Kireji: The Cut
📋 What it is
A kireji is a "cutting" pause that splits a haiku into two contrasting images.
🗣️ Coach says
A great haiku often has a tiny hinge — a pause (shown by a dash or line break) that turns the poem, setting two images side by side. This "cut" creates a surprise or a spark between the two halves.
🧠 Memory hook
The "cut" pivots the poem — two images meeting with a pause between them. Contrast makes the spark.
😂 Giggle
Why did the tanka feel like a longer cousin of the haiku?
Because it adds two more lines of seven syllables!
😲 Whoa!
In English haiku, a dash or a line break stands in for the Japanese "kireji" cutting word — a pause you can feel.
✅ Quick check: What does a kireji (the "cut") do in a haiku?
Say your answer out loud first — then reveal.
It pauses and pivots the poem, juxtaposing two images.
The cut divides the haiku into two parts that contrast or resonate.
🧪 Try it! (2 minutes)
Take two unrelated images (an old shoe / a rising moon) and place them with a dash between.