Japanese Thought and Nature in Modern Haiku

Paper Summary:

Through the evolution and literary history of haiku, one can witness the trends in Japanese thought and culture. Among all the modern influences about which to write, haiku poets still find new ways to look at the traditional themes of nature and the natural world. Through their work, Japanese culture and thought is recorded. The relationship between haiku and Japanese thought is a long-standing one. The emphasis on giving up the extra, the nonessential, is simple to see in haiku-nonessential words are eliminated through the strict limits on form. Linkages between cultural understandings in everyday Japanese thought with the words and images used in haiku give an excellent starting point for examining the ways in which the two influence one another. In the article, each of these factors are examined.

From the Paper:

"Japanese culture is known for its ability to make superb use of space. Japanese architecture melds form with function to keep Tokyo and other urban centers populous but workable, Japanese cuisine creatively utilizes spices and textures to stay fresh and interesting, and Japanese poetry exudes feeling and emotion with a minimal number of words. Centuries old, haiku is a structured and sparse form of poetry with strict rules regarding form. However, the form is only sparse in its word structure; the poems themselves portray significantly larger emotions and images than their size would suggest."

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