Waka (poetry)

Waka () or Yamato uta is a genre of Japanese poetry. Waka literally means "Japanese poem" in Japanese. The word waka was originally created by poets during the Heian Period to make clear the difference between native Japanese poetry and the kanshi (, "Chinese poems"). This meant that they put together several different styles, one of them being tanka ( lit. "short poem") and the other chōka ( lit. "long poem"). There are others: bussokusekika ( lit. "rock of the Buddha's footprint poem"), sedōka ( lit. "whirling head poem") and katauta ( lit. "poem fragment").

These last three forms were no longer used at the beginning of the Heian Period, and chōka also disappeared a short time after. So, the term waka came in time to mean the same as tanka. Tanka is a much older form of Japanese poetry than haiku.

Waka did not follow any rules of rhyme, nor line; it was a free style kind of poetry. This can be seen in this example of tanka written by poet Yamanoue no Okura (660 - 733)

   Shirogane mo     What are they to me,   Kogane mo tama mo  Silver, or gold, or jewels?   Nanisen ni     How could they ever   Masareru takara  Equal the greater treasure   Koni shikame yamo  That is a child? They can't.
Hyakunin Isshu

Other websites
Ogura Hyakunin Isshu - 100 Poems by 100 Poets  at University of Virginia Library Japanese Text Initiative
 2001 Waka for Japan 2001 
American Tanka magazine 
Tanka Society of America 
Selected Tanka Bibliography with notes 

Category:Japanese poetry
Category:Poetry forms