A Beginner's Guide to Japanese Haiku: Major Works by Japan's Best-Loved Poets - From Basho and Issa to Ryokan and Santoka, with Works by Six Women Poets

by William Scott Wilson, Steven Heine (Foreword)

An old pond;
a frog jumps
the sound of water
-- Basho

This comprehensive introduction to Japan's best-loved haiku poets is the perfect book for anyone wanting to learn about haiku. Compiled and with commentary by renowned author and translator William Scott Wilson, the book features 26 poets and 550 haiku, exquisitely translated. Wilson takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the works of the major Japanese poets from the fifteenth century up to the present.

The poets include Basho, Shiki, Buson and Issa (the "Great Four") along with other well-known practitioners of the genre such as Ryokan, Kikaku and Chora. Wilson gives his own brand-new renditions of poems that are already known as classics, and also shares with us the delightful work of a number of poets who are rarely found in English translation, such as six female poets including Chiyojo and Hisajo, as well as novelist Natsume Soseki, who, unbeknown to many, also wrote haiku.

The book is divided into sections, each starting with a 2-4 page introduction to each poet, followed by a selection of that poet's haiku, in Japanese script and English translation. Online audio files are available with recordings of the poems in both English and Japanese.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Japan, Writing

222 pages, Hardcover

Published March 28, 2023

Reviews

[Deni · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book of 2025 - it was truly touching.

Besides the beautiful haiku, there is also a description to each writer and you can find out more details about their lives, their writing style and the influences they had.

It was touching and lovely. I love the slow life presented in the book and I want to read more and more Japanese writers.

"Though it's cold,
nights sleeping together
warm the heart."

"A night of snow,
the rustling sound
of bamboo."

"Tomorrow will be just like this,
we think the day before.
But today we realize
that all is change:
This is the way of the world."

"Spring rain!
All and everything
becomes beautiful."

"Getting old,
I become a camellia,
dancing away."

"I go bounding
up the stairs, forgetting
my age."

"A winter butterfly
captures my soul
and flies about."

[Tim Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the title says, this is a great and easy introduction to the haiku poems often taught in school. The context around the literary origin of haiku, its roots in both Confucianism and zen Buddhism, and the purpose of the poetic form transform the "5-7-5" we know into an opportunity to be introspective, mindful, and to place yourself in the shoes of a 16th century Japanese poet. The background given on the haiku authors provides a framework, that when combined with the recent memories of my japan trip, result in a tremendous appreciation for nature and being present. My only wish is that it could go deeper on the explanations of haiku theory and stylistic comparisons between authors.

[Nique 💫 chroniqled ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED THIS SO MUCH!!!!

full review to come!!!

[J.M · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a good introduction for haiku. I found a new appreciation for it compared to when it was discussed in high school, the simplicity of it all, little snippets of life. It’s just, I feel bad for most of the haiku poets, do they really need to suffer for their art?

[Bernie Gourley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful, nicely arranged, and well-translated anthology of haiku. A couple things should be clarified off the bat, given the book’s title (particularly for haiku neophytes.) First of all, “Japanese Haiku” may sound redundant, but the point is that this collection is entirely haiku translated from the work of Japanese poets – historic and modern. There’s been a huge international production of haiku for quite a while, and even national sub-styles such as American Haiku, but this anthology includes none of that.

Secondly, one needn’t put too much stock in the “beginner’s” wording of the title. I understand their point. If you’ve done a lot of haiku reading, you will see quite a few familiar poems, and there are none of the related forms (e.g. tanka, kyoka, renga, haibun, etc.) However, with respect to the first point, the beauty of good poetry is that one can re-read it and get something new out of it each time, and this is especially true if it’s a different translation, which allows one to both take in something of the translator’s perspective as one applies one’s own. Furthermore, this book has many fine features that will particular benefit experienced and analytical haiku readers. For one, it has the original poem both in Japanese characters as well as Romanized phonetic Japanese. (The latter makes it easy to see how the poet worked sound and syllabic arrangement.) There’re also brief biographies for all the poets, which is both useful for knowing what informed their craft, but also interesting in that a surprising number of these haiku poets lived colorful lives.

There are three sections to the book that work in the direction of increasing levels of obscurity. It begins with the big four of haiku (Bashō, Shiki, Buson, and Issa.) Then there’s a section with a large number of notable, but not Bashō-level poets. Finally, there are lesser-known poets, many of whom were quite prolific and had unique takes on the form. The latter two sections include poets that span from the contemporaries of Bashō to twentieth century poets.

If you enjoy haiku, I’d highly recommend this collection. I learned more about suspensive form in haiku and the varying styles of free verse haiku poets in Japan just through careful reading.

[K's Bognoter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lad dig ikke skræmme af den trælse, lufthavnslektureagtige titel. William Scott Wilson har begået en læseværdig og interessant antologi, som rummer både en overflod af haiku-digte, korte og fine biografier over 26 digtere og undervejs også en litteraturhistorisk introduktion til de forskellige former for haiku – til glæde for os begyndere ud i formen.
Læs min anmeldelse på K’s bognoter: https://bognoter.dk/2024/10/12/willia...

[Mara Madden · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I only know haiku because we had to do them in elementary school for some reason. This book was awesome since it had the haiku in its original, in Hiragana, and in English. So for me, learning Japanese, it was nice because I could recognize some of the vocabulary I've learned so far. I enjoyed the biographies about the poets as an introduction to their haikus. I highly recommend it as it is a light and short read!

[Chris Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book - just what I was looking for! There is a lovely profile of each of the poets, for a start, and each poem is written in English, kanji and romaji - perfect for somebody like myself struggling with writing haiku in Japanese and wanting to learn from the works of the masters. I borrowed the book from the local library, have returned it, and now have it digitally in my Amazon cart.

[Liam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nearly didn't pick this up because of the title, expecting it to be fairly clichéd - but it is an excellent anthology, with lots of poets beyond the Great Four. Very fine and lucid translations. Beautiful design. Thoroughly recommended.

[Jade Rendell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I been interested in haiku for a while, so this book was an amazing intro to the form of poetry. I love the poems, and lives bio of the poets. A worthwhile read.

[Alja · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the coolest collections I've ever read. Really appreciate the accompanying audio files and insight into each poet's background.