As for whether the kigo actually represented the sense of the seasons, according to the haikai of the danrin school, there was an aspect to them in which a sense of humor was created by separating the kikan from the kigo.
季語が季節の情感を表現していたかといえば談林の俳諧などではかえって季語を季感と切り離すことで、笑いを生みだすものとしていた部分もあった。