This week saw the annual celebration of Japan’s celebrated poetic style, the haiku (on 17 April – a significant number, as you will see). Everybody can join in. 

The Master of Haiku was Matsuo Basho (1644-94), poet, teacher, traveller, ninja and Zen Buddhist monk, who perfected the form and instigated the tradition of haiku contests (like poetry slams but with extra zen), which were usually held in April.

A haiku has no rhyme scheme, and uses 17 phonetic units known as ‘on’ (meaning sound) distributed over three lines in a 5-7-5 formation. (Numerate readers will note that this as adds up to 17, see above.) English language haiku* use syllables instead of phonetic units, but are based on the same pattern. (There are of course exceptions, do not write in)    

The essence of haiku is the distillation of as much emotion, observation and meaning into as few a words as possible, so that each word floats lightly on the surface while skimming across immense depths of significance. it is as much about the spaces between the words as the words themselves, and dispenses with frivolous or unnecessary ornamentation, metaphor, simile or oratorical device. Every word has to be very carefully chosen and placed. The end result appears simple, artless and effortless, but is very, very difficult to pull off.

This has not stopped Belvedere from giving it a shot. Here is his haiku, Cats like Plain Crisps. He is publishing it under his Japanese name, which he tells me is Utsukishi Keshiki.  

It is true. They do. 

Belvedere maintains that this piece shimmers with inner meaning. It seems he has discovered a hitherto unrecognised but obviously innate poetic talent, courtesy of his great-great-great-great-great grandfather, a Japanese bobtail from Iga Province (where Basho was born.)

I am not convinced that Utsukishi Keshiki has grasped the true essence of haiku. Here is The She Cat, a cat haiku from Basho himself.

To read more of the real thing, look at