The Art of Haiku: Its History through Poems and Paintings by Japanese Masters Hardcover – August 28, 2012

The Art of HaikuStephen AddissIf you enjoy short poems or delightful visual art, this book is for you. It was my first introduction to haiga, visual art specifically created to accompany haiku. Addiss illustrates his work liberally with exemplary poems and samples of visual works created to accompany them, stressing the point that they were created to be enjoyed together. He traces the history of short form poetry in Japanese society, beginning with tanka, a five line form poem popular early in the previous millennium and continued into the present day, and contrasts it with the Chinese style poetry which was popular in the imperial court. He follows this with biographies of the three acknowledged masters of Haiku and Haiban, Basho (17th century), Buson (18h century)and Issa (19th century). The chapters on these three include illustrations of their artwork, as do the sections on Zen poets and early 20th century haiku poets. He ends the work at World War II, stating that Haiku has since become a world wide phenomenon, and a description of it in recent years would fill another book. I found it a delightful read.I did experience some difficulty navigating between the text and the illustrations on my Kindle Fire. Apparently the publishers originally placed the illustrations in the center of the book and the clickable links in the Kindle edition were difficult to operate with touch screen. The screen size also made some of the illustrations difficult to view. I will try looking at it with the Kindle App on my laptop,I have now acquired a hardbound copy. Although I am happy with the other books in my kindle library, I like the size and accessibility of the illustrations in the bound copy better than the ebook, in this particular case.

This is a nice anthology of haiku by the most important haiku poets. It provides a short biography of each of the major poets. It also provides a number of illustrations of hanging and vertical scrolls that illustrate haiku. However, it doesn't describe the illustrations or discuss them in any detail. I recently looked at a vertical scroll of Basho's Narrow Road to the Deep North (a kind of haiku anthology/travelogue) that had been illustrated by another haiku poet, Basho. I wanted to learn more about artists that illustrated haiku. This book certainly suggests it might have information on this specialized topic. It doesn't and thus its so much less than it could have been. There are lots of anthologies and biographies. I wanted a book that discussed the interactions of haiku and art -- and this isn't it.

I bought this book and read it with the intention of learning something about Japanese haiku. I didn't learn anything. That's the short, mild, and to the point review. What are the two main reasons for this reaction? One: the author spends a lot of time in the book in various places talking extensively about the problems of translating Japanese haiku wording into English. He does this with no allusion to the extensive literature on the subject of translation by professionals, and he adds nothing to that literature. Two: English phonology, i.e. the sound system, is syllable-based; Japanese phonology is Mora-based. One Mora does not equal one syllable. That's just it.Period. But the author shows no indication that he understands anything about Japanese phonology especially the Mora. Imagine trying to talk about English poesy without mentioning stress or meter or feet. The authors tried to do just that with respect to Japanese. I may have wanted to learn something about the art of Japanese haiku but that was on the basis of having lived in Japan for over 16 years, being able to speak the language, and as a linguist understanding its sound system. So what this book has to say about the subject of Japanese poesy is just nonsense. If you want to pursue this matter try googling it, or sending me an email.

This is hands down the best history of haiku that I've read (and I've read a few now). It is comprehensive while other books only include pieces of the story. It is readable and avoids fawning over the subject. The additional information on calligraphy and painting in conjunction with haiku completes the picture. The outlines of the lives of the haikuin included provide the human aspects of this art. If you are interested in the subject, this book is a must have.

Intelligent journey through the history, origin, evolution of haiku, with ample references to the personal and historical context the creators of haiku lived in. At the end one realizes that being in touch with nature and the human soul is a fundamental drive of these thinkers. Also, the elegance and ageless modernity of this concise form of poetry is a welcomed discovery.

A gift for my friend, I haven't read it myself. I did read enough to see that the haiku were translated into English without retaining the 5-7-5 rhythm, which I consider unfortunate.

This is an excellent book. It takes you into the history of Haiku showing the graphics that the traditional Haiku pioneers used when producing the poetry. It was an eye opener. Taught me a lot even though I have read many other Haiku books. Also, it is just an enjoyable book to read.

This is a scholarly work so well written and illustrated that the reader is treated to a learning experience about Haiku while enjoying the hundreds of delightful poems the author presents and describes. By far, the most enjoyable book of and about Haiku that I have read.

Fine translations of haiku, informative text

The book in general is good and informative. However the cover did get a bit wrecked in transit which is a shame.

very good

Good read.

I like haikus. It is a good collection.