Senryū

Senryū(Xuyên liễu)is a Japanese form of shortpoetrysimilar tohaikuin construction: three lines with 17morae(oron,often translated assyllables,but see the article ononjifor distinctions).Senryūtend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, andsenryūare often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are more serious.

Like haiku, senryū originated as an opening part (hokku) of a larger Japanese poem calledrenga.Unlike haiku,senryūdo not include akireji(cutting word), and do not generally include akigo,orseasonword.

Form and content

Senryūis named afterEdo periodhaikaipoetKarai Senryū(Bính tỉnh xuyên liễu,1718–1790),whose collectionHaifūyanagidaru(Phỉ phong liễu đa lưu)launched the genre into the public consciousness.A typical example from the collection:

Nê bổng を Bộ えてみれば Ngã が tử なり

dorobō o toraete mireba wagako nari

When I catch, The robber, my own son

Thissenryū,which can also be translated "Catching him / I see the robber / is my son," is not so much a personal experience of the author as an example of a type of situation (provided by a short comment called amaekuor fore-verse, which usually prefaces a number of examples) and/or a brief or witty rendition of an incident from history or the arts (plays, songs, tales, poetry, etc.).

かくれんぼ Tam つ sổ えて Đông になる

kakurenbo mittsu kazoete fuyu ni naru

Hide and seek Count to three Winter comes

Senryū in the United States

The first senryū circle in the United States was reportedly started by Japanese immigrants inYakima, Washington,during the early 1900s. Over time, other senryū circles were established inSeattleand other Japanese communities in thePacific Northwest.In 1938, theLos Angeles–based Kashu Mainichi Shimbun published its first senryū section.

During theincarceration of Japanese Americansduring World War II, senryū was a popular activity in the camps.

English-languagesenryūpublications

In the 1970s, Michael McClintock editedSeer Ox: American Senryu Magazine.In 1993, Michael Dylan Welch edited and publishedFig Newtons:Senryūto Go,the first anthology of English-languagesenryū.

• Prune Juice,a journal ofsenryūandkyoka,is edited by Aaron Barry, Antoinette Cheung, and P. H. Fischer.
• Failed Haikuis edited by Bryan Rickert and Hemapriya Chellappan.
• Simply Haikuarchives (final publication in 2009) contain a regularsenryūcolumn edited byAlan Pizzarelli.

Additionally, one can regularly findsenryūand related articles in some haiku publications. For example, theWorld Haiku Reviewhas regularly publishedsenryū.Senryūregularly appear or appeared in the pages ofModern Haiku,Frogpond,Bottle Rockets,Woodnotes,Tundra,Haiku Canada Review,Presence,Blithe Spirit,Kingfisher,and other haiku journals, often unsegregated from haiku.

AmericanSenryūawards

TheHaiku Society of Americaholds the annual Gerald Brady Memorial Award for best unpublishedsenryū.

Previous Winners of the Gerald Brady Memorial Award include:

• 1988: Frederick Gasser
• 1989: Brenda S. Duster
• 1990: John Thompson
• 1991: Leatrice Lifshitz
• 1992: Christopher Herold
• 1993: Tom Clausen
• 1994: David Carmel Gershator
• 1995: Michael Dylan Welch
• 1996: Sandra Fuhringer
• 1997: John Stevenson
• 1998: Carl Patrick
• 1999: Leatrice Lifshitz
• 2000: Yvonnne Hardenbrook
• 2001: Billie Wilson
• 2002: w. f. owen
• 2003: w. f. owen
• 2004: John Stevenson
• 2005: Emily Romano
• 2006: Roberta Beary
• 2007: Scott Mason
• 2008: David P. Grayson
• 2009: Barry George
• 2010: Garry Gay
• 2011: Ernest J. Berry
• 2012: Julie Warther
• 2013: Peter Newton
• 2014: Neal Whitman
• 2015: paul m.
• 2016: Tom Painting
• 2017: Sam Bateman
• 2018: Joshua Gage
• 2019: PMF Johnson
• 2020: Tony Williams
• 2021: Amy Losak
• 2022: Joshua St. Claire
• 2023: John Savoie

Since about 1990, the Haiku Poets of Northern California has been running asenryūcontest, as part of its San Francisco International Haiku and Senryu Contest.

See also

• Zappai

Bibliography and further reading

• J C Brown,Senryu: Poems of the People,Simon & Schuster Ltd, 1991,ISBN978-0-8048-1664-9
• R. H. Blyth,translator,Senryu: Japanese Satirical Verses.1949, The Hokuseido Press,ISBN0-8371-2958-3.Includes black and white sketches and some colored plates
• R. H. Blyth, translator, Japanese Humour.1957, Japan Travel Bureau
• R. H. Blyth, translator,Japanese Life and Character in Senryu.1960, The Hokuseido Press
• R. H. Blyth, translator,Oriental Humour.1960, The Hokuseido Press
• R. H. Blyth, translator,Edo Satirical Verse Anthologies.1961, The Hokuseido Press
• Robin D. Gill,compiler and translator,Octopussy, Dry Kidney & Blue Spots – dirty themes from 18-19c Japanese poems,Paraverse Press, 2007.ISBN978-0-9742618-5-0.Chronicles 1,300senryū– Blyth mentioned that he could only introduce what the censors allowed; these are the type ofsenryūthat were not allowed.
• Lorraine Ellis Harr (tombo),Selected Senryu.1976, J & C Transcripts. One of the earliest English-languagesenryū-only publications
• James Day Hodgson,American Senryu.1992, The Japan Times,ISBN4-7890-0661-1
• Howard S. Levy and Junko Ohsawa,One Hundred Senryu Selections.1979, So. Pasadena, CA, Langstaff Publications,ISBN0-686-37532-7
• Alan Pizzarelli,Senryu Magazine.2001, River Willow. Although this book looks like a regular journal, it is the effort of Alan Pizzarelli only, done as aparodyof haiku journals.
• Makoto Ueda,Light Verse from the Floating World: An Anthology of Premodern Japanese Senryu,Columbia University Press, 1999.ISBN0-231-11550-4clothISBN0-231-11551-2
• Michael Dylan Welch, ed.Fig Newtons: Senryu to Go,Press Here, 1993 (the first anthology of English-languagesenryū)

External links

• 'A Brief Survey of Senryû by Women' by Hiroaki SatoinModern Haiku,Volume 34.1, Spring 2003