senryu (川柳)
senryu (川柳)
A type of humorous verse, originating in the Edo period (1600-1868), which is composed in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables each. Senryu derived from the practice of maekuzuke (see Zappai),in which customarily a given couplet ( the maeku, or "leading stanza") of 7-7 syllables was capped by a comic 7-5-7 tercet ( the tsukeku, or "capping stanza"). Tsukeku were widely popularized through authologies of anonymous verses selected and published by KARAI SENRYU and came to be appreciated independently of their maeku, eventually becoming known as senryu.
Biginning with Mutamagawa (1750-76), there appeared, without accompanying maeku, a number of collections of tsukeku that had been judged superior in competitions in which the citizens of Edo (now Tokyo) had entered their verses. Yanagidaru(1765), an anthology in this tradition, contained tsukeku that had been solicited and selected by Karai Senryu, according to critical and procedural standards that evoked immense enthusiasm. Subsequently there appeared 22 further collections of Senryu selected by him, and after his death an additional 144 collections by other compilers -all entitled Yanagidaru. The early editions displayed a marked preference for a style similar to that of contemporary zappai poetry ,but Senryu's treatment of tsukeku as independent entities and his willingness to accept superior verses that were unrelated to the assigned maeku went a step beyond Mutamagawa.
The popularity of Yanagidaru series led to an increased emphasis on the independence of the tsukeku, and in his last years Senryu abandoned entirely the use of maeku in competitions. However, the usu of kudai (set topics) as compositional guides contributed to a shift from the light, witty, and realistic sketches of everyday life that had predominated in the early collections to indulgence in bawdy, often obscene humor and extravagant wordplay. Nevertheless senryu survives to this day as a form of satirical poetic amusement and is composed, as in he past, primarily by amateurs.
A type of humorous verse, originating in the Edo period (1600-1868), which is composed in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables each. Senryu derived from the practice of maekuzuke (see Zappai),in which customarily a given couplet ( the maeku, or "leading stanza") of 7-7 syllables was capped by a comic 7-5-7 tercet ( the tsukeku, or "capping stanza"). Tsukeku were widely popularized through authologies of anonymous verses selected and published by KARAI SENRYU and came to be appreciated independently of their maeku, eventually becoming known as senryu.
Biginning with Mutamagawa (1750-76), there appeared, without accompanying maeku, a number of collections of tsukeku that had been judged superior in competitions in which the citizens of Edo (now Tokyo) had entered their verses. Yanagidaru(1765), an anthology in this tradition, contained tsukeku that had been solicited and selected by Karai Senryu, according to critical and procedural standards that evoked immense enthusiasm. Subsequently there appeared 22 further collections of Senryu selected by him, and after his death an additional 144 collections by other compilers -all entitled Yanagidaru. The early editions displayed a marked preference for a style similar to that of contemporary zappai poetry ,but Senryu's treatment of tsukeku as independent entities and his willingness to accept superior verses that were unrelated to the assigned maeku went a step beyond Mutamagawa.
The popularity of Yanagidaru series led to an increased emphasis on the independence of the tsukeku, and in his last years Senryu abandoned entirely the use of maeku in competitions. However, the usu of kudai (set topics) as compositional guides contributed to a shift from the light, witty, and realistic sketches of everyday life that had predominated in the early collections to indulgence in bawdy, often obscene humor and extravagant wordplay. Nevertheless senryu survives to this day as a form of satirical poetic amusement and is composed, as in he past, primarily by amateurs.