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Name: _________________________________________ Date: _______________
Japanese Poetry Information
This information comes from your textbook, but I picked out some important points to
remember as we read examples of this poetry.
Tanka
 Tanka first appeared in the Manyoshu, which means Collection of Tean Thousand
Leaves. This work was published during the eighth century.
 “Tanka” means “short songs.”
 They express a private emotion or thought. Some common themes include
change, solitude, and love.
 Tanka were very popular, and were often written and exchanged by lovers.
 In translation, the form is sometimes changed in order to provide an accurate
rendition of the original meaning.
 In the original Japanese, each poem has five lines. Three lines contain seven
syllables, and two lines have five syllables.
Haiku
 The haiku form was inspired by the tanka form. It appeared first in the 13th
century, but it was not perfected and popular until the 17th century.
 It is even more brief and condensed; there are only 3 lines. The first line has 5
syllables, the middle line has 7, and the final line has 5.
 Haikus contain simple images, as opposed to the abstract figurative language that
is often found in Western poetry.
 Traditional haikus had two images. The first would suggest timelessness and the
second would represent change. They would be separated from one another by a
single word, called a kireji.
 Sometimes translators alter the form or add a rhyme scheme, but they try to
maintain the essence of the poem.
 Haikus often portray similar or ordinary events or images, which is “inspired by
the Buddhist belief that, through contemplation, anyone can find great
significance in even the humblest of things” (page 751).