Simple
paintings which accompany and interact with the 17-syllable poetic verse
called haiku 俳句. Haiga is thought to have been first created
during the Meiji period, although the combining of painting and poetry dates
to the 17c. The paintings, like their poetic counterparts, are brief and
suggestive, generally portrayed with only minimal ink brush strokes or light
color. The subjects interplay with the verses and the viewer's interpretation
of their meanings. Matsuo Bashou 松尾芭蕉 (1664-94), Morikawa Kyoroku 森川許六 (1656-1715),
Sakaki Hyakusen 彭城百川 (1698-1753) and Yosa Buson 与謝蕪村 (1716-83) are a few of
the outstanding early practitioners of this art.
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