Tuesday 3 March 2020

What are Haiga?


Haiga is a traditional Japanese form of poetry and art which unites a poem with a brush and ink Sumi painting although the evolution of Haiga has grown to include digital images.

The poems used in Haiga include Haiku, Senryu and Tanka. 
  •     Haiku is a form of poetry that focuses on a brief moment in time, and a sense of sudden illumination or enlightenment
  •      Senryu is usually written in the present tense and references some aspect of human nature or emotions
  •       Tanka poems are written about nature, seasons, love, sadness and other strong emotions
Susumi Takiguchi, founder of the World Haiku Club, tells us that simplicity and irony are typical traits of the traditional Haiga. He writes, "Haiga is unromantic, down to earth, unpretentious and humorous, dealing with unremarkable, day-to-day subjects and objects." "Hai" means comic and "Ga" means painting.

While the haiku and the painting in a Haiga share the same space, they are meant to complement one another.

The third element of Haiga is the calligraphy which determines the look of the poem on the page and communicates its essence.

Haiga was traditionally produced in a variety of formats, including hanging scrolls, hand scrolls, folding screens, and fans. Today it is produced on handmade paper and modern Haiga allows the use of photography, as well as digital images.

Stylistically, Haiga vary widely based on the preferences and training of the individual painter. Some were reproduced as woodblock prints. The subjects painted likewise vary widely, but are generally elements mentioned in the calligraphy, or poetic images which add meaning or depth to that expressed by the poem.

The moon is a common subject in these poems and paintings while other subjects, ranging from depictions of Mount Fuji to rooftops, are frequently represented with a minimum of brushstrokes, thus evoking elegance and beauty in simplicity.


See below for some MoonInk Haiga and visit www.moonink.co.uk to see some more examples of Western Tanka poetry, the 5 line version of a Haiku. Subscribe to the newsletter to get the free Poem of the Month.

Please contact MoonInk on info@moonink.co.uk if you have any questions.

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