Introduction
Haiku is often regarded as the essence of Japanese culture. In fact, there are powerful Zen Buddhism influences, and haiku is closely linked with haiga graphics, ikebana, and tea ceremony. It has always existed as a part of the world, where verses are regarded as the united and complex stream of meditation. However, regardless of the integral nature of haiku for Japanese culture, the history and origins of its appearing are interesting enough
Reasons and Philosophy of Haiku Appearing
The meditative nature of haiku verses is closely linked with the essence and significance of insight, as well as the ability to see something non-ordinary i9n everyday things and events. The search for insight has led to the creation of traditions associated with poetic journeys.
The constant change of impressions, which is natural and inevitable in travel, is a perfect background for seeing, feeling, and expressing something new in the verses. Yasunari Kawabata (in Yasuda, 412 )claims that haiku words are the same, but life is unstoppable, therefore, the same words can not be the same words. The same word is not able to sound twice, as the same river is unable to wash your feet, as the same spring will never be able to come. Otherwise, the verses would not satisfy the demanding taste of the readers of numerous generations, and would not excite the hearts of our contemporaries.
Considering the history of Japanese poetry, haiku is the instance of democratization of literary norms, as literary traditions experienced the serious burden of the rules and traditions inherited from heroic and court epos. Therefore, this may be helpful for explaining and understanding the historical backgrounds of haiku appearing. The Edo period is featured with the extensive development of literary movements, as well as with the development of naturalism in painting and writing. These were the clear descriptions of the events, which should strictly answer three questions of where what, and when in 17 syllables. However, there are numerous violations of the classic 5-7-5 scheme, as well as the model of the verse, associated with where, what, when questions.
The natural images, described on the pages of Cunningham (534), emphasize the necessity to simplify the images for improving the perception level. Considering the fact that artists used mainly gentle colors, it should be emphasized that the actual importance of naturalness and simplicity is the key point of Japanese philosophy. Additionally, this was the necessity to get closer to nature, the world, and the universe, as “the world expresses itself through a man, that is called to transfer its soundless voice. A man â intermediate between heaven and earth is the sound of the things.
Haiku, as the representation of Japanese society, may be regarded as the model of world perception: the strict form is open for the widest ever perception and interpretation. It is simple, and complex simultaneously, as the actual necessity of simplified world perception is explained by the importance of avoiding complications in communication and interaction with the world.
Conclusion
Considering the fact that haiku is the essence of Japanese culture and world perception, it should be stated that the simplified model of interaction with the world helps find insight and inspiration easier. Therefore, seeing uncommon within ordinary things is the essence of effective philosophy.
A snowy slope –
Is quaked with wooden sticks.
Ski team trains
Works Cited
Cunningham, Lawrence S. and John J. Reich. Culture and Values, Alternate edition: A Survey of the Humanities. Orlando: Wadsworth Publishing Company. 1998.
Yasuda, Kenneth. The Japanese Haiku, Its Essential Nature, History, and Possibilities in English, with Selected Examples. 1st ed. Rutland, VT: Charles E. Tuttle, 1973.