Haiku, translated to Portuguese as haicai, is the most traditional poetic form of the Japanese culture. In its formal definition, haiku is a poem of 17 syllables written in three metrical lines with 5, 7 and 5 syllables containing a season word, with a reference to nature and must be able to cause thought. Haiku must be read and understood as an independent complete poem.
Rosa Clement.
"Many Western authors have fallen into the simplist trap of saying that the haiku is a seventeen-syllable poem in three lines of five, seven and five syllables.
...
In fact, Japanese poets do not count "syllables" at all. Rather they count "onji". The Japanese word "onji" does not mean "syllable", it means "sound symbol" and refers to one of the phonetic characters used in writing Japanese phonetic script."
In: The Haiku Handbook by William G. Higgnson.
"Haiku is a very short poetic form, consisting of three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables each, and must have a special word which evokes the season. It is probably the shortest poetic form in the world, and its development is native to Japan, with no influence from either the West or China. The poet must be concise because of the brevity, while concentrating deep spiritual understanding into the poem. The haiku poet usually takes up the changes of nature which have impressed him in order to
express the intangible world of the spirit."
In: Introduction to Haiku
"...a haiku is traditionally 5-7-5 sound syllables. All languages cannot duplicate this method of counting syllables so foreign language writers must decide to either follow the method by writing 5-7-5 syllables in their own language. However if they prefer to imitate the product, the translated Japanese haiku, their poems must consist of less words. In English we cannot have both method and translated product correct in one poem so each of us must choose one system or the other. Beginners (especially if better acquainted with Western poetry) often do well to follow the 5-7-5 discipline at first. Later, when they become comfortable with saying what they want said in the least words, as it is easier to switch to the shorter styled haiku in a natural movement. This does not mean that 5-7-5 haiku are beginners' work; many, many very good writers insist on remaining with the form scheme.
In Japan haiku are written in one line vertically. Again we cannot imitate this so some poets, following as closely as they can (heel to toe, heel to toe), write haiku in one horizontal line. This style, however, hides the natural pauses the Japanese person hears at the end of each 5 or 7 syllable phrase. We also can be trained to hear them in English, but lacking the time and training for that, it was decided to show the pauses with line breaks. Thus, the foreign language haiku took on the familiar three -line shape."
In: Another Attempt To Define Haiku by Jane Reichhold
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