Haibun - A Prose and Haiku Journal

Basho's journey, as recounted in Narrow Road to the Interior, took place in 1684. This was a five-month, 1,500-mile trek north of Edo, in Japan.

I left my rundown hut beside the river during the eighth month of 1684, placing my trust in my walking stick and in the words of the Chinese sage who said: "I pack no provisions for my long journey — entering emptiness under the midnight moon." The voice of the wind was oddly cold.

Weather-beaten bones,
I'll leave your heart exposed
to cold, piercing winds1

Hiroshige - The Maple Trees
Art.com

It was mid-autumn under threatening skies when I made up my mind to begin a journey. Windblown leaves reminded me of all the uncertainties a wanderer faces.

A wanderer,
let that be my name —
the first winter rain2

Haibun is meant to be succinct, as seen in the introductory passages above. This is another example of one of Basho's very brief, and yet rich, journal entries:

I crossed Hakone Barrier in the rain, clouds hiding all the mountains.

Heavy falling mist —
Mount Fuji not visible,
but still intriguing.3

Mountain Peaks in Mist
Art.com

Contemporary haibun are not necessarily accounts of external travels. They do, however, incorporate prose related to internal musings.

Those who write contempory haibun use various formats. Many poets present the prose first, followed by one haiku. The haiku may or may not appear to relate directly to the prose. Some writers incorporate more than one section of prose and more than one haiku.

Regardless of how many sections of prose and poetry are chosen, and regardless of what is presented first, prose or poetry, the haiku should always be physically separated from the prose. Just as a haiku poem is succinct, a haibun's prose is meant to be sparse.

This is one of my favorite haibun examples from a recent issue of Haibun Today. Please click on this link to read the entry "One Bowl" and then return for reflection and additional haibun exploration.

Haiku may express an epiphany — a sudden flash of insight or truth — glimpsed during the time of experiencing and writing a haibun.

Ascending the mountain, I finally released all that had been:

From this vantage point,
everything becomes clearer —
I am no longer me
~dkw

The Great Wave
Art.com

From a day's walk on the beach:

Across a dark sea,
the distant cries of wild ducks
and faintly, traces of white4

Haibun Today

Contemporary Haibun Online

Hokusai - Waterfall
Art.com

Stopped awhile
inside a waterfall —
summer retreat begins5

1. Basho, Matsuo (Translated by Sam Hamill, 1998). Narrow Road to the Interior and Other Writings. Shambhala Publications. Page 39.

2. Narrow Road, p. 56.

3. Narrow Road, p. 40.

4. Narrow Road, p. 48.

5. Narrow Road, p. 6.

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