Today I shall write a gogyohshi about my daughter who is visiting. Then for NaHaiWriMo I shall write a haiku extracted from the gogyohshi.
Gogyohshi
Daughter’s Visit
it is yet early
my daughter sleeps soundly
soon she will awaken
we shall have coffee together
sharing the whole day
Haiku
sleeping daughter – smiles in the sunlight
Taro Aizu and I have been sharing and communicating on Facebook. I have been learning from him. As I have earlier mentioned he is from Fukushima. When I read his story of Fukushima about his home, his loss, his disaster, the whole tragedy of Fukushima came much closer to me. His story was written in a combination of prose and gogyohshi poetry. Initially I did not know this. Being a beginner with Japanese poetry I thought perhaps that he had written a haibun, even though I knew that it included no haiku. Perhaps prose and tanka, I thought to myself. But no, Taro informed me that it was a poetry form called gogyohshi. I love this form as it has only one restriction, that of 5 lines. Otherwise it is a free form poem … right up my alley. Below is the explanation of what a gogyohshi is, copy and pasted from Taro Aizu’s comment to me on Facebook that can be found here: Taro Aizu has just shared with me the WiKi article on gogyohshi, spelled differently. He also has a gogyohshi poem in the wiki article found here. His poem is beautiful and so very sad.
In the words of Taro Aizu Gogyohshi is:
What is Gogyohshi?
Gogyohshi is a poem written in five lines. Writing a poem in five lines is
its only rule. The content of gogyohshi is free, its themes are chosen by the
poet. There are other five-line poetries in the world, for example, gogyohka,
tanka, cinquain, and limerick. These poetries have certain rules such as number
of permitted syllables, line lengths, and rhyme. Gogyohshi has no such rules.
It is the freest form of five-line poetry in the world.
But gogyohshi doesn’t permit to be written in 4 or 6 lines, though gogyohka
occasionally permits this. Gogyohshi is written only in five lines. If the
poem is written in four lines, we should call it “Yongyohshi”meaning a poem
written in four lines. If the poem is written in six lines, you should call it
“Rokugyohshi” meaning a poem written in six lines.
As for a title, some Japanese poets add it to gogyohshi and others don’t.I will
always add a title to my Japanese and English gogyohshi because I can’t tell one
gogyohshi from the other. If I add it to my many gogyohshi, I will be able to tell
them apart. I will write a short title in all capital letters so that readers don’t
misunderstand the title as one line of 6 lines poetry. Gogyohshi is for me 5 lines
poetry with a short title. But it isn’t the same as cinquain because it has no
syllabic restraints unlike cinquain.
While Gogyohka is trademarked in Japan, gogyohshi is not so. Because gogyohshi
doesn’t belong to any special person but to everyone. Most Japanese gogyohka poets
belong to gogyohka groups and follow the leaders of such groups. Most gogyohshi
poets do not belong to any group and write as they please. In conclusion, among
world five-line poetries, gogyohshi is closest to gogyohka in form. The primary
differences between them lie in gogyohshi’s adherence to the rule of 5-line. Adding
a title to them depends on the poet. A gogyohshi poet has no rule except writing
a poem in five lines. This is a Declaration of Gogyohshi.
noh where 
I loved the gogyohshi about your daughter Liz. 🙂 Once again, I’ve learned something new–and I love it! Free form is so me! LOL
Thanks Jeannie – I love anything freeform.
Hi, Jeannie
Gogyohshi is very free !
Why don’t you try it ?
Lovely daughter-poems, kiddo. So wonderful to have them near, isnt it? Enjoy. I love hearing about your friendship with Taro Aizu. Someone right there on the ground where such disaster befell him. Somehow, in your haiku explorations and this friendship with him, I suspect you just may have a Japanese soul 🙂 Does he have a blog, Liz?
My friend, funny that you should ask. He has attempted to comment here without any luck (no I do not need to approve him and he is not in my spam). He has also attempted to send me a link to his own blog but with out success. Thank you. (((hugs)))
Hi, Raven, I’ve succeeded in posting my comments here at last ! This is my blog,” The Lovely Earth ” written in English, French and Japanese. Please take a look at it.
http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/lovelyearth_mont/folder/165371.html
Taro,
That is good! I like the name of your blog. I have enjoyed a number of your posts on your blog. The photography is beautiful. I just revisited your blog. I am glad that you could sigh on.
Hope you have a wonderful time with your daughter. The sentiments of your gogyohshi and haiku are beautiful. The haiku is short but effectively communicates peace, contentment and love.
What an interesting post about this form. Thank you for sharing it. 🙂
Ravenblack … I am. It is such a treat, I am so very happy to have her here. (((hugs))).
very cool…i did not know about this form…and it def seems like something i could do….hope you enjoyed that coffee and are having fun with your dau…smiles at the haiku…that was warm and made me smile.
This is great, Liz … quite interesting. Do enjoy your visit with your daughter … she will get you back into the swing of things — good medicine! 😀
You’ve gifted me in many ways here–a taste of envy because I’d love to see my mother, knowledge of gogyohshi of which I’m not familiar, and a chance at a new friend and teacher in Taro Aizu. I found him on FB. Now to find you. 😉 Happiest of days and visits to you and your daughter.
Thank you so, friend, thank you so.
Hi, Yousei Hime
I’m Taro Aizu. If you have no knowledge about gogyoshi, please click “gogyoshi” in Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gogy%C5%8Dshi
So many interesting things here. (Do I sense more energy? Ah, when our children come it is healing and energizing. The Gogyohshi is beautifully homey, and I like that you also shared your experience with your FB friend.
Have a beautiful day, dear Liz.
… and this would be Jamie make a visit. 😉 – forgot to sign.
I know … ;). Thank you. I feel just GREAT and how right you are about my child! It was lovely.
sleeping daughter – smiles in the sunlight….this is just awesome… and coffee and sharing the day together is both..so basic in a way and so breath-takingly special..
Thank you Claudia … it has been a while since we have been together … especially just us. It was wonderful.
reminds me of when i visited my best friend from high school and we sat around drinking tea and making cookies.
😉 … thank you zongrik.
Hi, Liz and everyone,
I’m Taro Aizu from Japan.
Liz’s gogyohshi is lovely as it expresses a happy friendship between the mother and her daughter quietly. Gogyohshi is the simplest and freest form of all five-line poetry such as tanka, cinquain and limerick. I’ll introduce my representative gogyohshi to you because it will be published in an anthology of five-line poetry in English in May. This is one of the best 300 of five-line poems of 18,000 in 2011 which American,British, Australian, Canadian and New Zealander editors chose.
MOTHER’S DAY
Picking ten pink roses
from our garden
I float them secretly
in the bathtub
for Mother’s Day.
This is a most thoughtful, loving gift of roses for “MOTHER’S DAY” and shared with your WordPress friends in gogyohshi form. Congratulations on your poem having been selected as one in 300 out of 18,000 from 5 countries to be published in a May 2012 five-line poetry anthology…
Thank you Lindy Lee for your comments. It is not I who won awards it was Taro Aizu … who taught me about gogyohsi who has won awards.
Standing corrected but still think you write quite well, too…
Thank you so much. I am studying haiku which I love. And also gogyohshi for it’s free form.
Thank you for this educational “Declaration of Gogyohshi” and your poem, “Daughter’s Visit”…