How to write Tanka poetry and my favourite Japanese Tanka poems

Ancient Japanese love letters

A long time ago, Japanese aristocrats expressed their passion for love by exchanging Tanka poems. If you are an English writer or reader, you might be more familiar with Haiku, which is another Japanese poetry style, rather than Tanka. However, if you want to talk or listen about love, Tanka poetry is another inspiring literature style.

Compared with Haiku poetry, the history of Tanka is much longer. The earliest one was written in ‘Kojiki,’ — the earliest extant chronicle in Japan(712AD).

八雲立つ 出雲八重垣 妻籠みに 八重垣作る その八重垣を

Layers of cloud in the sky I am here, ‘Izumo’ country to protect my sweet wife I will make layers of fences eight layered surrounding our home

This Tanka poem was supposed to be created by Susano’o-no-mikoto (須佐之男命), one of the Shinto gods.

Because of its long history, Tanka poetry has been more diverse than Haiku poetry. The Tanka poets preference has changed from time to time.

Generally speaking, Tanka poetry is more flexible than Haiku poetry. You can talk about any kind of things and emotions in Tanka poems. It is also suitable when you write about love.

How to write Tanka poetry

1. Basic syllable structure: 5–7–5–7–7

Tanka poetry has the 5–7–5–7–7 syllable (more precisely, I should say ‘mora’ rather than syllable) structure written in 5 lines. Each Tanka poem has to have 31 syllables in total.

In Japanese Tanka poetry, although its syllable (mora) structure is essential, there are some exceptions. For example, Tanka poems with 32 syllables are called ‘Ji-amari’ (literally meaning ‘too many letters’), and the ones with 30 syllables are called ‘Ji-tarazu’ (meaning ‘not enough letters’). Interestingly, there are also Tanka poems with 5–7–7–5–7 structure, not 5–7–5–7–7.

However, as I previously mentioned, Haiku poetry doesn’t always have to have 5–7–5 syllables when you write it in English, Tanka poetry may not have to follow this rule strictly. It is because the beauty of Japanese mora doesn’t necessarily work as well as with English syllables. You just need to remember that Tanka poetry should be composed in the rhythm of ‘short, long, short, long, long’ in 5 lines.

I recommend reading your Tanka poems out loud after you have written them. The sound and rhythm are one of the most enjoyable parts of Tanka poetry.

2. The motif of Tanka poetry

I said that people talked about love in Tanka poetry, but you can also write about various things, such as life, nature, the seasons, emotions, events and so on. There are not many Haiku poems about love or strong emotions, but you can motif anything in Tanka poetry. That may be one of the reasons why Tanka poetry has been loved for so long.

3. Seasonal word is not needed

Haiku poetry is supposed to have a seasonal word (when it’s written in Japanese), but you don’t have to have it in a Tanka poem. You can still write about the season in Tanka though.

My favourite Tanka poems

Below, I have highlighted some of my favourite Tanka pieces which were originally written in Japanese, with their English translation.

ひとはいさ心もしらずふるさとは花ぞ昔の香ににほひける

do not know about people’s thinking however, flowers in hometown smell the same as oldtime

by Ki no Tsurayuki 紀貫之 (872–945)

Ki no Tsurayuki visited the country town where he had often been, after a long time without visiting. The owner of the guesthouse sarcastically said to him, “It has been a long time since I saw you, though our place has been here the same as before.” Ki no Tsurayuki picked up some plum flowers and responded with this Tanka poem.

のど赤き 玄鳥ふたつ屋梁(はり)にゐて 垂乳根の母は死にたまふなり

two swallows with red throats sitting on the beam my mother has just passed away

by Mokichi Saitō 斎藤茂吉 (1882–1953)

Mokichi Saitō loved using the term ‘red’ in his poems. In this piece, the two swallows and his mother’s death don’t have any direct relationship. Still, the image is vivid and it makes this piece very impressive.

はたらけど はたらけど猶(なほ)わが生活(くらし) 楽にならざりぢっと手を見る

I work, and work, still, my life never become easy I stare at my hands

by Takuboku Ishikawa 石川啄木 (1886–1912)

Takuboku Ishikawa had to work hard to take care of his wife, daughter, and his parents when he wrote this Tanka poem, even though he was sick. Because of too much work, he passed away two years after this poem was written at the age of 26.

あしひきの山鳥の尾のしだり尾のながながし夜をひとりかも寝む

like a tail of mountain pheasant hanging down, a long long night I’m sleeping alone

by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro 柿本人麻呂(660–724)

‘山鳥(yamadori)’ is a type of pheasant which has a long tail. A night as long as the tail of pheasant, he was sleeping without lovers. This piece doesn’t suggest a particular season, but for Japanese people, ‘a long night’ means an ‘autumn night,’ so we could say this Tanka poem was created in autumn.

熟田津(にぎたづ)に船乗りせむと月待てば潮(しほ)もかなひぬ今は漕ぎ出(い)でな

at ‘Nigitadu’ port to go to the sea waiting for moon, tide is calm down now, let’s row out

by Princess Nukata 額田王 (630–690)

This poem literally is telling about the departure of the ship. Furthermore, this piece also meant wishing a safe cruise.

くれなゐの二尺伸びたる薔薇(ばら)の芽の針やはらかに春雨のふる

red coloured two feet high buds of roses and its thorns gentle spring rain

by Masaoka Shiki 正岡子規 (1867–1902)

Masaoka Shiki is describing a piece of scenery in spring. The readers are driven as if we were following the author’s camera. The term ‘gentle (やはらかに) is not clear whether it is describing ‘thorns’ or ‘spring rain’ or both.

やは肌のあつき血潮にふれも見でさびしからずや道を説く君

my soft skin with warm blood you never touch don’t feel lonely? just talk about life

by Yosano Akiko 与謝野晶子 (1878–1942)

Yosano Akiko is a famous poet who wrote about identity and sexual passion of women in the era when it was difficult for women to express themselves. This piece has different explanations depending on the critic. Overall, it’s saying, “I have a passion of love under my soft and warm skin. You never even touch me and only talk about the future of literature and poetry. Don’t you want me at all?” Her husband was also a poet, by the way.

君かへす朝の鋪石さくさくと雪よ林檎の香のごとくふれ

you are leaving on stones in this morning snow is falling as crisp as apple’s aroma

by 北原白秋 Hakushū Kitahara (1885–1942)

This poem is talking about the morning when Hakushū Kitahara’s lover was leaving for home. In Japanese, ‘さくさく(crisp or crunchy)’ reflects the sound of eating apples or walking on snow. The author’s lover whom he was talking about in this poem has a husband, which means they were having a secret affair. Hakushū Kitahara was sued by this relationship later on.

子どもらと 見上げる宙に 放つ夢 ひかり尾を引き 轟きわたる

with children look upon night sky shooting dreams trace their shining tails then, roaring around

by 松岡弥美 HIROMI MATSUOKA in Sense of the seasons(Medium)

This is written by one of the Japanese poets on Medium. Did you notice she is writing about a firework in summer? (if not, you can blame my English translation) A firework goes up with a long tail and then blooms widely in the sky. In her context, it’s a metaphor for children’s dreams.

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