Impromptu Senryu History Discussion

There's a 'Frogpond' haiku magazine article from 1994 written by Prof. Hiroaki Sato; that was titled "Senryu Vs Haiku." In the article he details a roundtable interview that feat. gendai haiku, senryu and tanka poets. One of the poets intimated that the onus......for distinguishing itself was NOT on #senryu but was for #haiku to do. I found that to be an amazing thought. When I read that I wondered to myself...'what if its actually #haiku that diverted from the essence of 'Haikai' and not #senryu.' the Haikai tradition...celebrated the earthy, playful, light, silly, clever, humorous in everyday life and was a reaction to the High Renga tradition that came to dominate. Basho started out writing such low haikai like verses but eventually grew tired with it and wanted writings that were more poetic and full of substance (at least that is what i've gotten from the few books ive read about him.) Most folk know that #haiku is patterned after the 'hokku' or starting verse of a group poem (renga). Some kind of seasonal indicator/keyword had to be used in that starting verse as.....well as kireji or cuts in the poem. Of course the flexibility of the inclusion of those elements would harden into an inviolable rule that would become the psychic baggage that hokku/haiku would carry for the rest of its days. (when one says 'haiku' to anyone......folks often think of the poetry as being nature-centered first and foremost...) In reaction to what became a calcified rule with the starting verse now called #haiku, the #senryu was created and based off the 'hiraku' (ordinary/inside verse) of the Renga.......in this particular verse, there was NO hardened rule that it must include kigo/kidai or kireji. The content of that verse could be any and everything. It must be noted that the notion that what separates #haiku from #senryu is that nature is in one & not the other......is incorrect. There were often seasonal indicators/keywords present in #senryu. Around the 20th century, to most Japanese #senryu and #haiku poets, the word 'senryu' meant "Non-seasonal artistic, poetic haiku." There are many #senryu poets in Japan that saw a link between......#senryu and #tanka. With the modernization of #tanka and it becoming a more personal literature...some saw that poetic, literary #senryu were actually bite size pieces of #tanka. and both poetries could be used to tell one's stories etc. The changes that #senryu underwent...under Kenkabo Inoue and his wife Nobuko, had to do with expanding the type of content that could appear in the verse. Kenkabo despised the fixation of #senryu on jokes, silly word games and puns etc. He wanted to see more ku that embraced the social and political and personal...changes of the day, and according to Prof. Chris Drake; much of Kenkabo's #senryu actually resembled what is known as modern or gendai (seasonless/muki) #haiku. If one pays attention to the history's of the genre, one sees that its actually #haiku that has undergone the most extensive changes over the years. Poets have grappled with the fixed form, the 17 sound patterns, and seasonal indicators (kigo/kidai) and rigid ideas of what could or could not be expressed in #haiku. So when the #tanka poet, in Prof. Hiroaki Sato's article says that its really #haiku that has had and need to distinguish itself more than #senryu needs to; I totally understand that. The issue was raised when poets noted that there are...lots of #senryu that appear more 'haikuish' and more #haiku that appear more 'senryuish.' Prof. Chris Drake even said he'd like to see the term 'senryu' changed to something else (since even 'senryu' comes with its own baggage.) he proposed even calling the genre, 'Ryūku'...(dyoo-koo) or something like that. I'll be posting snapshots of that specific article for those who want to read it (if interested.)