Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 26, 2026

Zappai

Zappai (雑俳) is a form of Japanese poetry rooted in haikai. It is related to, but separate from, haiku and senryū. Lee Gurga defines zappai as a form of poetry that "includes all types of seventeen syllable poems that do not have the proper formal or technical characteristics of haiku." The Haiku Society of America mentioned zappai while defining similar forms though their comments were later rebutted by Richard Gilbert and Shinjuku Rollingstone.

Last revised
Jul 26, 2026
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Wikipedia ↗

Zappai (雑俳) is a form of Japanese poetry rooted in haikai. It is related to, but separate from, haiku and senryū. Lee Gurga defines zappai as a form of poetry that "includes all types of seventeen syllable poems that do not have the proper formal or technical characteristics of haiku."1 The Haiku Society of America mentioned zappai while defining similar forms2 though their comments were later rebutted by Richard Gilbert and Shinjuku Rollingstone.3

See also

See also

Notes

Notes

  1. Gurga, Lee. “Toward an Aesthetic for English Language Haiku” in Modern Haiku Vol. XXXI, No. 3 (Fall, 2000)
  2. HSA Definitions
  3. Simply Haiku, vol. 3, iss. 1