Haikai as the Missing Link? Changes in Japanese Linked Verse Manuscript Practice in Times of Transition

• Applicant: Dr. Heidi Buck-Albulet
• Subject Area: Asian Studies ; General and Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 563308066

This project explores written artefacts in Japanese renga poetry, a poetic form jointly composed by several people. It focuses on innovations that occurred during two phases of transition: the 16th/17th century on the one hand and contemporary practice since the 1980s on the other. The first phase of transition was marked by the emergence of a subgenre, the haikai no renga, as a result of which the tradition of classical orthodox renga began to erode. It almost disappeared completely in the late 19th century. In the second phase of transition, beginning in the 1980s, classical orthodox renga saw a revival again. The starting point of this project is the assumption that one of the strategies for the success of the revival movement was filling the gaps in tradition by borrowing from haikai no renga and thereby modernising processes that were no longer up to date. In particular, this involved different ways of using paper as a medium for interaction and recording poetry. Thus, haikai no renga can be considered a ‘missing link’ by which contemporary practices of classical renga can be explained. At the time of its emergence, haikai no renga had adopted the manuscript practices of classical renga, but then introduced new paper formats, ultimately enabling the innovative practices on which contemporary renga would later build. These developments will be systematically recorded, analysed and presented in this study. The project will contribute significantly to the elucidation of the material conditions of Japanese literary history and break new ground in haikai research, in particular. Two aspects suggest that the topic is also relevant to the sociology of culture and religion: Firstly, producing poetry in a group was a particularly popular pastime in the medieval and early modern periods and it was one of the communal arts that played a significant role in shaping Japanese ‘civility’, i.e., civilised interaction. Secondly, linked verse has always had a strong connection with the religious (sacred) sphere, especially regarding the culture of making votive offerings. The project will contribute to the preservation of both tangible and intangible aspects of Japanese cultural heritage by exploring previously untapped sources. In terms of methodology, it will employ a variety of approaches, ranging from the philological and manuscriptological analysis of original artefacts and facsimiles to the evaluation of poetic rule books and comparative field research in contemporary poetry circles. Manuscripts will not only be considered as objects in the practices of ritual performance, however. Rather, it can be assumed that they helped to shape the processes and dynamics of change at the poets’ meetings in the sense of agency. With its focus on material history, the project also promises to offer a new perspective on the genesis of Japan’s most popular lyric genre, the haiku, which emerged from the haikai no renga.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Japan
• Cooperation Partners: Professor Kazuhito Hiroki; Dr. Yoshiho Kobayashi; Professorin Chika Ozaki