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Haibun

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A Japanese form combining prose (often descriptive or narrative) with a concluding haiku that distills or refracts the prose’s essence.

Detailed Definition
Haibun: A Japanese hybrid form combining prose (often diary-like or travelogue) with a haiku that distills or refracts the prose’s emotional or sensory essence; it emphasizes brevity, immediacy, and the interplay between narrative and poetic insight.
Example
Example in poetry:
Bashō’s “Narrow Road to the Deep North”: haiku + prose travelogue; Modern example: “Morning fog. / I forgot my mother’s voice. / The train carries me north.”; Haibun blends observation with reflection
Additional Notes
Japanese form: prose combined with haiku. Travel diary genre especially. Basho's masterworks. Related: haiku, prose poetry, Japanese forms. Study: prose/poetry relationship and transition.
Also Known As
Prose-haiku hybrid haiku diary mixed-form narrative Japanese prose-poem
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