Masaoka Shiki

Masaoka Shiki (正岡 子規 Masaoka Shiki; September 17, 1867, Matsuyama - September 19, 1902, Tokyo) was a Japanese author, poet, critic and journalist.

Related Topics:
September 17 - 1867 - Matsuyama - September 19 - 1902 - Tokyo - Japanese author - Poet - Critic - Journalist

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An accomplished haiku poet revered as the last of the four great masters of brief Japanese verse, he is known as a critic of Matsuo Bash? and often credited with single-handedly revitalizing the art form. He was also among a number of poets who helped to revitalize the old waka form, calling it tanka, at the beginning of the 20th Century.

Related Topics:
Haiku - Matsuo Bash? - Waka - Tanka

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Shiki attended college in Tokyo with Natsume Soseki and Akiyama Saneyuki, later dropping out to work as a columnist for the newspaper company Nippon. He suffered from tuberculosis and was cared for in his final days by his mother and sister. With the aid of others, he was able to dictate his final haiku from his futon.

Related Topics:
Natsume Soseki - Akiyama Saneyuki - Tuberculosis - Haiku - Futon

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Shiki claimed that Japanese poetry should be modernized, and coined the terms "haiku" (replacing "hokku") and "tanka" (replacing "waka"). He propounded the use of realism in haiku (which is why he is often called the founder of the realistic group, 写生派), which was the single most significant break from the then conventional and stagnant forms which helped to revive haiku. His contribution as a critic was the rediscovery of Man'yōshū and revaluation of Minamoto no Sanetomo, the third shogun of Kamakura Shogunate and the rehabilitation of opinion on the haiku of Yosa Buson.

Related Topics:
Hokku - Waka - Man'yōshū - Minamoto no Sanetomo - Kamakura Shogunate - Yosa Buson

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