In the 15th century, a poetic form known as renga grew popular throughout Japan. Then a century later in Japan, a new poetic form called haikai was born. Hokku, the first verse in haikai or renga, was also known as haiku; therefore a new poetic form took shape. Being shorter than renga and haiku, haikai/renga poets started to take a new approach towards poetry.

Haiku has been around for centuries, telling stories of play, laughter, love, and nature. Haiku was created around the late 16th century. Around that time a poet of the name of Basho Matsuo (1644-1694) experimented with haiku. He then became well-known for his haiku and renga. In present day, he is known to be the first great haiku artist of his time. Haiku after Basho died, became less popular in Japan. Haiku artists had to put their heart and soul into their haikus so that once again, haiku would be known as the greatest poetic form in Japan.