Renga
Encyclopedia
is a genre of Japanese
collaborative
poetry
. A renga consists of at least two or stanzas, usually many more. The opening stanza of the renga, called the , became the basis for the modern haiku
form of poetry.
Two of the most famous masters of renga were the Buddhist priest Sōgi
(1421–1502) and Matsuo Bashō
(1644–1694).
and a made and exchanged poems with sound unit counts ("on
") of 5-7-5 and 7-7. This two-verse style is called . Other styles are called . A comparable, though less evolved, tradition of 'linked verse' (lián jù 連句 - the same characters as 'renku') - evolved in Chin-dynasty
China, and it has been argued that this Chinese form influenced Japanese renga during its formative period. However there are major differences between the two, the Chinese having a unity of subject and a general lightheartedness of tone, neither of which characteristic is present in Japanese renga; furthermore, the history of Japanese poetry shows renga as an apparently natural evolution.
Around the time the Shin Kokin Wakashū was published, the renga form of poetry was finally established as a distinct style. This original renga style, , used only utakotoba (standard poetic diction), used sound unit counts of 5-7-5 and 7-7, and finished with two lines of 7 sound units each. At this time, poets considered the use of utakotoba as the essence of creating a perfect waka
and considered the use of any other words to be a deviation.
Many rules or were formalized in the Kamakura
and Muromachi period
s specifying a minimum number of intervening stanzas before a topic or class of topics could recur. Renga was a popular form of poetry even in the confusion of Azuchi-Momoyama period
. Yet by the end of this era, the shikimoku had become so complicated and systematic that they stifled the active imagination that had been a part of the renga's appeal. During the medieval and Edo periods, renga was a part of the cultural knowledge required for high society.
In the Edo period
, as more and more ordinary citizens became familiar with renga, shikimoku were greatly simplified. The 36-verse Kasen became the most popular form of renga, and commonly spoken words as well as slang and were allowed. With this relaxation of the rules, renga were able to express broader humor and wit. This style of renga came to be called or simply , and Matsuo Bashō
is known as the greatest haikai
poet.
The most favored form of renga in the Edo period
was the , a chain consisting of 36 verses. As a rule, kasen must refer to flowers (usually cherry blossoms
) twice, and three times to the moon. These references are termed and .
The first stanza of the renga chain, the , is the forebear of the modern haiku
. The stand-alone hokku was renamed haiku in the Meiji period
by the great Japanese poet and critic Masaoka Shiki
. Shiki proposed haiku as an abbreviation of the phrase "haikai no ku" meaning a verse of haikai
.
For almost 700 years, renga was a popular form of poetry, but its popularity was greatly diminished in the Meiji period. Masaoka Shiki, although himself a participant in several renga, claimed that "(Renga is) not fit as modern literature" (「文学に非ず」). The renga's appeal of working as a group to make a complete work was not compatible with the European style of poetry gaining popularity in Japan, where a single poet writes the entire poem.
and Charles Tomlinson
's sonnet
-renga "Airborne", 1979, and to the work of Canadians P. K. Page
and Philip Stratford, whose collaboration between 1997 and 1999 became the sonnet collection "And Once More Saw The Stars", 2001.
With the rise of the internet, renga is once again becoming a popular form. People from anywhere at anytime can easily contribute to a work. An early online collaborative renga, done by many writers on the fly was White Roads led by Jane Reichhold in 1996. Live renga are being conducted increasingly in the West, including in the UK where artist/poets including Alec Finlay, Gavin Wade, Gerry Loose, and Paul Conneally
explore and develop the form. Finlay has created two dedicated renga platforms for renga days, at the hidden gardens, Glasgow
, and Garden Station, near Hexham
. His press, Platform Projects, has published two collections of renga, Verse Chain and Shared Writing. Finlay has collaborated with a number of renga poets to expand the renga form, composing what he refers to as word-map renga which describe specific locations; some of these poems are typeset in the shapes or forms of the place in question – coastline, river or a skyline. He is currently working on a renga word-map of England's Peak District
.
The first magazine devoted entirely to renga in English was started by Jim Wilson of Monte Rio, California, in 1986. It was called APA-RENGA because it was a continuation of the Amateur Press Association
model magazines in which all members could post whatever they wanted. This meant that the members would read the renga being offered and then could write a connecting link. Wilson tabulated these links and then all the possible links were sent back to the participants. This meant that instead of having linear links, the renga expanded outward into many versions of the same poem.
When Wilson passed APA-RENGA on to Terri Lee Grell in 1989, she renamed the magazine Lynx and added short stories and other poetry and published quarterly. In 1992 Grell passed Lynx on to Jane and Werner Reichhold. They added haiku and tanka to the renga written by subscribers and carried on the project of participation renga. In 2000 Lynx went online where it remains today at AHApoetry http://www.ahapoetry.com. Narrow Road to Renga by Twenty Pilgrims and Jane Reichhold (AHA Books 1992) contains examples of many varieties of renga, as well as templates for kasen renga as well as the unusual "net renga."
The essence of renga is in the idea of . Bashō described this as , and as "refraining from stepping back". The fun is in the change, the new, the different, and the interesting verses of others.
In Japan a renga starts with a hokku of 5-7-5 sound units by one of the guests - usually the most honored or experienced. This is followed by the second verse of 7-7 sound units, called the , and then by the third verse of 5-7-5 sound units, called the . The next verse will be 7-7 sound units, and this pattern is repeated until the desired length is achieved. It is common in English to use forms that show the number of the verse, how long it is to be, whether the moon or flowers should be mentioned, when one author takes two links at once. Since the renga of different lengths have different schemes for how many verses are given to each season and non-seasonal verses, it is easiest to use one of the available forms so that everyone understands and follows the same program.
The kasen renga, favored by Basho because it was easier to complete 36 verses in one night than the normal 100-link renga, has three sections of development. The beginning, called the jo should reflect the atmosphere of the beginning of a social evening - everyone is very polite, restrained, cautious and referring to the reason for the gathering. The middle part of the kasen renga (verses 7 - 29) are more loose, and will include themes not allowed in the beginning and end such as love, religion, and laments. This reflects the conversation flow during dinner when the wine has been consumed and the participants are feeling free and friendly. The kyu is the rapid finish and involves the last six verses. The speed in this section is much like the broken conversation of people as they prepare to leave the party and people are quickly winding up their conversations. This pattern of pacing the poem is taken from the classical music. The ageku is the final verse. It is considered fine if the final verse makes some reference or has a tie to the hokku or beginning verse. Renga are often hard for Westerners to read and understand (and therefore to write) because there is no narrative or chronological order. Even the links that are written are not to be impressive or informative. The whole object of renga is to show what happens between the links. A renga and its participants are judged on how well each link relates to the previous one. There is a whole study of the various techniques and methods of linkage. The most common one used by beginning English writers is simple stream of consciousness. The previous verse reminds the writer of something else and then adds that image to the poem. The book by Earl Miner and Hiroko Odagiri, a translation of The Monkey’s Straw Raincoat Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981 is the best book to study these subtle changes in this famous work done by Basho and his students. It is recommended to for a small ichiza so that everyone participates equally. For larger ichiza, the rule is recommended so the best verse would be selected. The renga master, or person with the most experience with renga, guides the participants, making sure the seasons and themes are correct and will be responsible for the correction of errors.
poetry form.
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
collaborative
Collaboration
Collaboration is working together to achieve a goal. It is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realize shared goals, — for example, an intriguing endeavor that is creative in nature—by sharing...
poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. A renga consists of at least two or stanzas, usually many more. The opening stanza of the renga, called the , became the basis for the modern haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
form of poetry.
Two of the most famous masters of renga were the Buddhist priest Sōgi
Sogi
was a Japanese poet. He came from a humble family from the province of Kii or Ōmi, and died in Hakone on September 1, 1502. Sōgi was a Zen monk from the Shokokuji temple in Kyoto and he studied poetry, both waka and renga...
(1421–1502) and Matsuo Bashō
Matsuo Basho
, born , then , was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku...
(1644–1694).
History
The earliest renga recorded is in the Man'yōshū, where Ōtomo no YakamochiOtomo no Yakamochi
was a Japanese statesman and waka poet in the Nara period. He is a member of the . He was born into the prestigious Ōtomo clan; his grandfather was Ōtomo no Amaro and his father was Ōtomo no Tabito. Ōtomo no Kakimochi was his younger brother, and Ōtomo no Sakanoe no Iratsume his aunt...
and a made and exchanged poems with sound unit counts ("on
Onji
On is Japanese for "sound". It is used to mean the phonetic units counted in haiku, tanka and other such poetic forms. Known as "morae" to English-speaking linguists, the modern Japanese term for the linguistic concept is hyōon moji ....
") of 5-7-5 and 7-7. This two-verse style is called . Other styles are called . A comparable, though less evolved, tradition of 'linked verse' (lián jù 連句 - the same characters as 'renku') - evolved in Chin-dynasty
Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the first imperial dynasty of China, lasting from 221 to 207 BC. The Qin state derived its name from its heartland of Qin, in modern-day Shaanxi. The strength of the Qin state was greatly increased by the legalist reforms of Shang Yang in the 4th century BC, during the Warring...
China, and it has been argued that this Chinese form influenced Japanese renga during its formative period. However there are major differences between the two, the Chinese having a unity of subject and a general lightheartedness of tone, neither of which characteristic is present in Japanese renga; furthermore, the history of Japanese poetry shows renga as an apparently natural evolution.
Around the time the Shin Kokin Wakashū was published, the renga form of poetry was finally established as a distinct style. This original renga style, , used only utakotoba (standard poetic diction), used sound unit counts of 5-7-5 and 7-7, and finished with two lines of 7 sound units each. At this time, poets considered the use of utakotoba as the essence of creating a perfect waka
Waka (poetry)
Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...
and considered the use of any other words to be a deviation.
Many rules or were formalized in the Kamakura
Kamakura period
The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura Shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
and Muromachi period
Muromachi period
The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate, which was officially established in 1338 by the first Muromachi shogun, Ashikaga Takauji, two years after the brief Kemmu restoration of imperial...
s specifying a minimum number of intervening stanzas before a topic or class of topics could recur. Renga was a popular form of poetry even in the confusion of Azuchi-Momoyama period
Azuchi-Momoyama period
The came at the end of the Warring States Period in Japan, when the political unification that preceded the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate took place. It spans the years from approximately 1573 to 1603, during which time Oda Nobunaga and his successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, imposed order...
. Yet by the end of this era, the shikimoku had become so complicated and systematic that they stifled the active imagination that had been a part of the renga's appeal. During the medieval and Edo periods, renga was a part of the cultural knowledge required for high society.
In the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
, as more and more ordinary citizens became familiar with renga, shikimoku were greatly simplified. The 36-verse Kasen became the most popular form of renga, and commonly spoken words as well as slang and were allowed. With this relaxation of the rules, renga were able to express broader humor and wit. This style of renga came to be called or simply , and Matsuo Bashō
Matsuo Basho
, born , then , was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku...
is known as the greatest haikai
Haikai
Haikai is a poetic genre that includes a number of forms which embrace the aesthetics of haikai no renga, and what Bashō referred to as the "poetic spirit" , including haiku, renku , haibun, haiga and senryū ."Haikai" is sometimes used as an abbreviation for "haikai no...
poet.
The most favored form of renga in the Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
was the , a chain consisting of 36 verses. As a rule, kasen must refer to flowers (usually cherry blossoms
Cherry Blossoms
Cherry Blossoms is one of the oldest and largest international marriage agencies still in operation today. It was established in 1974 as a picture catalog, but has now switched entirely to a web-based format...
) twice, and three times to the moon. These references are termed and .
The first stanza of the renga chain, the , is the forebear of the modern haiku
Haiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
. The stand-alone hokku was renamed haiku in the Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
by the great Japanese poet and critic Masaoka Shiki
Masaoka Shiki
, pen-name of Masaoka Noboru , was a Japanese poet, author, and literary critic in Meiji period Japan. Shiki is regarded as a major figure in the development of modern haiku poetry...
. Shiki proposed haiku as an abbreviation of the phrase "haikai no ku" meaning a verse of haikai
Haikai
Haikai is a poetic genre that includes a number of forms which embrace the aesthetics of haikai no renga, and what Bashō referred to as the "poetic spirit" , including haiku, renku , haibun, haiga and senryū ."Haikai" is sometimes used as an abbreviation for "haikai no...
.
For almost 700 years, renga was a popular form of poetry, but its popularity was greatly diminished in the Meiji period. Masaoka Shiki, although himself a participant in several renga, claimed that "(Renga is) not fit as modern literature" (「文学に非ず」). The renga's appeal of working as a group to make a complete work was not compatible with the European style of poetry gaining popularity in Japan, where a single poet writes the entire poem.
Renga in the West
In Western literature, the term "renga" has been applied to alternating accretive poetry, not necessarily in the classical Japanese form. Examples include Octavio PazOctavio Paz
Octavio Paz Lozano was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature.-Early life and writings:...
and Charles Tomlinson
Charles Tomlinson
Alfred Charles Tomlinson, CBE is a British poet and translator, and also an academic and artist. He was born and raised in Penkhull in the city of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire.-Life:...
's sonnet
Sonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
-renga "Airborne", 1979, and to the work of Canadians P. K. Page
P. K. Page
Patricia Kathleen Page, CC, OBC, FRSC , commonly known as P. K. Page, was a Canadian poet. She was the author of over 30 published books: of poetry, fiction, travel diaries, essays, children's books, and an autobiography.By special resolution of the United Nations, in 2001 Page's poem "Planet...
and Philip Stratford, whose collaboration between 1997 and 1999 became the sonnet collection "And Once More Saw The Stars", 2001.
With the rise of the internet, renga is once again becoming a popular form. People from anywhere at anytime can easily contribute to a work. An early online collaborative renga, done by many writers on the fly was White Roads led by Jane Reichhold in 1996. Live renga are being conducted increasingly in the West, including in the UK where artist/poets including Alec Finlay, Gavin Wade, Gerry Loose, and Paul Conneally
Paul Conneally
Paul Terence Conneally is a poet, artist and musician based in Loughborough, UK.-Poetry and art:In the field of poetry Conneally is best known for his haiku and haiku-related forms including haibun and renga/renku. His definition of haibun is quoted among others on the Contemporary Haibun Online...
explore and develop the form. Finlay has created two dedicated renga platforms for renga days, at the hidden gardens, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, and Garden Station, near Hexham
Hexham
Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...
. His press, Platform Projects, has published two collections of renga, Verse Chain and Shared Writing. Finlay has collaborated with a number of renga poets to expand the renga form, composing what he refers to as word-map renga which describe specific locations; some of these poems are typeset in the shapes or forms of the place in question – coastline, river or a skyline. He is currently working on a renga word-map of England's Peak District
Peak District
The Peak District is an upland area in central and northern England, lying mainly in northern Derbyshire, but also covering parts of Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, and South and West Yorkshire....
.
The first magazine devoted entirely to renga in English was started by Jim Wilson of Monte Rio, California, in 1986. It was called APA-RENGA because it was a continuation of the Amateur Press Association
Amateur press association
An amateur press association is a group of people who produce individual pages or magazines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group.-Organisation:...
model magazines in which all members could post whatever they wanted. This meant that the members would read the renga being offered and then could write a connecting link. Wilson tabulated these links and then all the possible links were sent back to the participants. This meant that instead of having linear links, the renga expanded outward into many versions of the same poem.
When Wilson passed APA-RENGA on to Terri Lee Grell in 1989, she renamed the magazine Lynx and added short stories and other poetry and published quarterly. In 1992 Grell passed Lynx on to Jane and Werner Reichhold. They added haiku and tanka to the renga written by subscribers and carried on the project of participation renga. In 2000 Lynx went online where it remains today at AHApoetry http://www.ahapoetry.com. Narrow Road to Renga by Twenty Pilgrims and Jane Reichhold (AHA Books 1992) contains examples of many varieties of renga, as well as templates for kasen renga as well as the unusual "net renga."
How to write a renga
As a renga is collaborative poetry, it is important that there be enough people to participate. Although solo renga have always been and continue to be written, three to four is considered the minimum number for a renga group, called an , and upward of fourteen to fifteen may be possible under an experienced . For online renga collaborations, the sōshō would be the one to select a verse from among those posted or sent.The essence of renga is in the idea of . Bashō described this as , and as "refraining from stepping back". The fun is in the change, the new, the different, and the interesting verses of others.
In Japan a renga starts with a hokku of 5-7-5 sound units by one of the guests - usually the most honored or experienced. This is followed by the second verse of 7-7 sound units, called the , and then by the third verse of 5-7-5 sound units, called the . The next verse will be 7-7 sound units, and this pattern is repeated until the desired length is achieved. It is common in English to use forms that show the number of the verse, how long it is to be, whether the moon or flowers should be mentioned, when one author takes two links at once. Since the renga of different lengths have different schemes for how many verses are given to each season and non-seasonal verses, it is easiest to use one of the available forms so that everyone understands and follows the same program.
The kasen renga, favored by Basho because it was easier to complete 36 verses in one night than the normal 100-link renga, has three sections of development. The beginning, called the jo should reflect the atmosphere of the beginning of a social evening - everyone is very polite, restrained, cautious and referring to the reason for the gathering. The middle part of the kasen renga (verses 7 - 29) are more loose, and will include themes not allowed in the beginning and end such as love, religion, and laments. This reflects the conversation flow during dinner when the wine has been consumed and the participants are feeling free and friendly. The kyu is the rapid finish and involves the last six verses. The speed in this section is much like the broken conversation of people as they prepare to leave the party and people are quickly winding up their conversations. This pattern of pacing the poem is taken from the classical music. The ageku is the final verse. It is considered fine if the final verse makes some reference or has a tie to the hokku or beginning verse. Renga are often hard for Westerners to read and understand (and therefore to write) because there is no narrative or chronological order. Even the links that are written are not to be impressive or informative. The whole object of renga is to show what happens between the links. A renga and its participants are judged on how well each link relates to the previous one. There is a whole study of the various techniques and methods of linkage. The most common one used by beginning English writers is simple stream of consciousness. The previous verse reminds the writer of something else and then adds that image to the poem. The book by Earl Miner and Hiroko Odagiri, a translation of The Monkey’s Straw Raincoat Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1981 is the best book to study these subtle changes in this famous work done by Basho and his students. It is recommended to for a small ichiza so that everyone participates equally. For larger ichiza, the rule is recommended so the best verse would be selected. The renga master, or person with the most experience with renga, guides the participants, making sure the seasons and themes are correct and will be responsible for the correction of errors.
Formats of Renga
Here follows a list of the most common formats in which renga have been written, both ushin (orthodox) renga, and mushin (renku)| Name of format | Number of stanzas |
Number of kaishi (writing sheets) |
Number of sides |
Originator | Date of origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyakuin | 100 | 4 | 8 | unknown | 13th century |
| Senku | 1000 | 40 | 80 | unknown | |
| Gojūin | 50 | 2 | 4 | unknown | |
| Yoyoshi | 44 | 2 | 4 | unknown | |
| Kasen | 36 | 2 | 4 | unknown | 1518 |
| Han-kasen (i.e. half-kasen) | 18 | 1 | 2 | unknown | 17th century |
| Shisan | 12 | 2 | 4 | Kaoru Kubota | 1970's |
| Jūnichō | 12 | 1 | 1 | Shunjin Okamoto | 1989 |
| Nijūin | 20 | 2 | 4 | Meiga Higashi | 1980's |
| Triparshva | 22 | 1 | 3 | Norman Darlington | 2005 |
| Rokku (aka on za rokku) | variable | variable | variable | Haku Asanuma | 2000 |
Renga terminology
: The first stanza of renga with a 5-7-5 sound unit count. This stanza should be created by a special guest when present, and is considered a part of the greeting in a renga gathering. It must include a , as well as a . The kigo usually references the season the renga was created in. Hokku, removed from the context of renga, eventually became the haikuHaiku
' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"...
poetry form.
- The second stanza of a renga with a 7-7 sound unit count. The one who helped to organize the gathering is honored with creating it.
- The third stanza of a renga with a 5-7-5 mora count. It must end with the -te form of a verb to allow the next poet greater freedom in creating the stanza.
- Refers to all verses other than the hokku, waki, daisan, and ageku.
- The last stanza of a renga. Care should be taken to wrap up the renga.
- A note made after the ageku to indicate how many ku each poet read.
- To hold a renga gathering. May also be called .
- To start with the hokku of a famous poet such as Bashō and make a new waki verse to follow on from there.
- May also be called or . Refers to the mixing and matching of unlikely word combinations to spur imagination or evoke an image. One of the interesting features of renga.
- The verse in which tsukeai happens.
- The verse before the maeku.
- A set of rules to lay out the stylistic requirements for change throughout the poem and to prevent a renga from falling apart.
- Modern renga in the style of Matsuo Bashō.
- Literally, "the number of verses". When the theme of a section is a popular topic such as "Love", "Spring", or "Fall", the renga must continue on that theme for at least two verses but not more than five verses. This theme may then be dropped with one verse on any other topic.
- A rule to prevent loops repeating the same image or a similar verse.
- The name for a loop where the same theme, image, or word is repeated. Term taken from BuddhismBuddhismBuddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. - A type of loop where the uchikoshi and tsukeku have an identical image or theme.
- A stanza prepared beforehand. Should be avoided as stanzas should be created on the spot.
- To make two stanzas in a row. Happens frequently when the dashigachi rule is used. Should be avoided to let others join.
- A rule to use the stanza of the first poet to create one.
- A rule whereby each poet takes a turn to make a stanza.
- The members of a renga gathering.
- Literally, "one seating". Describes the group when the renju are seated and the renga has begun.
- May also be called . The coordinator of an ichiza, he or she is responsible for the completion of a renga. Has the authority to dismiss an improper verse. The most experienced of the renju should be the sōshō to keep the renga interesting.
- The main guest of the ichiza and responsible for creating the hokku.
- The patron of a renga gathering, who provides the place.
- The "secretary" of the renga, as it were, who is responsible for writing down renga verses and for the proceedings of the renga.
- Using letters (i.e. the post), telegraph, telephone, or even fax machines for making a renga. Using the internet is also considered a form of bunnin.
Resources
- Earl Miner, Japanese Linked Poetry, Princeton University Press 1979 ISBN 0-691-06372-9 cloth ISBN 0-691-01368-3 pbk (376 pp. 6 renga) A discussion of the features, history and aesthetics of renga, plus two renga sequences with SōgiSogiwas a Japanese poet. He came from a humble family from the province of Kii or Ōmi, and died in Hakone on September 1, 1502. Sōgi was a Zen monk from the Shokokuji temple in Kyoto and he studied poetry, both waka and renga...
and others, three haikai sequences with Matsuo BashōMatsuo Basho, born , then , was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku...
and others, and one haikai sequence with Yosa BusonYosa Busonwas a Japanese poet and painter from the Edo period. Along with Matsuo Bashō and Kobayashi Issa, Buson is considered among the greatest poets of the Edo Period. Buson was born in the village of Kema in Settsu Province...
and a friend.
See also
- HokkuHokkuis the opening stanza of a Japanese orthodox collaborative linked poem, renga, or of its later derivative, renku . From the time of Matsuo Bashō , the hokku began to appear as an independent poem, and was also incorporated in haibun , and haiga...
, the opening verse of renga and renku, as well as a standalone 17-mora poem, which developed into the independent haikuHaiku' , plural haiku, is a very short form of Japanese poetry typically characterised by three qualities:* The essence of haiku is "cutting"... - Renku, the popular derivative of renga, which reached its artistic peak in the 17th century
- Renri HishōRenri Hishois a text on renga poetics. It was written by Nijō Yoshimoto around 1349. It had a great influence on the development of renga.-Development:Yoshimoto learned waka from Ton'a and renga from Gusai and Kyūsei. While he authored several treatises on waka, it is for renga that he is best known. By the...
, an influential text on renga poetics - List of Japanese poetry anthologies
- Collaborative poetry
External links
- renga platform's renga guide
- William J. Higginson's Renku Home
- John Carley's Renku Reckoner
- "How to Renga" by Jane Reichhold
- Translations of haikai no renga by Sean Price
- Camellia House 24 Hour Hyakuin Renga Yorkshire Sculpture Park
- Simply Haiku, quarterly online journal with substantial section of English-language renku (renga)