Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Carpe Diem #1519 Junicho, the twelve stanza renga (Soliloquy No Renga)


Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

What a joy this month is. It's really a feast this month and that makes me happy. I hope you all like the choice of prompts I have made. Today we have arrived at the letter J and I have chosen the theme "Junicho" and for sure you have heard from Junicho, because that's the kind of renga we are creating in our "Renga With ..." feature, but there is something about the Junicho I didn't know. So therefore I have chosen this theme. Let me give you an explanation of the Junicho.

Junicho--meaning ‘twelve tone’--is a ‘single sheet’ poem that disregards the formal separations of the jo-ha-kyu movement. There is no set seasonal progression, though each season is represented and the poem would be expected to open with the season in which composition takes place. Spring and autumn carry their traditional greater weight, the poem overall dividing more or less equally between season and non-season verses. The typical distribution therefore is: winter - one, summer - one, spring - two, autumn - two, and non-season - six.

cherry blossom road

The Junicho allows for a single blossom verse; this may appear in any season and be any type of flower. The poem will likewise contain a single moon verse that may also appear in any season and be otherwise shorn of classical precedent. 'Love' will be represented by a pair or so of verses that may appear in any position.

Source: Simply Haiku (online haiku magazine)

So for this episode I challenge you to create a Junicho on your own following the above mentioned pattern. As you can read above a traditional Junicho opens with the season in which composition takes place. So if you are living on the Northern Hemisphere, your Junicho has to start with an autumn verse. Are you living on the Southern Hemisphere, your Junicho has to start with a spring verse.

Enjoy rhis challenge!

This episode is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until October 17th at noon (CEST). I will try to publish our new episode later on. Have fun!


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