Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,
This week's GW-post isn't really a GW-post, because I write it myself. And I have chosen to look a bit deeper into the matter of the "hoax" or "so-called" Kanshicho-style of writing haiku. Let me first explain what Kanshicho means. To explain the word "kanshicho" I have split it into three parts: "kan", "shi" , "cho" and "Kanshi". The first three parts are the so called "onji" or sounds of the word, the last "kanshi" part is the both first "onji" together and I have tried to find their meaning, not to state my meaning, but to try to explain why Henri Kerlen (the Dutch Sinologist and Japan expert who used this Kanshicho in the preface of his "Sound of Water", haiku by Basho-Anthology) has chosen for this "Kanshicho".
Let me first reproduce here the quotes which I used in the "Ask Jane ..." episode a few days ago:
[...] "Basho himself was several years a disciple/student of Teitoku's disciple, Kitamura Kigin (1624-1705), but after a while he (Basho) became a student of Soin in 1675. Soin has different ideas about renga and one of his ideas is to write the chains by association of meaning, kokorozuke. His (Soin) poetry style means for haiku more simplification and letting go of the 5-7-5 rule. The theme's and language of Soin's poetry is of the people. [...]
[...[
"In response of this change in haiku-poetry Basho and others introduce the
Kanshicho: in the tone of the Chinese verse. In Kanshicho the breaking of the
5-7-5 rule is no exception. Basho uses this Kanshicho-style during the years
1683-1685 as he lives as a recluse in Fukagawa. Basho's Kanshicho-style is prominent
in an anthology compiled by Kikaku "An Empty Chestnut" (1683). The
Kanshicho-style disappears after three years (1685) and Basho re-writes several
Kanshicho-styled haiku into the classical way. [...]
I will look at the separate "onji" of "Kanshicho" now and than I will try to explain what Kanshicho was meant to be.
Kan -> means: perception, expression
Shi -> means extravagance, pride, poetry
Cho -> means frivolity, number, butterfly
Kanshi -> means Chinese poetry
As I place those meanings together than Kanshicho means:
A poem in the Chinese way that expresses the extravagance and pride of the poet with the frivolity of the flight of a butterfly. And than Kanshicho starts to come to life. It's an expression of something which is seen by the poet, a moment as short as the sound of a pebble thrown in to water, in which he/she sees the extravagant beauty and pride of nature. That extravagance beauty is caught in a three lined verse with the frivolity, (in my opinion frivolity means "not strings attached, free") of the flight of a butterfly.
This explanation could have been used by Basho and his companions to bring the essence and beauty of haiku to the ordinary people (as mentioned in the first quote). Frivolity like the flight of a butterfly can not be caught in a 5-7-5 strict rule, so to bring that frivolity into the haiku, Basho, Soin and others broke the rule of 5-7-5 ...
Back to the idea of Kanshicho being a "hoax" or "Internet legend" ... that could be, but I like the style because it gives me the freedom to write my haiku as I do. I have succeeded to find Henri Kerlen and I have asked him about the Kanshicho-style haiku ... I am waiting on his response. As I have got his response I will bring it up here ...
With this GW-post I hope that I have explained the Kanshicho-style and that we all just see it as a chance to experiment with our beloved haiku ... because that's the most important of haiku ... enjoying it and feel free to give form to your feelings whether that is in the classical or in the non-classical way of haiku.
For this GW-post I have the following "challenge" ... try to write a haiku in which the meaning of Kanshicho as mentioned above can be seen or found. Just try to write a haiku that expresses the extravagance and pride of the poet with the frivolity of the flight of a butterfly.
This GW-post is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until November 21st at noon (CET). For now .... just have fun!
PS.: After this GW-post I will "close" the discussion about Kanshicho, because ... haiku has nothing to do with discussing, but just with the fun of enjoying nature and our part in it and the joy to express our feelings. This "Kanshicho-style" discussion was fun too and very challenging, but now ... back to writing and sharing our beloved haiku with the world and each other.
Thank you for these explanations.
ReplyDeleteSo thorough and well researched.
“Kinshicho in Tokyo's Sumida ward is the biggest commercial area in Tokyo east of Ueno, a few stations north-west. In terms of atmosphere, it is comparable to Tokyo's Ikebukuro area...
ReplyDeleteThe area around Kinshicho station is divided into a largely shopping-oriented north, and a largely gambling- and love-hotel-oriented south. North and south are divided by Keiyo-doro Street (an extension of Yasukuni-dori Street), onto which the station faces. “ (wiki)
That location, having long been a melting place for rich and poor men in pursuit of wine, women, and song, was probably the “party” spot in Japan. Basho's travel too the area would certainly have provided him with a look at high born/poor men's drunken parodies of high-brow poetry and prompted them to write humorous and bawdy poems.
“This explanation could have been used by Basho and his companions to bring the essence and beauty of haiku to the ordinary people (as mentioned in the first quote). Frivolity like the flight of a butterfly can not be caught in a 5-7-5 strict rule, so to bring that frivolity into the haiku, Basho, Soin and others broke the rule of 5-7-5 ...” Chev
I will look at the separate "onji" of "KINSHICHO” now and then I will try to explain what Kinshicho was meant to be.
KIN - group
(Kan -> means: perception, expression - not applicable to my explanation...opie)_
Shi -> means extravagance, pride, poetry
Cho -> means frivolity, number, butterfly (butterfly is an Asian expression referring to a person who jumps from one sexual partner to another)
Kanshi -> means Chinese poetry
CONCLUSION:
So, what we have in Kinshicho-style poetry is something similar to the common (vulgate) writings of the Irish Limerick, by a group of drunken poets, a mixture of welthy and common folk in a bar where prostitutes (butterflies) bounded, the poems themselves being parodies of the serious lyric poem. Kinshicho-style poetry is a parody of the Chinese poems. The lofty Chinese poem, of course, was the inspiration for the serious haiku.
Further, I contend that Basho came upon a group of revellers in the Kinshicho section of Tokyo and was intreged (at least for a while) by the joyous parodies, called Kinshicho-style poems.
Well, that's my theory........opie
I feel like my haiku is frivolous everyday but here's a shot at whimsy.(not whiskey)
ReplyDeleteLove the research and the heart you have put into this :)
ReplyDeleteThis was all most interesting
ReplyDelete