A haiku by Buson Sudden Shower does it follow the traditional syllable division for haiku?Butterfly sleeping- on the temple bell. Sudden shower -a flock of sparrows clinging to the grasses Before the white Chrysanthemums the scissors hesitate a moment.

Answer 1

I've never studied or taught Haiku, but this may be of some help:

http://www.ahapoetry.com/keirule.htm

Answer 2

Although Taniguchi Buson (Yosa) was a master of haiku, he also wrote longer poems, influenced both by Japanese and Chinese classics. Having studied and taught haiku in AP/IB Spanish classes, my students wrote some marvelous ones. The theme is usually about nature (the seasons)and the poem consists of 3 metrical lphrases with 5, 7, 5 "beats." Because Buson was a painter in addition to a poet, his haiku "paint" a mental image.

The website Writeacher is one of the best, explaining the difference between Japanese and English haiku.

Sra

Answer 3

P.S. The best way for me to explain "haiku" is with an example by the great master, Matsuo Basho:
tabi ni yande (5)
yume wa kareno o (7)
kakemeguru (5)

Now look at the translation in English. It can not follow the same meter:
Sick on a journey (5)
dreams roam about (4)
on a withered moon (5)

Hopefully you will get to read haiku in Japanese!

Sra