There are two types of sentences: prose and verse. Verse, also known as poetry, is a form of writing that has a specific rhythm and follows certain rules. In terms of content, it can be divided into epic poetry, scenic poetry, and lyrical poetry. Epic poetry generally represents the heroic figures, myths, and history of a particular ethnic group in poetic form. While there are many famous epic poems with a long historical background worldwide, it is said that Japan does not have one. Scenic poetry depicts natural landscapes and other subjects as they are, while lyrical poetry contains the author’s emotions, thoughts, and messages. Today’s haiku is a form of scenic poetry, and if it evokes an image in the reader’s mind through the poetic text alone, it can be considered successful. However, recently a new genre called “Shahai” has emerged, which combines haiku with photographs. Since the photograph directly appeals to the reader as a visual image, the power to convey through words alone and the ability to imagine through words alone inevitably become weaker. It’s like the difference between Buson’s haiku accompanied by a nanga painting and Basho’s haiku.

文には散文と韻文があります。韻文とは詩とも呼ばれる、一定のリズムを持ち、一定の規則に則って書き表された文です。内容的には、叙事詩、叙景詩、叙情詩に分けられます。叙事詩は、一般的には民族の英雄や神話、民族の歴史を詩型で表したものです。世界には歴史的にも古く、有名な叙事詩が沢山ありますが、日本には存在しないと言われています。叙景詩は自然の風景などをありのままに描写した詩、叙情詩は作者の心情や思い・メッセージなどが込められた詩とされます。今日の句は叙景詩で、読者に詩文だけでイメージが湧けば一応パスですが、どうでしょう。最近はこうした、俳句に写真を添えた『写俳』が新しいジャンルとして加わりましたが、写真が直截イメージとして読者に訴える為、言葉だけで訴える力、言葉だけでイメージする力がどうしても弱くなります。南画を添えた蕪村の俳句と芭蕉の俳句の違いみたいなものですね。