https://www.howmany.pro/assets/HaikuExamplesPage-Cqw1kbVn.js

1import{j as e,S as J,L as r,r as u}from"./index-BRVihy0y.js";const t={ink:"#1a1a2e",body:"#333333",soft:"#666666",amber:"#f59e0b",amberText:"#b45309",amberTint:"#fff8e7",panel:"#f8f9fa",line:"#e9ecef",white:"#ffffff",good:"#15803d"},M={maxWidth:760,margin:"0 auto",padding:"0 18px"},c={color:t.ink,fontSize:"1.45rem",fontWeight:800,lineHeight:1.25,margin:"0 0 12px"},v={color:t.ink,fontSize:"1.08rem",fontWeight:800,margin:"0 0 6px"},i={color:t.body,fontSize:"1.02rem",lineHeight:1.7,margin:"0 0 16px"},h={margin:"0 0 34px"};function S(){return e.jsx("div",{style:{padding:"8px 0",background:t.white},children:e.jsx("ins",{className:"adsbygoogle",style:{display:"block"},"data-ad-client":"ca-pub-3498543248864380","data-ad-slot":"auto","data-ad-format":"auto","data-full-width-responsive":"true"})})}function $(n){if(n=n.toLowerCase().replace(/[^a-z]/g,""),!n)return 0;if(n.length<=3)return 1;n=n.replace(/(?:[^laeiouy]es|ed|[^laeiouy]e)$/,""),n=n.replace(/^y/,"");const s=n.match(/[aeiouy]{1,2}/g);return Math.max(1,s?s.length:1)}function k(n){return n.trim().split(/\s+/).filter(Boolean).reduce((s,o)=>s+$(o),0)}const T=[{l1:"old pond",l2:"a frog jumps in",l3:"the sound of water",who:"Bashō"},{l1:"on a withered branch",l2:"a crow has settled —",l3:"autumn nightfall",who:"Bashō"},{l1:"little snail",l2:"slowly, slowly climb",l3:"Mount Fuji",who:"Issa"},{l1:"don’t swat the fly —",l2:"it wrings its hands,",l3:"it wrings its feet",who:"Issa"}];function F(){const[n,s]=u.useState(""),[o,a]=u.useState(""),[m,g]=u.useState(""),[y,x]=u.useState(null),[E,H]=u.useState(0),l=[k(n),k(o),k(m)],W=[5,7,5],j=l[0]+l[1]+l[2],I=(n+o+m).trim().length>0,z=l[0]===5&&l[1]===7&&l[2]===5;function A(){const d=T[E%T.length];s(d.l1),a(d.l2),g(d.l3),x(d.who),H(f=>f+1)}function L(){s(""),a(""),g(""),x(null)}const B=[[n,s],[o,a],[m,g]];return e.jsxs("div",{id:"explore",style:{background:t.white,border:`1px solid ${t.line}`,borderRadius:14,padding:"20px 18px",boxShadow:"0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.04)"},children:[e.jsx("div",{style:{color:t.soft,fontSize:"0.78rem",fontWeight:700,textTransform:"uppercase",letterSpacing:"0.08em",margin:"0 0 12px"},children:"Haiku workbench — type a line and watch the count"}),e.jsx("div",{style:{display:"grid",gap:10},children:B.map(([d,f],p)=>{const b=l[p],w=W[p],C=b===w?t.good:b>w?t.amberText:t.soft;return e.jsxs("div",{style:{display:"flex",alignItems:"center",gap:10},children:[e.jsx("input",{value:d,onChange:R=>{f(R.target.value),x(null)},placeholder:`Line ${p+1}`,style:{flex:1,border:`1px solid ${t.line}`,borderRadius:8,padding:"11px 12px",fontSize:"1rem",color:t.ink,fontFamily:"Georgia, serif",background:t.white}}),e.jsxs("span",{style:{minWidth:56,textAlign:"right",fontSize:"0.9rem",fontWeight:700,color:C},children:[b," / ",w]})]},p)})}),e.jsxs("div",{style:{display:"flex",gap:8,marginTop:14,flexWrap:"wrap"},children:[e.jsx("button",{onClick:A,style:{background:t.amber,color:t.ink,border:"none",borderRadius:8,padding:"9px 16px",fontSize:"0.9rem",fontWeight:800,cursor:"pointer"},children:"Try a master’s haiku"}),e.jsx("button",{onClick:L,style:{background:t.white,color:t.body,border:`1px solid ${t.line}`,borderRadius:8,padding:"9px 16px",fontSize:"0.9rem",fontWeight:700,cursor:"pointer"},children:"Clear"})]}),I&&e.jsxs("div",{style:{marginTop:14,padding:"12px 14px",borderRadius:10,background:t.panel,border:`1px solid ${t.line}`},children:[y&&e.jsxs("div",{style:{color:t.ink,fontSize:"0.9rem",marginBottom:6},children:["That’s ",y,"’s, in a plain English rendering — ",e.jsxs("strong",{style:{color:t.amberText},children:[j," syllables, and not 5-7-5."]})," A masterpiece that breaks the rule you were taught."]}),!y&&e.jsx("div",{style:{color:t.body,fontSize:"0.9rem"},children:z?"Textbook 5-7-5 (17 syllables). In English that almost always means the poem is padded — real haiku run leaner.":`Total: ${j} syllables. Authentic haiku land around 10–14 in English. Brevity and a clean image beat hitting 17.`})]}),e.jsx("p",{style:{color:t.soft,fontSize:"0.78rem",margin:"12px 0 0"},children:"The counter is an estimate — English syllables are genuinely fuzzy, which is half the reason they are the wrong unit for haiku."})]})}const D=[{l:"old pond — a frog jumps in — the sound of water",who:"Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694)",reveal:'The model haiku. The cut (kireji) falls after "old pond", setting a silent scene against the sudden splash. Season word (kigo): the frog, which signals spring. In English this is about 11 syllables — nowhere near 17.'},{l:"on a withered branch / a crow has settled — / autumn nightfall",who:"Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694)",reveal:'Two images, one cut: a single crow on a bare branch, then the wider dusk. Kigo: "autumn nightfall". Nothing is explained — the mood is left for the reader to feel.'},{l:"little snail / inch by inch — / climb Mount Fuji",who:"Kobayashi Issa (1763–1828)",reveal:"Issa’s gift was humane humour. The kigo (the snail) means summer; the cut juxtaposes the tiniest creature against the largest mountain in Japan — patience and scale in seven words."},{l:"don’t swat the fly — / see how it wrings its hands, / wrings its feet",who:"Kobayashi Issa (1763–1828)",reveal:'A whole ethic in three lines. The fly (a summer kigo) "begs" for its life, and Issa’s Buddhist compassion turns a pest into a fellow creature. The cut sits after the plea.'}];function P({p:n}){const[s,o]=u.useState(!1);return e.jsxs("div",{style:{border:`1px solid ${t.line}`,borderLeft:`3px solid ${t.amber}`,borderRadius:10,background:t.white,overflow:"hidden"},children:[e.jsxs("button",{onClick:()=>o(a=>!a),style:{width:"100%",textAlign:"left",background:"transparent",border:"none",cursor:"pointer",padding:"14px 16px"},children:[e.jsx("div",{style:{color:t.ink,fontFamily:"Georgia, serif",fontSize:"1.02rem",lineHeight:1.5,fontStyle:"italic"},children:n.l}),e.jsxs("div",{style:{color:t.soft,fontSize:"0.82rem",marginTop:6,display:"flex",justifyContent:"space-between"},children:[e.jsx("span",{children:n.who}),e.jsx("span",{style:{color:t.amberText,fontWeight:700},children:s?"Hide":"Season word & cut"})]})]}),s&&e.jsx("div",{style:{padding:"0 16px 14px",color:t.body,fontSize:"0.92rem",lineHeight:1.6},children:n.reveal})]})}function K(){const n=a=>document.getElementById(a)?.scrollIntoView({behavior:"smooth",block:"start"}),s={"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage",mainEntity:[{"@type":"Question",name:"Does a haiku have to be 5-7-5?",acceptedA

1nswer:{"@type":"Answer",text:"Not really. Japanese haiku count 17 sound-units called on or morae in a 5-7-5 pattern, but those are not the same as English syllables — they are shorter. Copying the pattern as 5-7-5 English syllables produces a poem noticeably longer than a real haiku, which is why many serious English-language haiku poets ignore the strict count and simply write three short lines."}},{"@type":"Question",name:"What actually makes a poem a haiku?",acceptedAnswer:{"@type":"Answer",text:'Two things matter more than the syllable count: a kigo, a word that anchors the poem to a season, and a kireji or "cutting word" that splits the poem into two images set side by side. A haiku is really a single vivid moment with a cut in it, not a syllable-counting exercise.'}},{"@type":"Question",name:"What is a famous example of a haiku?",acceptedAnswer:{"@type":"Answer",text:"Bashō’s frog poem is the most famous of all: an old pond, a frog jumping in, the sound of water. In plain English it runs to about eleven syllables — proof that even the model haiku is not 5-7-5 in English."}},{"@type":"Question",name:'Is the plural of haiku "haikus"?',acceptedAnswer:{"@type":"Answer",text:'In English you will see "haikus", but because the word is borrowed from Japanese, where it does not change for plural, careful writers use "haiku" for both one poem and many.'}}]},o={"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList",itemListElement:[{"@type":"ListItem",position:1,name:"Home",item:"https://www.howmany.pro/"},{"@type":"ListItem",position:2,name:"Language & Culture",item:"https://www.howmany.pro/language-words"},{"@type":"ListItem",position:3,name:"Figures of Speech",item:"https://www.howmany.pro/how-many-figures-of-speech-are-there"},{"@type":"ListItem",position:4,name:"Haiku Examples",item:"https://www.howmany.pro/haiku-examples"}]};return e.jsxs(e.Fragment,{children:[e.jsx(J,{title:"Haiku Examples (and Why 5-7-5 Is a Myth) | howmany.pro",description:"Famous haiku examples from Bashō and Issa, plus the truth about the 5-7-5 rule — Japanese counts sound-units, not syllables, so real haiku run leaner. Includes a live syllable workbench.",canonical:"https://www.howmany.pro/haiku-examples",canonicalUrl:"https://www.howmany.pro/haiku-examples"}),e.jsx("script",{type:"application/ld+json",dangerouslySetInnerHTML:{__html:JSON.stringify(s)}}),e.jsx("script",{type:"application/ld+json",dangerouslySetInnerHTML:{__html:JSON.stringify(o)}}),e.jsx("div",{style:{background:t.white},children:e.jsxs("div",{style:{...M,paddingTop:22,paddingBottom:40},children:[e.jsxs("nav",{style:{fontSize:"0.82rem",color:t.soft,marginBottom:18},"aria-label":"Breadcrumb",children:[e.jsx(r,{to:"/",style:{color:t.soft,textDecoration:"none"},children:"Home"}),e.jsx("span",{style:{margin:"0 6px"},children:"›"}),e.jsx(r,{to:"/language-words",style:{color:t.soft,textDecoration:"none"},children:"Language & Culture"}),e.jsx("span",{style:{margin:"0 6px"},children:"›"}),e.jsx(r,{to:"/how-many-figures-of-speech-are-there",style:{color:t.soft,textDecoration:"none"},children:"Figures of Speech"}),e.jsx("span",{style:{margin:"0 6px"},children:"›"}),e.jsx("span",{style:{color:t.body},children:"Haiku"})]}),e.jsx("h1",{style:{color:t.ink,fontFamily:"Georgia, serif",fontSize:"2.05rem",fontWeight:800,lineHeight:1.15,margin:"0 0 14px"},children:"Haiku Examples"}),e.jsx("div",{style:{background:t.amberTint,borderLeft:`5px solid ${t.amber}`,borderRadius:8,padding:"16px 18px",margin:"0 0 18px"},children:e.jsxs("p",{style:{color:t.body,fontSize:"1.05rem",lineHeight:1.6,margin:0},children:["A haiku is a tiny three-line poem that catches a single moment — usually in nature. You were taught it is",e.jsx("strong",{style:{color:t.ink},children:" 5-7-5 syllables"}),". Here is the surprise: that rule is essentially a mistranslation. Japanese haiku count",e.jsx("em",{children:" sound-units"}),", not syllables, so a real haiku is far shorter than the padded 5-7-5 most people write — and even Bashō’s famous frog poem breaks it."]})}),e.jsxs("button",{onClick:()=>n("explore"),style:{width:"100%",background:t.amber,color:t.ink,border:"none",borderRadius:10,padding:"13px 16px",fontSize:"1rem",fontWeight:800,cursor:"pointer",margin:"0 0 26px"},children:["↓"," Count a haiku for yourself"]}),e.jsx("div",{style:h,children:e.jsx(F,{})}),e.jsx(S,{}),e.jsxs("section",{style:{...h,marginTop:34},children:[e.jsx("h2",{style:c,children:"The 5-7-5 myth"}),e.jsxs("p",{style:i,children:["Japanese haiku really are built on a 5-7-5 pattern — but of ",e.jsx("strong",{style:{color:t.ink},children:"on"})," (also called ",e.jsx("em",{children:"morae"}),"), not syllables. An ",e.jsx("em",{children:"on"})," is a shorter, more uniform sound-unit than an English syllable. The clearest proof is the word ",e.jsx("em",{children:"haiku"})," itself: two syllables in English (hai-ku), but three ",e.jsx("em",{children:"on"})," in Japanese (ha-i-ku). The name",e.jsx("em",{children:" Tōkyō"})," looks like two English syllables yet counts as four ",e.jsx("em",{children:"on"}),", because each long vowel is held for two beats."]}),e.jsxs("p",{style:i,children:["Because an English syllable packs in more sound, copying the count as “5-7-5 syllables” builds a poem markedly heavier than the Japanese original — one haiku editor calls the result “obese.” That is 

1why the strict English rule has a nickname among poets: ",e.jsx("strong",{style:{color:t.ink},children:"the urban myth of 5-7-5"}),". It took hold in the mid-twentieth century, pushed by translators such as Harold Henderson and Kenneth Yasuda who wanted English to mirror the Japanese shape. Even in Japan the masters did not always obey 17 ",e.jsx("em",{children:"on"}),", and a whole free-form school grew up around breaking it. The takeaway: count if you like the discipline, but it is a training wheel, not the definition."]})]}),e.jsxs("section",{style:h,children:[e.jsx("h2",{style:c,children:"What actually makes a haiku"}),e.jsx("p",{style:i,children:"Strip away the counting and two features do the real work — and almost no school lesson mentions them."}),e.jsxs("div",{style:{display:"grid",gap:12},children:[e.jsxs("div",{style:{border:`1px solid ${t.line}`,borderRadius:10,padding:"14px 16px",background:t.panel},children:[e.jsx("h3",{style:v,children:"Kigo — the season word"}),e.jsx("p",{style:{...i,margin:0,fontSize:"0.96rem"},children:"A word that roots the poem in a particular season: blossoms for spring, cicadas for summer, the harvest moon for autumn, bare branches for winter. The kigo plugs three lines into a whole shared calendar of feeling, doing the work of a much longer poem."})]}),e.jsxs("div",{style:{border:`1px solid ${t.line}`,borderRadius:10,padding:"14px 16px",background:t.panel},children:[e.jsx("h3",{style:v,children:"Kireji — the cut"}),e.jsx("p",{style:{...i,margin:0,fontSize:"0.96rem"},children:"A “cutting word” that splits the haiku into two parts and sets one image against another — an old pond, then the splash. Japanese has special particles for it; English uses a dash, a colon or just the line break. The spark that jumps the gap between the two images is where a haiku actually happens."})]})]}),e.jsxs("p",{style:{...i,marginTop:16},children:["So a haiku is really one vivid moment, anchored to a season, with a cut in the middle. (One more thing schools get wrong: because the word is Japanese, careful writers use ",e.jsx("em",{children:"haiku"})," for both the singular and the plural — never “haikus.”)"]})]}),e.jsx(S,{}),e.jsxs("section",{style:{...h,marginTop:34},children:[e.jsx("h2",{style:c,children:"Four from the masters"}),e.jsx("p",{style:i,children:"Plain English renderings of public-domain poems by two of the four great haiku poets — Bashō, the founder, and Issa, the most human. Tap any one to see its season word and its cut. (The other two masters worth knowing: Yosa Buson, 1716–1784, a painter who wrote painterly haiku; and Masaoka Shiki, 1867–1902, who gave the form its modern name.)"}),e.jsx("div",{style:{display:"grid",gap:10},children:D.map(a=>e.jsx(P,{p:a},a.who+a.l))})]}),e.jsxs("section",{style:h,children:[e.jsx("h2",{style:c,children:"Write one that actually works"}),e.jsxs("p",{style:i,children:["Forget the calculator for a moment. The fastest way to a real haiku is to ",e.jsx("strong",{style:{color:t.ink},children:"aim short"})," — three brief lines, often nearer ten syllables than seventeen — and to build it from ",e.jsx("strong",{style:{color:t.ink},children:"one concrete image"})," tied to a season. No title, no rhyme, present tense, and no explaining how you feel; let the picture do that."]}),e.jsx("p",{style:i,children:"Then add the cut. Put two images side by side and leave a gap between them — a dash or a line break is your English kireji — so the reader’s mind makes the connection you didn’t spell out. Bashō’s pond and frog are doing nothing more complicated than that. Hit the image and the cut, and nobody will ever count your syllables."})]}),e.jsx("section",{style:h,children:e.jsxs("div",{style:{background:t.white,border:`1px solid ${t.line}`,borderRadius:12,padding:"20px 22px"},children:[e.jsx("h2",{style:{...c,fontSize:"1.2rem"},children:"Sources"}),e.jsxs("ul",{style:{color:t.body,fontSize:"0.9rem",lineHeight:1.7,margin:0,paddingLeft:18},children:[e.jsxs("li",{children:["William J. Higginson, ",e.jsx("em",{children:"The Haiku Handbook"})," (Kodansha) — standard reference on ",e.jsx("em",{children:"on"})," vs syllables, kigo and kireji."]}),e.jsx("li",{children:"Haiku Society of America and the NaHaiWriMo essay “Why ‘No 5-7-5’?” by Michael Dylan Welch — on the “urban myth” and the morae/syllable distinction."}),e.jsxs("li",{children:[e.jsx("em",{children:"Haiku"})," and ",e.jsx("em",{children:"Haiku in English"}),", Wikipedia — the on-counting rules (long vowels and final “n” count extra) and the mid-century role of Henderson and Yasuda."]}),e.jsx("li",{children:"Poems: public-domain originals by Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) and Kobayashi Issa (1763–1828); English versions here are the editor’s own plain renderings."})]})]})}),e.jsx("section",{style:h,children:e.jsxs("div",{style:{background:t.panel,border:`1px solid ${t.line}`,borderRadius:12,padding:"20px 22px"},children:[e.jsx("h2",{style:{...c,fontSize:"1.2rem"},children:"Related"}),e.jsxs("div",{style:{display:"grid",gap:8}

1,children:[e.jsxs(r,{to:"/personification-examples",style:{color:t.amberText,textDecoration:"none",fontWeight:600},children:["Personification Examples ","→"]}),e.jsxs(r,{to:"/hyperbole-examples",style:{color:t.amberText,textDecoration:"none",fontWeight:600},children:["Hyperbole Examples ","→"]}),e.jsxs(r,{to:"/how-many-figures-of-speech-are-there",style:{color:t.amberText,textDecoration:"none",fontWeight:600},children:["How Many Figures of Speech Are There? ","→"]}),e.jsxs(r,{to:"/language-words",style:{color:t.amberText,textDecoration:"none",fontWeight:600},children:["Language & Culture hub ","→"]}),e.jsxs(r,{to:"/random",style:{color:t.amberText,textDecoration:"none",fontWeight:600},children:["🎲"," Surprise me ","→"]})]})]})}),e.jsx("p",{style:{color:t.soft,fontSize:"0.98rem",fontStyle:"italic",lineHeight:1.6,margin:"8px 0 0"},children:"The smallest poem in the world turns out to have almost nothing to do with the rule everyone remembers about it — and everything to do with a season and a silence."})]})})]})}export{K as default};