| The earliest traces of haikai are found in the first imperial waka collection, the Kokin waka shu (c. 905; abbreviated Kokinshu), which contains fifty-eight poems labeled haikaika (haikai-style poems). This was followed by an array of new poetic forms categorized as haikai that appeared in the Kamakura (1180-1333) and Muromachi (1336-1573) periods, such as haikai no renga (haikai-style linked verse) and maeku-zuke (linked couplets). Why were forms as different as haikaika, haikai no renga, and maeku-zuke all categorized together under the rubric of haikai? Conversely, how are these poetic genres different in form and content from their orthodox counterparts? This dissertation answers these questions by tracing the historical development of haikai from its beginnings in the Kokinshu through its various permutations in the medieval period and finally its maturation in the Edo period (1603-1867).;Chapter one focuses on the haikaika included in imperially sanctioned waka collections, particularly the Kokinshu, examining a number of poems in depth and comparing their tropes to those used in standard waka. Chapter two historicizes the definition of "haikai" through a philological analysis and uncovers the ways in which defining and collecting haikai became the battleground where competing factions fought for poetic ascendancy. Every element of this term---from its original Chinese meaning and the graphs used to transcribe it to its pronunciation and meaning in Japanese---has been vehemently disputed in a debate dating back at least as far as the late Heian period (794-1192). Chapter three explores the relationship of haikai and renga, focusing on the late Muromachi period, when three major texts---the Hobbyhorse Collection of Mad Poems (Chikuba kyoginshu, c. 1499), Doggerel Tsukuba Collection ( Inu tsukubashu, c. 1530), and Thousand Verses by Moritake (Moritake senku, 1536)---revealed for the first time the true potential of haikai. The concluding chapter offers an overview of the Teimon School of haikai, focusing on Matsunaga Teitoku (1571-1653) and Kitamura Kigin (1624-1705), two leaders in the field of haikai poetry, who publicly taught canonical texts and also revealed the secret teachings of poetic composition in mass-produced handbooks. |
