haikaiTALKS: Japanese aesthetics - fuga no makoto - a saturday gathering_under the banyan tree
host: Kala Ramesh
2nd December 2023
Japanese aesthetics: Fuga no Makoto
We repeat this nuance for one more week.
Fuga No Makoto means truth, sincerity and honesty which a haiku poet needs to aim at when writing poems.
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“When Basho talks about fuga no makoto, this is normally interpreted as poetic sincerity. However, makoto also means truths, or true words, or true things. … In terms of poets, makoto is that which springs from their magokoro (true heart, or soul). Haiku is certainly capable of (local, particular) truths. Sometimes it is capable of universal truths and that is when great haiku poems are born.
Poetic truths, then, must be a criterion against which inferior and dubious haiku poems can be weeded out. Haiku is part of the haiku poet’s way of life. Haiku is partly what he or she is. If he or she is not truthful his or her haiku cannot be good poetry. In today’s climate where haiku values are confused, it is important for us to go back to such stringent criterion as poetic truths.”
Melissa Allen
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First post: Optional You search and find a haiku that you think has Fuga no Makoto.
You'll give your reason/s why you think it has this aesthetic nuance. Second post: This will be your first haiku with Fuga no Makoto
Third post:
This will be your second haiku with Fuga no Makoto
Please give your feedback on others' commentary and poems too. _()_
Have fun! Keep writing and commenting!