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Saturday, April 14, 2007

Japanese Tanka


Botanical name: Wisteria (Japanese) violet (light purple) [Fuji]
The language of flowers: ecstatically happy, (ecstatic about love) (deeply in love) (feel nostalgic about...) (fondly-remembered ) etc.....



--- What is Japanese Tanka? ---

Tanka - a Japanese poem of thirty-one syllables.
"Tanka" are 31-syllable poems in Japan for at least 1300 years. Almost 90% are tanka in the "Manyoshu"(万葉集). So "Tanka" has a longer history than "Haiku".

How to write and compose a Tanka poem? (in Japanese languages)
The Tanka poem is a traditional poem, simplicity, succinct and reflects nature with in your heart or the thought.

Example - *blue words are Romanization.
In illustration of this background [in 5-7-5 7-7 syllabic form] - a stanza of two verses.
*****************************************************
the first line

the second line
*****************************************************
*This more complete phrase mean
"Recollections sparkle permanently, and those things run repeatedly inside of my heart." or "Memories are everlasting sparkle those many images came and went in my mind's eye.", either sentence as you like.
However, I cannot express in English words how profound tanka of Japanese minds are. Japanese tanka does not easily translate into foreign languages.


  • (American Tanka publishes tanka of five lines) - using about 20 to 30 English syllables in 5 lines. (English language tanka poetry.)
  • Haiku - a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables[in 5-7-5 syllabic form]
Tanka by Mari
Y0Y0Y0Y0Y0Y0Y0Y0Y0Y0Y0Y0Y0Y0Y0Y0Y0Y0Y 

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