Many readers are familiar with haiku, a style of Japanese poetry characterized by three lines, a syllable count of 5-7-5, and a focus on nature and a spiritual sense of the world. But many are unaware that the most popular topic for haiku is death. It may seem counterintuitive, but death can be an energizing subject for poetry that honors the beauty of life rather than its bleakness.
Though haiku can be written about any topic, its brevity and limited structure often lead writers to explore deeply resonant subjects. Death is a concept universally experienced, and lends itself to involving musings about the frailty and wonder of life. Over a hundred years ago, a golden age of haiku writing in Japan was consumed with developing a fresh language of contemplating death. To this day, death is a common theme in haiku, both reflecting on loss and exhilaration for the fleeting nature of life.
It is not simply loss or sorrow that haiku writers focus on when depicting death. As Jonathon S. Churchill expressed, “Beneath the memories of death… lies a path of profound understanding and perspective on life.” Death can be a source of comfort and understanding, and can provide a different lens to experience joy and renewal. It is not just the end of life, but its own kind of experience that can be expressed with words. By reminding us of our mortality, death in haiku can infuse life with a sense of greater meaning and purpose.
In Japan, haiku has evolved in various ways. One trend is the depiction of death without being explicit about it. By focusing on subtle, natural phenomena like the changing of the seasons, haiku can evoke a feeling of temporality, hinting at the process of death and rebirth. This can draw attention to the power of the moment, so readers come away feeling alive, invigorated, and mindful of the beauty of life.
One example of such a haiku by Kisaki Makuzō reads:
Winter has come—
The old pond, now still,
Frogs nowhere to be seen
The seemingly mundane setting of an old pond conveys an intimation of mortality and a transition between two states. In just a few lines, Makuzō captures an inkling of death, an awareness of impermanence, and generates in readers a greater appreciation for the moment. Haiku writers similarly use delicate detail to evoke an atmosphere of death, one which gives the poem an inviting, melancholic tone.
Themes of Isolation and Loneliness in Death
Another popular theme in haiku about death is one of loneliness and isolation. Writers may focus on the vivid aloneness that death can project, as if to exhort readers to take stock of their connections in life. They create a poignant, introspective atmosphere that encourages contemplation about the position of humans in the larger cycle of life and death. The works ask readers to reconcile human life to the concept of death—to accept it, to internalize it, and sometimes to embrace it.
An example of this is Bashō’s famous poem, which reads:
On a withered branch,
a crow has settled—
autumn evening
Bashō uses a seemingly innocuous scene to paint a vivid portrait of solitude. The image of the crow, a traditional symbol of death, stands alone in the empty, evening sky, solitary in its eternal witness. As poet and translator Robert Hass notes, the poem is, “not a picture of death, it’s a picture, metaphorically, of human loneliness.” In the old, barren tree branches, Bashō intimates a feeling of profound loneliness, and a transcendent awareness of humans’ irrevocable connection to death.
Exploring Death as a Positive Experience
In many ways, death can also portray a positive sentiment. Haiku writers have toyed with the idea of death bringing peace, and focusing on the boundaries between life and death not as a time of loss, but instead of rest and gentle closure. Some haiku communicate death as closure of tension, finality and deliverance from this world. By depicting death in a tranquil light, the loss is not so much mourned as it is celebrated.
One of the most well-known haiku poems focused on death as deliverance is Buson’s:
Cuckoo song
in the thickening dusk
of a midsummer night
Buson encapsulates the fragility of mortality in his short poem, as he presents the chorus of the cuckoo in the waning summer twilight. It is an audible marker of life’s shortness, yet an assurance of its beauty. In his poem, Buson conveys death as a gentle parting, a lullaby of finality, and a subtle symbol of the peacefulness that awaits after life.
Honoring the Unfolding of Life and Death Through Poetry
With haiku, death can be examined through different perspectives. It can explore the complexities of life and death, as much as it can celebrate life’s beauty, joy, and peace. It can be equal parts pain, sorrow, and renewal. Death is a universal concept, and haiku poet Kotaro Takamura suggests, “Death is the background of [haiku].”
For many poets, contemplating death can be a liberating experience. Verses about death can bring a heightened awareness of life, if written with the right care and humility. As such, haiku has become a popular art form to explore death, emphasizing the subtle understanding of the power of the impermanent, unexplored moments of life.
Honoring Death as a Part of Life
In facing death, haiku writers can perceive life in a more fruitful and sincere way. Through incorporating death into their work, poets can come to understand the continuity of time and its accompanying impermanence. By acknowledging and honoring death, haiku writers can make meaningful connections to life and the world.
Many-Birds, a haiku poet, says “Let us write haiku that honors the passing, that celebrates the spirit-lesson of existence, and that reminds us how beautiful, how tender, and how deeply alive we can be even when we are saying good-bye.” In combining death and life, haiku writers are challenged to create a deeper emotional link with their readers and to intimately document the ebb and flow of life.
Exploring the Interconnection of Death and Life through Haiku
By exploring death, haiku writers can cultivate a discrete kind of wisdom that supports healthy living. Through sharing their contemplation of death and life, haiku writers can open up a new realm of understanding for readers— one that emphasizes beauty, joy, and peace even in the presence of death.
As poet, painter and potter Lucile Iwasaki states, “Haiku is the voice of life and death. A voice touched by a deep, soulful understanding of the human condition. A voice filled with the tenderness of empathy, that sees and feels at once the breath of life, and the breath of death.” Through its brevity and vivid imagery, haiku serves as a timeless reminder of the interconnectedness of mortality that can leave readers feeling appreciative and thankful for the moment.
Interacting with Death Through Breathe and Behold
Many haiku poets believe in the power of slowing down and paying attention to the details in life to understand death. The renowned haiku poet Issa offers an invitation to readers to experience life fully, by having a conscious pause and by exploring their environment with more mindfulness. By slowing down, one can interact with death. One can appreciate its significance and power, and can learn from it to transform the relationship with life.
In his ‘I Dwell in Possibility’ poem, Richard Wilbur expresses a similar sentiment:
I dwell in possibility
A fairer house than prose
More numerous of windows
Superior for doors…
In a few lines, Wilbur captures the idea of death as road to possibility, of mortality as another version of life. He expresses the hope in death, interpreting it not as a sorrowful passing, but one full of possibility and joy.
Finding Clarity and Focus Through Death
Death can also be regarded as a source of wisdom. Through haiku, writers can examine death in contrast to life, to help readers gain a different, sincere perspective. By pausing to reflect and to celebrate the power of life and death, readers can create a pathway to greater self-awareness and clarity.
In his book The Heartbeat of the Haiku, Michael P. Garofalo writes of haiku as “A platform for writing about human relationships and experiences, life and death.” Through haiku about death, one may gain an appreciation for life, and an intimate understanding that death holds an important role in life’s ongoing cycle. As death allows for a renewed view on life, it allows for a more conscious and passionate experience of living, as well as an understanding that life and death are inextricably linked.
