Learn haiku
Haiku Journal has published haiku since 2008. These guides gather what we have learned from reading tens of thousands of them: the form, the craft, the history, and enough examples to teach the ear. Start anywhere.
What Is Haiku?
The short answer, and the form we honor: three lines, 5-7-5, no title, no explanation.
Read → WritingHow to Write a Haiku
A beginner-friendly, step-by-step method: notice, count, name a season, cut what explains.
Read → The FormHaiku Format & Rules
The 5-7-5 syllable structure, why it is seventeen, and how the count differs in Japanese.
Read → ExamplesHaiku Examples
Classic haiku from Basho, Buson, and Issa, plus modern haiku from our own archive.
Read → The CraftKigo: Season Words
The image that roots a haiku in a time of year, with a season-word list for all four seasons.
Read → The CraftKireji: The Cutting Word
The pause that divides a haiku into two images, and how English marks it with a dash.
Read → KindsHaiku or Senryu?
Same 5-7-5 shape, different gaze: nature and season, or human nature and wit.
Read → HistoryA Short History of Haiku
From linked verse to Basho, Buson, and Issa, and how the form came into English.
Read →