Contemporary Tanka Poems on Death

Abstract

Today, we would like to talk about tanka, a form of poetry unique to Japan, particularly about modern tanka dealing with death. First, we will explain what tanka is. Tanka is a form of poetry unique to Japan, composed of 31 syllables (5, 7, 5, 7, 7). This form of poetry was known as waka before the modern era. However, waka and tanka are different. Before the modern era, waka poetry was largely conventional, focusing on tradition, harmony, and techniques within the poem or rules for doing so, as waka poems were sometimes sent by people to each other as a form of greeting.