Japanese poetry the "honored guest" composing a few beginning lines, often in the form of the "hokku" (which, as a stand-alone piece, eventually evolved into the haiku). This initial sally was followed by a stanza composed by the "host." This process could continue, sometimes with many stanzas composed by numerous other "guests", until the final conclusion. Other collaborative forms of Japanese poetry also evolved, such as the "renku" ("linked-verse") form. In other cases, the poetry collaborations were more competitive, such as with "uta-awase" gatherings, in which Heian period poets composed "waka" poems on set themes, with a judge deciding the winner(s). Haiku
Haiku in languages other than Japanese 2009. The so-called "Estonian haiku" is shorter than a Japanese one; the syllable count in Japanese haiku is 5+7+5, while Estonian haiku also goes in three lines but only comprises 4+6+4 syllables. Estonian authors claim that this is a distinctively Estonian form. Asko Künnap is credited as the inventor of Estonian haiku. The first collection of Estonian haiku was published in 2010: "Estonian Haiku" by poets Asko Künnap, Jürgen Rooste, and Karl Martin Sinijärv. An Estonian-language haiku competition was organized at the 2011 Helsinki Book Fair where Estonia was the guest of honor. A selection of Estonian haiku has been