Mitsumono

What

Meaning 'three objects' or perhaps 'three emotions', Mitsumono is a traditional exercise. The three elements to be composed are normally hokku, wakiku and daisan.

In the historic literature the first three verses of any folio were afforded special significance to the extent that, in the case of very long compositions of a thousand verses or more, there are instances where only the initial trios of any given sheet were deemed worthy of preservation. Whereas the term mitsumono may therefore be applied to the first three verses of any folio, for the purpose of this exercise it is taken to mean the first three verses of a Kasen or similar type of sequence.

How

One or more poets compose hokku, wakiku and daisan as if for a sequence to be completed in full.

Where only one or two poets participate this exercise may be combined with wakiokori - the adopted hokku being that of a past master or other poet of acknowledged merit.

Resources

Poets who wish to adopt a hokku by a past master will find some materials under the heading 'Wakiokori'.

This exercise demands an understanding of the particular compositional requirements of hokku, wakiku and daisan. Persons new to these terms should refer to the article 'Beginnings and Endings' elsewhere in Renku Reckoner. Some aspects of the grammatical structure of English-language renku verses are discussed in the article 'Cut or Uncut?'. The jo-ha-kyu pacing and tonal conventions are discussed under the heading 'A Dynamic Movement'.

	Exercises: Mitsumono hokku, wakiku and daisan 2010 revision
What Meaning 'three objects' or perhaps 'three emotions', Mitsumono is a traditional exercise. The three elements to be composed are normally hokku, wakiku and daisan. In the historic literature the first three verses of any folio were afforded special significance to the extent that, in the case of very long compositions of a thousand verses or more, there are instances where only the initial trios of any given sheet were deemed worthy of preservation. Whereas the term mitsumono may therefore be applied to the first three verses of any folio, for the purpose of this exercise it is taken to mean the first three verses of a Kasen or similar type of sequence.
How One or more poets compose hokku, wakiku and daisan as if for a sequence to be completed in full. Where only one or two poets participate this exercise may be combined with wakiokori - the adopted hokku being that of a past master or other poet of acknowledged merit.
Resources Poets who wish to adopt a hokku by a past master will find some materials under the heading 'Wakiokori'. This exercise demands an understanding of the particular compositional requirements of hokku, wakiku and daisan. Persons new to these terms should refer to the article 'Beginnings and Endings' elsewhere in Renku Reckoner. Some aspects of the grammatical structure of English-language renku verses are discussed in the article 'Cut or Uncut?'. The jo-ha-kyu pacing and tonal conventions are discussed under the heading 'A Dynamic Movement'.
Comments For the purposes of this exercise poets may compose a hokku in any season. What consequences does the choice of season have for the setting of the wakiku, and of daisan? Are there any instances in the 'classical' style of Shomon haikai-no-renga in which wakiku takes a different season to the hokku, or is non-season? And what about the third verse, daisan? Might any of these verses be expected to take a principal fixed topic such as moon or blossom? If so, would any particular season be more likely to favour their respective appearance, and would any verse position be seen as more conducive? Might we expect either moon or blossom to appear in association with a non-season verse? And might love be expected to put in an appearance in this first three? In so far as the hokku for a formal sequence might code for a performative function such as a greeting or augury is it necessary or desirable that all hokku should? Where a performative subtext is present in the hokku is wakiku obliged to respond in kind? And what about daisan? Where such responses are deemed appropriate what would be their nature? Given that this exercise focuses on the 'classical' approach to renku, what does the concept of jo-ha-kyu entail for the initial trio of verses? What type of tonal and topical exclusions were typical of the Edo period? What was the purpose of these exclusions, and what might a similar category embrace in the particular cultural ambit of the contemporary poet? Hokku and daisan are referred to as 'long' verses, wakiku as 'short'. Do these terms simply describe the number of lines a stanza is written upon? If the hokku is described as a cut verse, what exactly does the word 'cut' mean, and may all of these first three verses be 'cut'? What is the significance of the Japanese convention that daisan ends with a verb taking a 'te' ending? And were it desirable to do so, how might this feature of daisan be emulated in English? In respect of the core generative dynamic of 'link and shift', what is the obligation placed upon daisan that obtains for neither hokku nor wakiku? Is this exercise easier to complete where the individual poet writes all three verses? Are two poets better? Or three? Why?
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