Japanese Poetry of Yesterday and Today

Japanese Poetry today uses some of the same principles it used thousands of years ago. Although the structures may have changed, the symbolism and emotions remain. It wasn’t until the 8th Century that Japan developed its own writing scheme. Until then, poetry had been recited orally. Within time, these poems became the foundations for some of the first books in Japan. It took Japanese poets several hundred years to process the impact of their culture and merge it into a traditional form of literature. A new trend came in the middle of the 19th Century, with three major forms of Japanese Poetry.

Haiku, Tanka, and Renga reflect upon daily emotions and nature. Each of these styles is unique because of its structure. Haiku has been around the longest. Being short in length, the structure has changed over time. New Haiku consists of 17 syllables in three lines. It is written to create the feeling of the poet’s emotions and can be written about anything.

Tanka is generally longer than Haiku, and not as well known. Being longer than Haiku, Tanka is often written about a passion in which the poet creates a vivid image of emotions. Renga, is poetry where two or more poets, form one poem. Each poet takes his or her turn at writing a verse. People started to use this form as a game and made a competition out of it. Compared to Haiku, these poems commonly contained one hundred verses. Although Japanese poetry has changed throughout the years, it is still written with vivid emotions.