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
Haiku was an Englishman who lived in Japan. He produced a series of works on Zen, haiku, senryū, and on other forms of Japanese and Asian literature. In 1949, with the publication in Japan of the first volume of "Haiku", the four-volume work by Blyth, haiku were introduced to the post-war English-speaking world. This four-volume series (1949–52) described haiku from the pre-modern period up to and including Shiki. Blyth's "History of Haiku" (1964) in two volumes is regarded as a classical study of haiku. Today Blyth is best known as a major interpreter of haiku to English speakers. His works have