¡°Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,¡± philosophizes the long-winded Polonius in Shakespeare¡¯s ¡°Hamlet.¡± That¡¯s also a fitting description of ²õ±ð²Ô°ù²â¨± ¡ª a form of short poetry defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as ¡°a three-line unrhymed Japanese poem structurally similar to haiku, but treating human nature usually in an ironic or satiric vein.¡±

Literally meaning ¡°river willow,¡± ²õ±ð²Ô°ù²â¨± is derived from the pen name of one of its early devotees, poet Karai Hachiemon (1718-1790), who wrote as Karai Senry¨± (±ú¾®´¨Áø). His collection of 24 booklets, published from 1765 under the joint title Haifuyanagidaru, helped to popularize the genre.

³§±ð²Ô°ù²â¨± and haiku share the same economical three-line format, composed of five, seven and five morae, a word sometimes rendered in English as ¡°syllable,¡± although that¡¯s not quite correct. As a general rule of thumb, every unit of sound represents one mora, so therefore two vowels occurring in succession, such as in kau or mae, are treated as two morae. Also, a ´ÙÒô (sokuon, double consonant), as indicated in both types of kana by the so-called С¤µ¤¤¡¸¤Ä¡¹ (chiisai tsu, small ¡°tsu¡°) ¡ª such as in ¤Ê¤Ã¤È¤¦ (²Ô²¹³Ù³Ù¨­, fermented soybeans) or ¤ä¤Ã¤Ñ¤ê (yappari, as I thought) ¡ª is counted as one mora. Finally, a sound ending in ¤ó (n), such as üM (men, noodles) is counted as two morae.