Yes, haiku is music - it’s musicality is what makes it work.
The Musical Qualities of Haiku:
1. Syllabic Rhythm (5-7-5) as Meter
Haiku has a built-in metrical pattern, similar to the rhythmic structures in music.
The 5-7-5 sequence creates a natural ebb and flow, like a short melody.
2. Pacing and Breath (Like Musical Phrasing)
Haiku is often read in a single breath, like a musical phrase.
The caesura (pause) after the first or second line functions like a rest in music, giving space for resonance.
3. Sound and Echo (Like a Refrain or Motif)
Traditional Japanese haiku uses on (, sound units) rather than strict syllables, creating a natural phonetic harmony.
Repetition of sounds, soft consonants, and vowel harmony contribute to its musical texture.
4. Contrast and Resolution (Tension and Release in Music)
The kireji (cutting word) acts as a musical turn, shifting the haiku’s tone - like a modulation in melody.
Haiku often moves from observation shift in perception lingering resonance, just as music moves through tension and resolution.
Haiku as Musical Form:
If we think of haiku as music, it resembles:
A haiku as a three-note motif, simple yet evocative, like Debussy’s “Voiles” or a Satie Gymnopedie.
A haiku as a haiku, like a Japanese shakuhachi melody - short, breath-like, full of silence.
A haiku as Zen music, where the emptiness around the notes matters as much as the notes themselves.
Example Haiku as Music:
Cicada rain
All at once it vanishes,
Silence returns.
The cicada’s sound rises and falls, like a crescendo and decrescendo in music - leaving behind pure silence, which is also part of the music.
Would you like me to craft a haiku based on a musical motif?
