Kireji in translations of such verses into this language, kireji may be represented by punctuation (typically by a dash or an ellipsis), an exclamatory particle (such as 'how...'), or simply left unmarked. The examples below are laid out as follows: Kireji Classical renga developed a tradition of 18 kireji, which were adopted by haikai, thence used for both renku and haiku, the most common of which are listed below: Hokku and haiku consist of 17 Japanese syllables, or on (a phonetic unit identical to the mora), in three metrical phrases of 5, 7, and 5 on respectively. A kireji is typically
Haiku Haiku In Japanese, haiku are traditionally printed in a single vertical line while haiku in English often appear in three lines to parallel the three phrases of Japanese haiku. Previously called "hokku", haiku was given its current name by the Japanese writer Masaoka Shiki at the end of the 19th century. In Japanese haiku a "kireji", or cutting word, typically appears at the end of one of the verse's three phrases. A "kireji" fills a role somewhat analogous to a "caesura" in classical western poetry or to a volta in sonnets. Depending on which cutting word is chosen, and its