Haiga is a Japanese art form that combines haiku poetry and illustration. It can be traditional or modern, painted or digital. Haiga was popularized by Matsuo Bashō and early works were collaborations between haiku poets and illustrators. The best haiga is a marriage of both elements, expressing a complex idea. Rules are often broken, with haiku having fewer or more syllables and appearing in a single line. The key is to contrast two subjects or themes in the haiku and embody them in the illustration.
Haiga is the age-old Japanese art form that combines traditional haiku poetry and illustration. Displayed in formal calligraphy with a complementary design in the same medium, or in a more modern font to accompany a photograph, the haiga can be done in traditional or modernist ways. It can be painted on vellum and hung on the wall or assembled in Adobe® Photoshop® and lined up on a web page.
The first appearance of illustrated haiku was in the work of Nonoguchi Ryūho in the 17th century. However, haiku poet Matsuo Bashō, of the same era, is credited with popularizing the form. Some of the most popular early work was the collaborations between the best haiku poets and the best illustrators, such as works produced by Bashō and his art teacher, Morikawa Kyoroku. Other early pioneers of the form are Yosa Buson, Sakaki Hyakusen and Takebe Socho.
Some haiga works predominantly highlight the haiku aspect, such as that of Bashō, who wrote: “Ah, summer herbs! All that remains of warrior dreams.” In other works, the artist is the most famous member of the collaboration and the artwork would have more prominence than the handwriting. The best is considered a marriage of the two elements, a sober expression of a complex idea.
As with any art form, the rules of haiga were made to be broken, particularly with the way haiku is formed. For example, traditional haiku is supposed to have 17 syllables, but most haiku found throughout history will have fewer or even more syllables. Also, haiku is meant to be constructed in three sentences or lines, but may appear in haiga as a single line across or under a page. Another rule of traditional haiga that is often broken is the way haiku was focused on themes related to the natural world. In 2011, haiga artwork spans the gamut of human emotion.
The key is to contrast two subjects or themes in the body of a dense haiku, then compare that image to an illustration in the haiga that attempts to embody that juxtaposition of themes. Sometimes, the artist will take a picture they like and attempt to write a haiku based on the feelings the picture evokes. Other times, a haiku will be constructed, then an image will attempt to translate the essence of that haiku without words. Very few artists throughout history have become famous for doing both well.
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