Haiku

Haiku ; Japanese verse-form of 17 syllables arranged 5, 7, 5. Modern school founded by Bashō in seventeenth century. In its brevity

and sole concern with humble things of the moment the Haiku expresses much of the Japanese attitude to life.

Yet the overtones are subtle and profound, and what is merely hinted at is more important than what is said.

See Tanka, the larger form of 31 syllables and see Blyth, Zen in English Literature (1942).

(See Sabi, Wabi.)