Karai, Senryū, 1718-1790

Karai Senryū (柄井 川柳, 1718 – October 30, 1790), whose real name is Karai Hachiemon (柄井 八右衛門) was a Japanese poet and poetry judge (tenja). He popularized a form of poetry similar to haiku called senryū, which is named after him. "Senryū" was the nickname that he adopted when he started judging poetry, and other poetry judges after him also adopted this name. The word senryū means "river willow" in Japanese.