Captain Shunsui Kyōraku (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomhigh2021-05-11 05:03 am
sake_shinigami) wrote in fandomhigh2021-05-11 05:03 am
Entry tags:
The Art of Haiku; Tuesday, Third Period [05/11].
Since this was a summer class and the whole concept of nature would play very heavily into it, Shunsui decided that, weather permitting, this class in particular would meet in the park, and had ensured that this session's crop of lovely little ducklings had been informed as much. And then it was just a matter of finding a good spot under a lovely tree, probably not too far from the pond, to settle, with an offering of tea and cocoa (alas, no sake for anything school-adjacent!) for them when they arrived.
"Ohayōgozaimasu," he started, with a duck of his head and that nearly ever-present lazy smile on his face, "and welcome to our first session of the Art of Haiku ♥, where we will explore the traditional classic Japanese short form of poetry know for its brevity, its beauty, and its ability to say much in very, very little ♥. Please, help yourself to a beverage if you'd like, and let us begin ♥.
"The concept of the haiku," he continued, in his low, rumbling, drawling voice, "in modern times has been a bit reduced to its basic structure: three lines, broken up by syllables, five for the first, seven for the second, and then back to five to bring us home ♥. Already, though, we are diverging from its original form. Breaking it down this way is common in English translations, but in the original Japanese, the haiku is usually written as just a single line. We are hardly going to flail our hands about technicalities in this class, of course. Our main concern will merely be creating beautiful words to embody beautiful ideas ♥.
"It's far more complex than merely the beats of the words and the way they are arranged, though," he added. "A true haiku will also involve two very important elements: a kireji, or 'cutting word,' and a kigo, which is a relation to a season, or at least some aspect of nature. Things also get a little bit trickier when you're dealing with translations and the like, but we'll not worry about that too much. We are here to enjoy ourselves and make beautiful words; let us not let technicalities stand in the way of such things ♥.
"Let us take an example from Bashō, one of Japan's best-known haikuists, to highlight what I mean:"
He cleared his throat lightly and recited, first in Japanese, then in English:
furu ike ya kawazu tobikomu mizu no oto
Ah, the ancient pond
As a frog takes the plunge
Sound of the water
He paused, tilting his head toward the pond itself, as if expecting nature to respond in kind with exactly the sound described in the poem. Nature did not oblige, and Shunsui wondered if he should have just brought his own frog. He smiled at the students.
"Simple, neh ♥? But also vivid in its emotion, in capturing a specific moment that inspires a specific feeling. We do not need the frog plunging into the water to feel the full effect of the poem. It's simple words are enough; it encapsulates a whole scene, and does so in very little.
"There is much to explore with the haiku," he added, "but as this is only our first meeting, we will save much of that for future classes ♥. For this class, I would like us all to take some time and consider composing a haiku that embodies the moment of ourselves: an introduction by way of haiku, based on the most simple elements of it: one sentence, broken up into a 5-7-5 rhythm, with a reference to nature, but about yourselves. For example:"
Of course he hadn't prepared anything for his own example, choosing instead to tilt his head up and consider for a moment before offering out:
"Cherry blossoms dance
With each soft step like laughter
And sake waterfalls"
He chuckled a little as he finished. "Well," he said, ducking his head again, this time as if in apology, "perhaps not perfect, but, then again, I am no Bashō, nor do I expect or claim to be ♥! But hopefully, you get the idea. Now if you prefer a more modern pen and paper to compose your poems, please do that, but I have also brought with me some parchment and calligraphy brushes if you'd like to try to make the experience a little more immersive. Take a moment to consider your introduction haikus and towards the end of the class, we'll share ♥. And I also have a little assignment for you ducklings for next week, as well; I'd like you each to find your own haiku in the wild and bring it in and we shall discuss them next week ♥. Any questions before we begin?"
"Ohayōgozaimasu," he started, with a duck of his head and that nearly ever-present lazy smile on his face, "and welcome to our first session of the Art of Haiku ♥, where we will explore the traditional classic Japanese short form of poetry know for its brevity, its beauty, and its ability to say much in very, very little ♥. Please, help yourself to a beverage if you'd like, and let us begin ♥.
"The concept of the haiku," he continued, in his low, rumbling, drawling voice, "in modern times has been a bit reduced to its basic structure: three lines, broken up by syllables, five for the first, seven for the second, and then back to five to bring us home ♥. Already, though, we are diverging from its original form. Breaking it down this way is common in English translations, but in the original Japanese, the haiku is usually written as just a single line. We are hardly going to flail our hands about technicalities in this class, of course. Our main concern will merely be creating beautiful words to embody beautiful ideas ♥.
"It's far more complex than merely the beats of the words and the way they are arranged, though," he added. "A true haiku will also involve two very important elements: a kireji, or 'cutting word,' and a kigo, which is a relation to a season, or at least some aspect of nature. Things also get a little bit trickier when you're dealing with translations and the like, but we'll not worry about that too much. We are here to enjoy ourselves and make beautiful words; let us not let technicalities stand in the way of such things ♥.
"Let us take an example from Bashō, one of Japan's best-known haikuists, to highlight what I mean:"
He cleared his throat lightly and recited, first in Japanese, then in English:
Ah, the ancient pond
As a frog takes the plunge
Sound of the water
He paused, tilting his head toward the pond itself, as if expecting nature to respond in kind with exactly the sound described in the poem. Nature did not oblige, and Shunsui wondered if he should have just brought his own frog. He smiled at the students.
"Simple, neh ♥? But also vivid in its emotion, in capturing a specific moment that inspires a specific feeling. We do not need the frog plunging into the water to feel the full effect of the poem. It's simple words are enough; it encapsulates a whole scene, and does so in very little.
"There is much to explore with the haiku," he added, "but as this is only our first meeting, we will save much of that for future classes ♥. For this class, I would like us all to take some time and consider composing a haiku that embodies the moment of ourselves: an introduction by way of haiku, based on the most simple elements of it: one sentence, broken up into a 5-7-5 rhythm, with a reference to nature, but about yourselves. For example:"
Of course he hadn't prepared anything for his own example, choosing instead to tilt his head up and consider for a moment before offering out:
With each soft step like laughter
And sake waterfalls"
He chuckled a little as he finished. "Well," he said, ducking his head again, this time as if in apology, "perhaps not perfect, but, then again, I am no Bashō, nor do I expect or claim to be ♥! But hopefully, you get the idea. Now if you prefer a more modern pen and paper to compose your poems, please do that, but I have also brought with me some parchment and calligraphy brushes if you'd like to try to make the experience a little more immersive. Take a moment to consider your introduction haikus and towards the end of the class, we'll share ♥. And I also have a little assignment for you ducklings for next week, as well; I'd like you each to find your own haiku in the wild and bring it in and we shall discuss them next week ♥. Any questions before we begin?"
Sign In - AoH, 05/11.
Re: Sign In - AoH, 05/11.
Re: Sign In - AoH, 05/11.
Re: Sign In - AoH, 05/11.
Listen to the Lecture - AoH, 05/11.
If anyone just so happened to mistake this for last year's Art of Napping and do just that, Shunsui would not blame them at all, and would, in fact, rather admire them for it.
Introduction Haiku - AoH, 05/11.
All perfectly valid classtime activities.
Talk to Shunsui - AoH, 05/11.
OOC - AoH, 05/11.