The Renku Sessions: Invitation
Hi, everyone,
I’m Kala Ramesh from India, and I will be your sabaki for this renku. Thanks to John for inviting me to lead this renku.
Junicho – 12-verse renku (linked verses)
You’ve already done a lot of linked verses here, at THF, so I’ll keep my notes brief.
Link and shift:
The basis of any renku is link and shift, a concept that’s difficult to grasp, but it’s no rocket science!
The easiest way to explain it is to call the verse being composed F. It:
- Must link in some way (it may be intuitive only) to the verse directly preceding it (E) but …
- Must shift away from the verse before that (D).
Junicho is a short renku of just 12 verses.
1. It is a single-sheet poem.
- Seasons play an important role in Junicho, as in all other renku. Spring and autumn each take two verses. Summer and winter take one each. Blossom verse – one. We’ll have 2 love verses because it’s a shorter renku. In a conventional longer renku, there are 3 love verses.
- And because I’m an Indian and the monsoon is both a loved and a much-feared season for us, lasting almost three months a year, I have included a monsoon verse!
- Generally, a longer renku will follow – jo-ha-kyu, with three divisions within the entire composition. It’s not compulsory in junicho.
More for practice and to understand the relevance of these divisions, in this Junicho, (which means ‘12-tone’), I’ll be using the jo-ha-kyu movements, roughly split into 3-6-3.
Jo – is the introduction. We loosen up and relax. We don’t get into religion, use foreign words, or anything that needs the dictionary or Google. (first 3 verses)
Ha – here we go deeper into the poem – detailed delineation – wider and more expansive (next 6 verses)
Kyu – a rapid close. Short, brisk lines (last 3 verses)
Junicho is the simplest form of renku and a good place to polish your link and shift technique, write season and non-season verses, and understand group dynamics.
Please remember that all renku follow the format of 3 lines, followed by 2 lines, and so on. No change in that.
Since it is now spring, I set the schema to begin with spring.
Junicho: a twelve-verse renku (collaborative poetry)
Save it in your file.
Schema:
hokku – spring blossom
wakiku – spring
daisan – cut away verse – no season (ns)
4 short – ns
5 long – summer
6 short – love ns
7 long – love winter
8 short – ns
9 long – end summer (monsoon in India!)
10 short – ns
11 long – autumn moon
12 short – ageku – autumn
*Please remember: you need to offer blossom, moon, love, season verses and so on, only during the particular slots given in the schema.
Next week, we’ll begin our renku.
For verses that require a kigo (formal season word or phrase) we will be using The Five Hundred Essential Japanese Season Words:
https://thehaikufoundation.org/omeka/items/show/821
Call for the first verse – hokku.
Please note: hokku is the only verse in renku, which is a haiku (as you all know it) – three lines with punctuation (to show a kire – the cut).
- I want three offers from each poet.
- Post all three offers together (if possible!), for it would be easier for me to gather them.
- The hokku (a three-line poem) must have at least 13 or 14 syllables. I want a full-bodied verse.
- Please check the schema. Don’t mention the moon, other seasons, or love. They all have a slot coming up later.
- It’s a spring blossom verse. In renku, a blossom is usually a flowering tree, but we go easy in Junicho. Any blossom will do.
And, most of all, have fun!
I’ll wait for your offers. The window closes every Monday, and my selection, along with the requirements for the next verse, will be posted here every Thursday.
Your sabaki,
_kala
THF strives to maintain a safe and friendly environment for our readers and site participants. Participation in our offerings assumes respectful and appropriate behavior of all parties. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, for any reason, at any time.
If you see something you feel may violate our Code of Conduct, please report it to the appropriate moderator or the President here.
