Senryū (川柳) is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 morae (or on, often translated as syllables, but see the article on onji for distinctions). Senryū tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and senryū are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are more serious. Like haiku, senryū originated as an opening part (hokku) of a larger Japanese poem called renga. Unlike haiku, senryū do not include a kireji (cutting word), and do not generally include a kigo, or season word.

Form and content

Senryū is named after Edo period haikai poet Karai Senryū (柄井川柳), whose collection Haifūyanagidaru (誹風柳多留) launched the genre into the public consciousness. A typical example from the collection: This senryū, which can also be translated "Catching him / I see the robber / is my son," is not so much a personal experience of the author as an example of a type of situation (provided by a short comment called a maeku or fore-verse, which usually prefaces a number of examples) and/or a brief or witty rendition of an incident from history or the arts (plays, songs, tales, poetry, etc.).

Senryū in the United States

The first senryū circle in the United States was reportedly started by Japanese immigrants in Yakima, Washington, during the early 1900s. Over time, other senryū circles were established in Seattle and other Japanese communities in the Pacific Northwest. In 1938, the Los Angeles–based Kashu Mainichi Shimbun published its first senryū section. During the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, senryū was a popular activity in the camps.

English-language senryū publications

In the 1970s, Michael McClintock edited Seer Ox: American Senryu Magazine. In 1993, Michael Dylan Welch edited and published Fig Newtons: Senryū to Go, the first anthology of English-language senryū. Additionally, one can regularly find senryū and related articles in some haiku publications. For example, the World Haiku Review has regularly published senryū. Senryū regularly appear or appeared in the pages of Modern Haiku, Frogpond, Bottle Rockets, Woodnotes, Tundra, Haiku Canada Review, Presence, Blithe Spirit, Kingfisher, and other haiku journals, often unsegregated from haiku.

American Senryū awards

The Haiku Society of America holds the annual Gerald Brady Memorial Award for best unpublished senryū. Previous Winners of the Gerald Brady Memorial Award include: Since about 1990, the Haiku Poets of Northern California has been running a senryū contest, as part of its San Francisco International Haiku and Senryu Contest.

Bibliography and further reading