haikaiTALKS: a saturday gathering! 15th February 2025

haikaiTALKS: jisei/death poems | a saturday gathering under the banyan tree

host: Srinivasa Sambangi

15th February 2025

haikaiTALKS: a saturday gathering under the banyan tree

Your host for haikaiTALKS: Srinivas Sambangi

Jisei

Jisei or death poem is a way of preparing for death which is inevitable. Japan has a long tradition of poets writing these poems before their death. One of the earliest record of jisei dates to 686 CE with the death of Prince Otsu, a poet who committed suicide on false charges of promoting a rebellion. Not all death poems are haiku, many are tanka as well.

In the Japanese language, shi “death” is rarely used to reference a person. Instead, specific kinds of death are used: shinju, “lover’s suicide;” junshi, “warrior’s death for his lord;” senshi, “death in war;” roshi, “death from old age.” Death is linked to the type of life a person lived. Jisei is an extension of this idea.

This tradition of writing death poems originally spread among zen monks, samurai and the noble people. It is still in practice in Japan, some people write even in the prime of their life. Because of the differences in culture, this is not spread to west, with an exception of USA. Interestingly Basho refused to write a special death haiku, he said every poem has to be written as if it is one’s death verse.

Here are a few examples, you may find some more in the first link given (especially by American writers).

This week, you may quote some good examples or you write your own

O hydrangea—

you change and change

back to your primal color

     ---Bairyu

(In summer, hydrangeas bloom in clusters. The flowers change to different colors, starting with green and coming back to green at the end)

the owner of cherry blossoms

turns to compost

for the trees

      --- Utsu

(Utsu died in spring during cherry blossoms season)

Indian summer

a spent salmon

washes ashore

        ---w. f. owen

References:

https://www.thehaikufoundation.org/omeka/files/original/5c7b2f7136022673304d3e03a19f8713.pdf

Japanese Death Poems (a book written by zen monks and haiku poets)

https://cafehaiku.wordpress.com/2020/11/04/ch-special-a-series-on-jisei/

https://www.japanpowered.com/japan-culture/jisei-the-japanse-death-poem

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KIGO WORDS

Shall we please try to include a kigo word in all the poems we share here?

Give the season and the word—under your poem. 

I'm quoting Lev Hart's request here: "This week’s goal is to compose two verses with toriawase, blending wabi, sabi, karumi, mono no aware, and/or yugen. Tell us which aesthetic concepts you mean to express in a line below the verse. Strive for originality. Avoid stock phrases and shopworn images."

For seasonal references, please check these lists:

“A Dictionary of Haiku Classified by Season Words with Traditional and Modern Methods,” by Jane Reichhold:

https://thehaikufoundation.org/omeka/files/original/7fb6654a1dfd1afef97369da920530f8.pdf

indian subcontinent SAIJIKI:

https://www.trivenihaikai.in/indian-saijiki

The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words:

http://www.2hweb.net/haikai/renku/500ESWd.html

The World Kigo Database:

https://wkdkigodatabase03.blogspot.com/

The Yuki Teikei Haiku Season Word List:

https://yths.org/season-word-list/

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Thank you for this post, Srinivas.

I hope our poets take the challenge and create a haiku on these lines!

Poets,

Check out: Japanese Death Poems (a book written by zen monks and haiku poets)

that Srinivas has given.

Please give your feedback on others' commentary and poems too. _()_

We are continuing haikaiTALKS in a grand way!

Keep writing and commenting! _kala