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Ideal Order of the Seasons in a Kasen Renku

William J. Higginson

Please note that this "ideal order" is based on the studies and practices of three different Japanese scholars and renku masters (four, if I include myself)—who do not always agree. Do not assume that any particular kasen that you read will exactly match one of the columns in this table. Experienced renku poets will understand that this is only a guideline, not to be adhered to slavishly. The ultimate guidelines set out in the note below are a bit looser, and the table only illustrates the best attempts to apply them by various renku masters and scholars. For further information, see my note on the source, below.

In addition to the locations of seasonal verses, the table indicates possible locations for love verses. The locations of groups of two or three consecutive love verses are often more varied than indicated here. For example, it is not very unusual for love and a seasonal topic to appear in the same verse. (A table cell without a season indicates that this stanza may be nonseasonal.)

For general guidelines applicable to all renku composition, see the article "Link and Shift: A Practical Guide to Renku Composition" by Tadashi Shôkan Kondô and myself. I recommend that no one try to compose a renku based on this table without reading "Link and Shift" first, since many of the underlying reasons for what you see here are explained in that article. Also, please see the "Note on Renku Formats and Worksheets" below.

Please click on any links indicated in the body of the table for further information on the particular item. I have color coded the seasonal columns according to which season starts the renku; but notice that all renku should contain verses in all four seasons. Also, in a kasen generally, the first six stanzas are considered the "preface", the next 24 the "development", and the final six the "presto" or "fast close" (see "Link and Shift" for an explanation). I have altered the backgrounds of the outer columns to reflect this structure. Between the two sets of color codes, readers should be able to judge where they are in the table, even when the top part scrolls off the screen.

Stanza Number Begun in
Spring

Begun in
Summer

Begun in
Autumn

Begun in
Winter

Japanese Name of Verse
and Special Function
1
spring
summer
autumn
winter
hokku—compliments host
2
spring
summer
autumn
winter
wakiku—compliments guest
3
spring
(summer)
autumn
(winter)
daisan—break-away verse
4





5
autumn
autumn
(sum/win)
autumn
tsuki no zamoon's place
6
autumn
autumn
summer/winter
autumn

1 (7)
autumn
autumn
(sum/win) autumn

2 (8)





3 (9)
love
love
love
love

4 (10) love
love
love
love

5 (11) (love)
(love) (love) (love)
6 (12)




7 (13) summer
winter winter/summer
summer tsuki no za—moon's place
8 (14) summer
winter
winter/summer summer

9 (15)




10 (16)




11 (17) spring
spring
spring
spring
hana no zablossoms' place
12 (18) spring
spring
spring
spring

1 (19) spring
spring spring spring
2 (20)




3 (21) love
love love love
4 (22) love love love love
5 (23) (winter)
(summer)
(sum/win)
(winter)
6 (24) winter
summer
summer/winter
winter

7 (25) (winter)
(summer)
(sum/win)
(winter)

8 (26)




9 (27)




10 (28)




11 (29) autumn
autumn autumn autumn tsuki no za—moon's place
12 (30) autumn autumn autumn autumn
1 (31) autumn autumn autumn autumn
2 (32)




3 (33)




4 (34) (spring)
(spring) (spring) (spring)
5 (35) spring spring spring spring hana no za—blossoms' place
6 (36) spring spring spring spring ageku—last verse, with optimistic tone

Notes to the Table (Clicking on the link at the beginning of each note will take you to the first relevant location in the table.)

Ultimate Guidelines: In all renku, the opening stanza must reflect the season and locale in which composition begins. In a kasen or longer renku, the seasons of spring and autumn, each, once begun, must persist for at least three but not more than five stanzas; the seasons of summer and winter, each, once begun, may persist for as few as one but not more than three stanzas. (At the end of a renku, two spring verses is sufficient.) To a certain extent, the placement of seasonal stanzas will be affected by the normally required positions of moon and blossom verses, though these verses may sometimes be moved forward or backwards from their traditional positions. In this respect, the positions of the moon verses are usually more flexible than those of the blossom verses. In a kasen, staying in summer or winter for more than two consecutive verses has been uncommon; staying in spring or autumn for more than three consecutive verses is also relatively uncommon. When these "ultimate guidelines" are applied, the results closely resemble those in the table.

Stanza Number: There are two different systems for numbering stanzas in a linked poem. When reading a renku, we often encounter the stanzas numbered consecutively from the first to the last. Scholars typically use this system in their editions and translations of classic linked poems. However, poets generally prefer to number their stanzas according to the page of the traditional writing sheet. In the case of a kasen, this means 1-6 on the first front, 1-12 on the back of the first sheet, 1-12 on the second sheet front, and 1-6 on the back of the second sheet. Here, the poet's numbering comes first, followed by through consecutive numbering in parentheses.

Begun in Season: The arrangement of the seasons depends in large part on when the writers begin their renku. To orient a traditional Japanese-style renku correctly, it must start in the season appropriate to the day the writers begin composing it. These differ from those commonly spoken of today. Follow this link for a table showing the seasons of traditional Japanese style poetry.

Japanese Name of Verse: While many renku writers know and use the Japanese names of some of the special verses in a renku, the following English names are completely acceptable: hokku, "first verse" or "starting verse"; wakiku or waki, "second verse" or "side verse"; daisan, "third verse"; tsuki no za, "moon's place"; hana no za, "blossom's place"; ageku, "last verse". Each of these verses performs a special function, as indicated in the table. Each of the remaining verses is called a hiraku, "plain verse" or "regular verse".

Parentheses in the Table: Any item in parentheses in this table indicates that the verse in this position may continue the same season or topic as indicated for the previous (or following) stanza, but that continuing in this way is optional. For example, in the case of the third stanza of a renku begun in summer, the season may be summer or the verse may be nonseasonal.

Alternatives Indicated with Slants: Where a slant indicates alternative possibilities, the alternative selected must persist through this and any immediately adjacent verses shown with the same alternatives. For example, the sixth stanza of a renku begun in autumn would normally be in either winter or summer. If seasonal, the stanzas before or after it would also be in the same season. Note that an alternative group often relates as opposite to another alternative group later or earlier in the same poem. For example, in a renku begun in autumn, the early summer/winter group normally pairs with the winter/summer group later in the same poem. If the first group is in summer, the second will be in winter, and vice-versa. And a third summer/winter alternative stanza or group will revert back to the season of the earliest group. (Consequently, summer and winter may play a slightly larger role in a renku begun in autumn than in one begun in other seasons, though ideally in a kasen the total number of summer and winter verses will not exceed six. This, when added to the typical eight or nine spring and autumn verses brings the total number of seasonal verses in a kasen to a bit less than half of the total.)

The Moon's Place: In kasen begun in spring, summer, or winter, almost invariably, the moon will appear in the fifth stanza. In a kasen begun in autumn, it usually appears in one of the first three verses. Other moon verses may occur in their indicated places, but sometimes appear a bit earlier, called a "pulled-up moon". Note that the season of the moon will vary according to which season is called for in a given stanza, and that some phrases involving the moon belong to seasons other than autumn. See The 500 Essential Season Words for examples.

The Blossoms' Place: In a kasen, the word "blossoms" (meaning "cherry blossoms") normally occurs twice, in spring, in relatively fixed positions. In particular, the last blossom verse—and the penultimate verse in the poem—is fixed in place. In renku written outside of Japan, many poets have used the names of other spring-blossoming trees for one or the other of these verses. The usual candidates include plum blossoms (early spring), apple blossoms (late spring), flowering dogwood (late), and apricot blossoms (late), in addition to cherry blossoms (late). Note that summer-blooming trees, such as orange blossoms, mountain dogwood, and poinciana blossoms, as well as spring-flowering garden plants and wild flowers should not be used in these positions. (The point of the blossom verse often hinges on the special light one enjoys walking or sitting under such trees, which is characteristic of spring.) Note also that the character of the two blossom verses should be quite different, one perhapswith falling blossoms, the other budding, or one in rain, the other in sunlight, and so on.

A Note on Renku Formats and Worksheets

In  working with beginners at renku, where I usually encourage the writing of shorter forms of renku such as the 20-stanza nijûin or 12-stanza jûnicho or new shisan, I often supply worksheets which set out the seasons for a renku, stanza-by-stanza. Such worksheets are, or soon will be, available on this web site. However, in the case of a kasen and longer forms, I feel that poets and particularly leaders of renku-writing groups should encourage more flexibility, and I discourage lock-step adherance to the formats suggested by the table above. Writing a kasen by strictly following the guidelines above may be satisfactory for beginners, but they will probably succeed more happily by working up their skills at linking and shifting with the shorter formats and then tackling the longer kasen when they have the experience to make good use of the greater freedoms it offers. See "Shorter Renku", at http://haikai.2hweb.net/renku/shorter_renku.html.

Note on the source: An earlier version of this table appears in my book The Haiku Seasons: Poetry of the Natural World (Kodansha, 1997; Stone Bridge Press, 2008), pp. 63-65, where more information is given about the origins of this data in Japanese sources. Copyright © 1996, 2007 William J. Higginson. Aside from temporary copies in a single computer Web browser, this page may only be copied in hard copy, and only for the use of those actively involved in renku composition. All other rights reserved. Please do not make partial copies of this page. Please do not send this Web page as part of an e-mail; rather send just its URL: http://haikai.2hweb.net/renku/kasen/seasons-in-a-kasen.html.

This page first posted 18 November 2007, last updated 18 November 2007.


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