Haiku the colloquialism of the language and is closest to natural conversational rhythm, necessary to carry the weight of the hokku A haiku traditionally contains a "kigo", a word or phrase that symbolizes or implies the season of the poem and which is drawn from a "saijiki", an extensive but prescriptive list of such words. Kigo are often in the form of metonyms and can be difficult for those who lack Japanese cultural references to spot. The Bashō examples below include "kawazu", "frog" implying spring, and "shigure", a rain shower in late autumn or early winter. Kigo are not always included
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