feature). Zappai possess a profound relationship
with the deep literary and cultural sense of haikai humor, which can
be traced directly back to
the first 14th century renga anthology Tsukuba-shū (1356
A.D.), which contains a chapter of haikai-renga.
We note here another mistake in the HSA definition, which states that "haikai" is: "linked
verse originating in the sixteenth century." This is untrue. Though
the main era of haikai "development [was] in the 17th century under
Bashō and his adherents," [3] the discrete
haikai genre extends as published literature at least into the 14th
century
(as mentioned just above), and
further back to the Heian era, in the form of mushin renga: "The
mushin renga led to haikai no renga, more familiarly haikai (or renku
in recent
times). Haikai means something like 'humorous'. . . . From the 12th
century . . . . thousands, no doubt millions, of [renga] stanzas were
composed,
the majority in non-standard, or mushin renga and haikai. The more serious
[ushin renga] were [however] more apt to be recorded" (ibid). The
significant point is that zappai are part of a millennial,
unbroken Japanese literary tradition which mixes humor with high-culture
poetic
forms, almost
always
loosening, breaking or disregarding the fixed rules of the "serious" form.
Without "haikai taste," we would not have haiku, or senryû either,
and certainly not zappai. The matter of "haikai
taste," that
is the poetic flavor of humor in all haikai poetic genres, needs re-estimation
in English, as its historic and contemporary cultural and literary significance
seems lacking in English-language discussions—with the result
that zappai could
be termed "doggerel" and "miscellaneous amusement;" statements
that ignore and disvalue cultural context. More needs to be said regarding "haikai
taste"; however, space does not permit.
5) HSA statement: "They are not haiku at all." This concluding
statement is a false analogy. Zappai constitute a separate literary genre:
they cannot be considered to be "pseudo" haiku. Zappai have
sometimes been mixed up with senryû in Japan, and scholars have
gone to some lengths to clarify
the distinction.
A strict definition
of senryû is that this is a variety
of
zappai (see Appendix B). This
may come as some surprise.
Defining zappai
To begin defining zappai,
here is a definitive commentary from two experts on zappai and
haikai. In the chapter provocatively titled "What Transcends
Haiku Masterpieces" [syūku wo koeru mono] from his book Is
Japan a Haiku Country? (Nihon ha haiku no kuni ka, Kadokawa
Shoten, 1996), Katō Ikuya [4] has composed the following
paragraph, with reference to another
expert, Katsutada Suzuki: [5]
Zappai means:
other haikai schools with a wide variety of uncategorized styles;
it does not mean pseudo-haikai [un- or non-formal haikai]. Suzuki
Katsutada defined zappai this way: "Zappai can
be defined as haikai in which human feelings are composed in hiraku form,
which cannot be incorporated into existing haikai." It is quite
displeasing that zappai has been looked down upon in relation to ordinary
haikai,
and mixed up with maekudzuke
(in haikai-renga: completing a 7-7 verse with a 5-7-5 verse), senryû,
or kokkeiku (a humorous stanza, usually 5-7-5 or 7-7 verse).
We notice immediately that Ikuya
writes "pseudo-haikai"; not:
haiku/hokku. In the above determination, zappai mainly has a
historical origin in, and relationship to, the body-stanzas of haikai-renga,
and
not hokku (the first stanza). As we assembled this article, Shinjuku commented:
The above definition is a bit abstract. Suzuki Katsutada states that zappai cannot
be incorporated into haikai. The reasons seem fairly obvious, when considering
the contemporary zappai genre: the use of local dialect, local
compositional rules, and a variety of other possible local characteristics
would probably be some of the main reasons. Some well-known and esteemed
examples of zappai are Awaji-zappai, Tosa-kyōku, Higo-kyōku and Satsuma-kyōku.
Non-Japanese people may not realize that the leading word in each of the
above terms is a place name: Awajishima, Tosa, Higo,
and Satsuma. Each
of
these locales has a highly prized form of "uncategorizable" haikai,
due to language-dialect and local varieties of intonation—but also
local rules of composition, which may involve social interaction, that
is, the
manner in which zappai (or kyōku—a zappai variant) schools operate. A
person from Tokyo (who speaks the dialect of hyōjyun-go) may likely have
a difficult
time understanding higo-kyōku, a Kumamoto Prefecture (Higo) zappai form,
without instruction from a native—as it is written in the local
dialect, its rhythms expressed in regional stylisms within a unique cultural
setting.
Zappai is generally considered a form of linked poetry, and there
are many different rules for composition. For instance in higo-kyōku,
the higo-kyōku master will write the first 5-on of
a 5-7-5 stanza (this stanza may be over or under 5-on: ji-amari or jitarazu),
and then poets in the group will add 7-5-on to complete the poem
(this compositional style is known as kasadzuke).
Unlike haikai, the part added by the poet (known as tsukeku)
is always 7-5-on.
(So, higo-kyōku is always 5-7-5-on; with the exception
of the first metric line, as noted above.) There are other features found
in Awaji-zappai. In
one form of Awaji-zappai, the zappai master gives only
the first sound (-on)
of each metric line of 5-7-5-on (this compositional method is
known as oriku,
a technique of haikai).
Examples of contemporary zappai
It needs to be mentioned,
preceding the examples, that the multiple resonances of regional flavor,
rhythm, cultural and comic nuance
are fairly untranslatable;
readers may hopefully infer there is often more than meets the eye,
in the original language and context. Just below are some examples
of Awaji-zappai,
collected in The Logic of Early Modern Fixed-form Poetry, by
Tsukushi Bansei (Kindai teikei no ronri, Yû Shorin, 2004). The author
offers his considered
opinion of the literary merit of zappai, in comparison with the haiku
genre, as a serious literature:
Thus, unlike
senryû, zappai is not only composed of humorous stanzas.
Probably at this point, readers understand that zappai has
a unique expression, techniques
and approaches, and that some zappai are equal in measure to haiku
(p. 42).
nikkori to jyokyuu tsumetai
te wo makase —Icchyū
smiling the barmaid leaves her cold hand at his mercy
nekoronde rengebatake
ni kumo wo oi —Dandan
lie down over the lotus field chase clouds
 ¨
nonbirito kesa no ame kiku
sansuifu —Misatoken?
(uncertain pronunciation)
leisurely
listening to the morning rain
of the water man
Some examples of award-winning Kumamoto Prefecture higo-kyōku, from the
2003 annual contest sponsored by RKK Television:[6]
kikoen furi moutokkuri wa araiyoru
pretending deafness already washing the sake bottle —Mitarai
Kiyoshi
miteminufuri yomeshūtome mo umaku iku
no eyes no ears no mouth the wife and step-mother doing well —Iwashita
Yumiko
makkurayami hamatte
wakaru mizutamari
sheer darkness
falling and finding the rainpuddle —Nakagawa Ryūseki
Briefly
then, here are five reasons for the removal of the term "zappai" from
the HSA definitions:
1) Zappai is a separate traditional genre-category of poetry. It is not
an attempt at (is not pseudo) haiku (or pseudo hokku).
2) Contemporary zappai covers a variety of 5-7-5 and 7-7 based poetry which
contains local, regional-colloquial (dialect and accent) language styles.
To consider local-language and regional poetic forms as inferior to aristocratic-central
(Tokyo-dialect) language forms is elitist and reactionary. Such an attitude
may have been accepted in some historic traditionalist haiku circles, but
it is not an acceptable attitude today.
3) The idea of hierarchal ranking of poetic forms in Japan is an old
saw, a stereotyping of literary value; it is a questionable practice.
Many poets
find the idea offensive and unproductive. Those who hold to this idea
of a ranking system can be considered "pre-modern" in their approach
to poetic literature. The notable poet Hoshinaga Fumio refers to the idea
of hierarchal ranking in a dismissive fashion, as "the traditionalist
order" (Gilbert, Modern Haiku, 35:3, Autumn 2004, pp.
42-3), strongly resisting the idea of the "typing" of poets
(haijin, shijin, etc.) in Japan. Further, the essence of zappai contains
haikai humor,
wordplay,
and insight into culture and reality. We need to keep in mind the thousands
of zappai competitions that have occurred, awards that have been conferred,
throughout zappai history, up to the present. Given this cultural context,
dare we declare a popular cultural art of a foreign country, which has strong
contemporary ethnic roots, to be without merit? Such a move reflects upon
us all.
4) Cultural insensitivity. Zappai is a variety of haikai, and
not "lesser." Some
critics find the "serious" variety of zappai to have greater
literary merit than senryû; that is, zappai are not merely 'miscellaneous
amusements in doggerel verse.' Mainly though, Japanese regional-language
poets who
are aware of the English-language idea of zappai have become
offended at the implied slight to their local poetic traditions and
culture.
5) Usurpation; that is, divining a misleading or idiosyncratic meaning
from a pre-existing literary term outside of its context: utilizing
its unknown,
exotic flavor as a means of validation in a new language and literature.
The "colonizing" of a pre-existing cultural idea and expression
by another culture has occurred several times in the history of the
English-language haiku movement, to its detriment. Any further evolution
of definitions that
borrow and utilize terms, especially those generally unfamiliar, should
be done with forethought, foresight and academic rigor.
We respect the desire and work
done by the HSA to create improved definitions for the haiku genre, and
while we hold no animus toward the organization,
indeed, applaud its fine accomplishments in promoting haiku in North America
and around the world, as well as its continuing cross-cultural interchange
with Japan and other countries, we feel the future holds great opportunity
in accurately discerning contemporary Japanese literature and culture, which
is composed of an innovative and diverse mix of poetic styles and approaches,
which often overlap—to the point where there exist many exceptions to traditional
genre definitions. Certainly, there are no literary labels that we are aware
of in Japanese literature for a variety of poetry that is "garbage." So,
if we want to create a "garbage" or "pseudo" haiku category
in English, we may do so at our pleasure—sticking to our own language and
literary culture. There is one further issue—whether we need to formally
define such a category. It's not clear that such a step is necessary; any
literary term that means "trash" can also be applied to intimidate
and insult; and, as George Carlin might say, doesn't the word "trash" itself
successfully cover the concept? As well, one person's garbage may be another's
innovation. So, perhaps a word to the wise.
An instance of "haikai taste" 5-7-5
poetry in popular culture
We note that Katō Ikuya
partly defines zappai as "haikai schools" possessing "a
wide variety of uncategorized styles." Taking his definition in its
broad sense, we might say that 5-7-5 poetry which exhibits "haikai
taste" and does not otherwise fall into the category of haiku or senryû could
be considered zappai – not as a throwaway category but, as was pointed
out, simply as an unclassifiable genre of 5-7-5 Japanese poetry with "haikai
taste." There exist many poems that fit this broad definition. As an
example, the famous director, producer, actor, writer, comedian, and perennial
television guest host, Kitano "Beat" Takeshi, recently appointed
to a professorship at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
(Tokyo geijyutsu daigaku), has composed a 5-7-5 poem now popularly known
throughout Japan:
aka shingō minna de watareba kowaku-nai
at the red light
if crossing together -
no need to fear
This poem is based
on kōtsū anzen hyōgo, "traffic
safety mottos" which
are written by kindergarten and elementary-school children everywhere (that
is, every living person), as part of their study of the Japanese language.
For instance, one of the most well-known mottos is:
te wo agete ōdanhodō wo ōwatarō yo
Let's put out a hand: cross the pedestrian crosswalk
Even
four and five-year olds know this one. Such a motto would not be classified
as poetic, though
it is 5-7-5, and participates in the unique flavor of
5-7-5 metrics; thus is rooted in Japanese language and culture. [7] There
are perhaps many thousands of such sayings. "Beat" Takeshi's play
upon not only the genre of the traffic motto, but also the intent (traffic
safety), contains the quality of haikai taste. Nonetheless, it isn't senryû,
as it's a poem based upon a coinage of the "traffic safety motto" genre.
We feel that this poem may be classified as zappai, according to the broad
definition. While Takeshi's coinage may not be high art, it is culturally
significant, ironic, and playful—in fact, the poem points out the
problematic phenomenon of mass psychology, as a form of social critique.
Takeshi's poem
is justly memorable, as it resonates with prevailing cultural issues and
its meaning is multilayered—is it actually high art after all? We
leave it to the reader to decide, as we are not in a position to make the
assumption.
Caveat Emptor.
APPENDIX A
Definition of "Doggerel" [8]
Doggerel describes verse considered of little literary value.
The word is derogatory, from Middle English.
Doggerel might have any or all of the following failings:
trite, cliched, or overly sentimental
 forced or imprecise rhymes
faulty metre
misordering
of words to force correct metre.
Almost by definition examples of doggerel are not preserved, since if
they have any redeeming value they are not considered doggerel. Some poets
however
make a virtue of writing what appears to be doggerel but is actually clever
and entertaining despite its apparent technical faults.
APPENDIX B: The Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan
(Composed by Japanese and Japan scholars, this massive multi-volume encyclopedia
is arguably among the best sources of Japanese cultural lore available
in the English language. We are curious as to why the HSA Definitions
Committee
has apparently overlooked this resource.)
The "Zappai
and Senryū" entry
zappai and senryū
Zappai is a general term covering a number of forms of comic poetry
that evolved from haikai (see renga and haikai) verse during the
Edo period
(1600–1868). It established itself as an independent poetic genre
directed toward popular
taste during the Genroku era (1688–1704), when haikai drifted away
from its original identity as a comic verse form and took on a more
serious
character. Most zappai [metrical] forms are based on the 5-7-5 syllabic
structure of
the hokku (see haiku). Senryû is one of the best-known
types of zappai and expresses the feelings and insights of people
in everyday situations.
[Our
emphasis.]
Types of Zappai–
Some zappai forms such as maekuzuke and kasazuke follow the principles
of linked verse, in which the poet adds a capping verse
(tsukeku) to a previously given verse (maeku). Zappai also includes
independent unlinked
forms which developed from the hokku, such as kiriku and oriku. Senryû was a relatively late unlinked form which developed from the tsukeku
portion
of maekuzuke verses.
Maekuzuke was a traditional
form of literary amusement in which a given short verse of 14 syllables
was capped by a long verse of 17 syllables
to arrive at the 31-syllable length of the traditional tanka form; alternately,
a long verse could be capped by a short one. Maekuzuke represents the
original
font of Japanese linked verse, and even after it was superseded by the
longer and more sophisticated linked verse forms of renga and haikai,
it survived
both as a comic entertainment and a practice form by which poets could
study and improve their linking technique. In the early Genroku era
maekuzuke
achieved great popularity among the urban population, and maekozuke competitions
in which tsukeku on a given maeku were selected and graded by professional
poetry masters drew large numbers of participants. Winning verses were
printed and distributed, and prizes were awarded.
Unlike haikai poetry,
in which the maeku and the tsukeku were considered equally important,
maekuzuke composition emphasized the interest of the
tsukeku alone. For this reason, the 14-syllable short verse was fixed
as the maeku, and its content became simple to the point of being perfunctory.
Ultimately it lost all poetic meaning and served merely to introduce the
theme of the 17-syllable long verse, which simultaneously gained great
freedom
in both content and expression. With the surge in popularity of maekuzuke
in the Genroku era [1688–1733], many professional poetry masters began
to follow the public trend of viewing maekuzuke composition as an end
in itself
rather than as a mere practice technique, and some devoted themselves
exclusively to the judging of maekuzuke. Among the most notable of these
masters were
Tachiba Fukaku (1662–1733), Shūgetsu (fl early 18th century), and Karai
Senryû (1718–90).
In kasazuke, the major linked-verse font of zappai, a 5-syllable maeku,
is capped by a 12-syllable tsukeku. The completed poem is thus 17 syllables
long, like a hokku, although unlike a hokku it does not require a season
word. This break from the conventional number of syllables in each verse
gave rise to numerous other metrical variations. Kinku and oriku, both of which were nonlinked forms, also did away with
the principle of establishing a seasonal theme. This feature greatly simplified
verse composition and won favor with amateur poets daunted by the complexities
of using season words. Unlike the linked-verse forms, kiriku and oriku
were meant to be composed and appreciated as complete poems, rather
than as parts
of a continuing series. In kiriku, as in kasazuke, a verse of 12 syllables
was added to a given verse of 5 syllables to create a complete poem of
17 syllables. Although originally less attention may have been paid
to linking
technique in kiriku than in kasazuke, the two forms were sufficiently
similar to be considered later as a single type, commonly referred to
as kammurizuke.
Oriku was an acrostic form in which either 2 given syllables were used
respectively as the starting syllables for 2 lines of 7 syllables each,
or 3 given syllables
were used to start 3 lines of a verse in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern. While
there were precedents for this type of poetic amusement in the earlier
waka tradition, it reached the height of its popularity in the mid-18th
century,
especially in the Osaka area.
Senryû – As the tsukeku portions of maekuzuke
verses came to be read and appreciated by themselves, they were called
kyōku to distinguish
them
from hokku, with which they shared the same 17-syllable structure. The
style
of tsukeku selected and published by the maekuzuke judge Karai Senryû swept
the entire nation starting in the Meiwa era (1764–72), and came
to be known
as Senryû-style kyōku. Senryû is
a modern abbreviation of this term.
Starting with Mutamagawa
(1750), a number of collections of superior tsukeku from maekuzuke competitions
had been published without their maeku. These
collections were widely read in the city of Edo (now Tokyo), and led to
the publication in 1763 of the first Yanagidaru, a collection of tsukeku
selected by the immensely popular standards of Karai Senryû. Favorably
received by Edo readers, it was followed by 22 more Yanagidaru collections
issued
by Senryû himself and, after his death, by 144 more issued by his
successors. The early editions showed Senryû's marked preference
for a style similar
to that of contemporary haikai poetry, but in treating the verses as independent
entities and completely ignoring their origin as tsukeku they went a step
beyond Mutamagawa.
The popularity of the
Yanagidans series led to an increased emphasis on the independence of
the tsukeku in Senryû's maekuzuke competitions,
and in his last years the competitions abandoned the maeku entirely
and were
limited to 17-syllable kyōku. At the same time, the light, witty, realistic
sketches of everyday life in the haikai vein that had been predominant
in the early Yanagidaru collections were gradually replaced by verses
with
an emphasis on humor, often quite bawdy, and novelty. This tendency
was intensified by the practice of using set topics (kudai) for verse
composition
in place of the maeku, and ultimately led to both the production of
large numbers of nearly identical verses and a tendency to overindulge
in obscenity
and stilted wordplay in an effort to achieve new comic effects. After
the Meiji Restoration of 1868, however, a reform movement worked to
curb excesses
in senryû and revive it as a satirical poetic genre. It survives to
this day as a form of poetic amusement, composed primarily by amateurs.
Literary Characteristics
of Senryû – Senryû verse deals primarily with
everyday people in everyday situations. One need not be a specialist
to compose it.
In fact, one notable characteristic of the Yanagidaru collections was
that the poets remained anonymous; the tastes shown by the selector
gave the
collection its only touch of personal identity. In presenting historical
legends it gives them a popular twist, and it tends to treat nature
and living things from a distinctly human perspective. The qualities
that
give literary value to senryû are the light, witty realism of
its expression and its penetrating, intuitive observation of human foibles
and events
generally
overlooked by poets in other genres. At its best, the keen insights
of senryû into social mores and daily life make for superior satire,
but
its inclination
toward sharpness sometimes causes it to take an irresponsibly negative
view of mankind and society, falling to the level of mere sarcasm and
scandal-mongering.
References – R. H. Blyth, Senryû (1949).
Miyata Masanobu,
Zappaishi no kenkyō (1972). Okada Hajime, ed, Yanagidaro
zenshō (Sanseidō,
1976–79). Suzuki
Masatada et al, eds., Kibyōshi Senryū, Kyōka, vol. 46 of Nikon
koten bongaku zenshō, (Shōgakukan, 1971).
Author – Shiraishi Teizō.
Article Reference: Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, Volume 8 (Kodansha,
1983, 1st edition), p. 368.
zappai
____________________________________________
Notes:
[1] Haiku Society
of America, Inc. "Report of the Definitions Committee" adopted
at the Annual Meeting of the Society, New York City, 18 September 2004.
Full text available online:
http://www.hsa-haiku.org/HSA_Definitions_2004.html ^return
to text
[2] Cf. Gilbert, The Disjunctive Dragonfly, Endnote
5 (http://www.iyume.com/research).
Let's look at how "zappai" has
been applied in English prior to the HSA definition: In the Modern Haiku journal,
Lee Gurga advanced the idea of a hierarchy or schema of haiku, with zappai
at the bottom. He described
zappai as "so-called haiku" and "imaginary." The intent
seems pejorative: "seventeen syllable poems that do not have proper
formal or technical characteristics of haiku . . . if we look at all of
what is presented today as 'haiku' a large number of so-called haiku are,
like zappai, imaginative or imaginary" (Gurga, 2000, pp. 62-3). ^return to text
[3] Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan, (Kodansha,
1983, 1st edition). See the entry "renga and haikai." ^return to text
[4] Katō Ikuya (1929–2003) graduated from Waseda
University. A renowned poet and critic, recipient of the Japanese literature
Haiku Grand-Prix,
and the Tomizawa Kakio Prize. In 1999 the Katō Ikuya
Award for Poetry was established in his honor. The Japanese text quoted
in this article is available
here: http://www.jfast1.net/~takazawa/dfrontpage/fudemakase/syuukuwokoeru.html ^return to text
[5] Katsutada Suzuki is an acclaimed authority of Edo-period
popular literature, particularly haikai, senryû and zappai. He is the author
of several books,
including Senryu and Zappai: The World of Popular Edo-period Literature [Senryu
zappai Edo shomin no sekai], Miki Shobo, 1996, and The Complete
Works of Japanese Classic Literature 79, New Edition: Kibyoushi [popular
fiction], Senryu and Kyouka (humorous and vulgar tanka, beginning in
the Manyoushu) [shinpen nihon koten bungaku zenshyu: kibyoushi,
senryu, kyouka], Shogakkan, 1999. ^return
to text
[6] Available in Japanese: http://www.rkk.co.jp/piratto/higokyouku.html ^return
to text
[7] Cf. Gilbert and Yoneoka, "From 5-7-5 to 8-8-8:
An Investigation of Japanese Haiku Metrics and Implications for English
Haiku," Language
Issues: Journal of the Foreign Language Education Center. Prefectural
University of Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan, 2000. Online: http://www.iyume.com/research ^return
to text
[8] Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doggerel ^return
to text
Richard
Gilbert's bio can be found at
the conclusion of his interview with
Robert Wilson in the Features section of this issue of Simply
Haiku.
Shinjuku
Rollingstone is a haikai poet. Before he used this pseudonym
he learned English haiku composition from Catherine Urquart. Shinjuku
was born in Kumamoto, Japan, and spent many years in Tokyo, before
returning to his hometown. He claims to have studied the history of
Japanese literature— “as an appetizer for sake.”
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2005: Simply Haiku |
