09-24-2014, 12:25 AM
There are extensive lists of what are considered to be accepted kigo and I did have a couple of them saved but got rid of them because it just didn't seem the right way to go about writing haiku. The trouble with most of the lists is that they are what the Japanese would consider to be kigo and therefore the cultural and historical reasons for some choices aren't always known by people of other languages. For instance I know that the moon is japanese kigo for autumn which I often find strange because it is possible to see the moon at any time of year. So is it possible to write a spring haiku that features the moon? I know that the Japanese use 'milky way' also as an autumn kigo but this is because that is the time of year that it is most visible. It then seems that haiku almost becomes a secret code that is only understood by a few and some will point out what they see as mistakes or deficiencies in others haikus, which to me seems to go against the very nature of haiku.
I do think that there should be some kind of reference to a season and a reference to nature, but I think that they are dependant upon the writers location and perception of the things around. It seems that a lot of haiku are judged from a Japanese perspective, but in the same way that over time people realised that a counting 5-7-5 syllables was not an accurate representation of haiku then also kigo should be given the same possibility of adapting to suit the writer.
For instance 'fogglethorpe' who has written some excellent haikus on this site always said that where he lived there were really only two seasons so for his haiku to be judged from the Japanese perspective of 4 distinct seasons would be unfair.
I think that rules are there to be broken and adapted and can be done so in an imaginative way whilst still being respectful to the origins of haiku, although there will be some purists who will never be fully satisfied unless there are frogs and cherry blossoms in abundance.
The one question I have asked in the past was whether it was acceptable to name a month in a haiku and therefore referencing a season, because I can't recall any traditional haiku that have done this, in fact I think I've only seen it once and that was by Jack Kerouac. It would seem an obvious option sometimes for a kigo, but it also seems like an easy option that could be viewed as unimaginative.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_kigo this is wikis list of kigo and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kigo this is there kigo page which tells what a kigo is and gives specific dates for when seasons occur although you will find that they are very Japanese centred. And http://worldkigodatabase.blogspot.co.uk/ this is one I've just found that has regional kigo and looks quite interesting at first glance.
Mark
I do think that there should be some kind of reference to a season and a reference to nature, but I think that they are dependant upon the writers location and perception of the things around. It seems that a lot of haiku are judged from a Japanese perspective, but in the same way that over time people realised that a counting 5-7-5 syllables was not an accurate representation of haiku then also kigo should be given the same possibility of adapting to suit the writer.
For instance 'fogglethorpe' who has written some excellent haikus on this site always said that where he lived there were really only two seasons so for his haiku to be judged from the Japanese perspective of 4 distinct seasons would be unfair.
I think that rules are there to be broken and adapted and can be done so in an imaginative way whilst still being respectful to the origins of haiku, although there will be some purists who will never be fully satisfied unless there are frogs and cherry blossoms in abundance.
The one question I have asked in the past was whether it was acceptable to name a month in a haiku and therefore referencing a season, because I can't recall any traditional haiku that have done this, in fact I think I've only seen it once and that was by Jack Kerouac. It would seem an obvious option sometimes for a kigo, but it also seems like an easy option that could be viewed as unimaginative.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_kigo this is wikis list of kigo and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kigo this is there kigo page which tells what a kigo is and gives specific dates for when seasons occur although you will find that they are very Japanese centred. And http://worldkigodatabase.blogspot.co.uk/ this is one I've just found that has regional kigo and looks quite interesting at first glance.
Mark
wae aye man ye radgie