On (Japanese prosody) On (Japanese prosody) The term On (rarely "Onji") refers to counting phonetic sounds in Japanese poetry. In the Japanese language, the word ""on"" (音) means "sound". It is used to mean the phonetic units counted in haiku, tanka, and other such poetic forms. Known as "morae" to English-speaking linguists, the modern Japanese term for the linguistic concept is either "haku" () or "mōra" (). Ji (字) is Japanese for "symbol" or "character". The concatenation of the two words ""on"" and ""ji"" into ""onji"" (音字) was used by Meiji era grammarians to mean "phonic character" and was translated into English by
Haiku Society of America Haiku Society of America The Haiku Society of America is a non-profit organization composed of haiku poets, editors, critics, publishers and enthusiasts that promotes the composition and appreciation of haiku in English. It was founded in 1968 and sponsors meetings, lectures, workshops, readings and contests. The HSA's 2011 membership was 690, of whom 66 reside outside the US. The Society's journal, "Frogpond", first published in 1978, includes the work of HSA members and others, as well as articles on haiku and book reviews. The Society also publishes a quarterly newsletter containing reports of HSA national meetings, held four times a