✨ MarskHaiku

Blog

Notes on the haiku form: its history, its craft, and the art styles behind it.

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History

The history and traditional building blocks of haiku.

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Kobayashi Issa: Hardship, Humor, and a Soft Spot for Small Creatures

Kobayashi Issa buried a mother, a stepmother's cruelty, and four children, yet wrote haiku warm enough to make a snail feel important.

September 20, 2026

Yosa Buson: The Painter Who Gave Haiku Its Eyes Back

Yosa Buson made his living as a painter, not a poet. That eye for composition is exactly what he brought back into haiku after Basho.

September 17, 2026

Matsuo Bashō and the Birth of Haiku as an Art Form

Before Bashō, the hokku was just the opening move in a group poem. Here's how one restless, wandering ex-samurai turned it into literature.

August 12, 2026

What Is a Haiku? Origins and Definition

A haiku is three lines, one moment, and almost nothing extra. Here's where the form came from, what actually makes a haiku a haiku, and what it isn't.

August 12, 2026

Kigo: The Season Word at the Heart of Haiku

Kigo is the season word that anchors a haiku in time. Here's where it came from, how it actually works, and why it doesn't always survive translation.

August 12, 2026

Kireji: The Cutting Word and the Art of the Pause

Kireji is the pause built into a traditional haiku, the pivot between two images. English has no real equivalent, and translators handle it differently every time.

August 12, 2026

The 5-7-5 Rule: Where It Comes From and Why It Bends in English

17 syllables, arranged 5-7-5. Except that's not quite what Japanese haiku actually count, which is exactly why English haiku don't follow the rule as strictly as people think.

August 12, 2026

Tips & tricks

Practical, hands-on advice for writing your own haiku.

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Art

The traditions behind the art styles illustrating MarskHaiku's poems, one line per style.

Adinkra (Ghana)

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Arab-Persian (miniature)

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Baroque

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Chinese (ink wash)

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Egyptian

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Impressionism

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Japanese (ukiyo-e woodblock print)

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Renaissance

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West African masks

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