Imayō

Japanese poetry is poetry typical of Japan, or written, spoken, or chanted in the Japanese language, which includes Old Japanese, Early Middle Japanese, Late Middle Japanese, and Modern Japanese, as well as poetry in Japan which was written in the Chinese language or ''ryūka'' from the Okinawa Islands: it is possible to make a more accurate distinction between Japanese poetry written in Japan or by Japanese people in other languages versus that written in the Japanese language by speaking of Japanese-language poetry. Much of the literary record of Japanese poetry begins when Japanese poets encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang dynasty (although the Chinese classic anthology of poetry, ''Shijing'', was well known by the literati of Japan by the 6th century). Under the influence of the Chinese poets of this era Japanese began to compose poetry in Chinese ('' kanshi''); and, as part of this tradition, poetry in Japan tended to be intimately associated with pictorial painting, partly because of the influence of Chinese arts, and the tradition of the use of ink and brush for both writing and drawing. It took several hundred years to digest the foreign impact and make it an integral part of Japanese culture and to merge this '' kanshi'' poetry into a Japanese language literary tradition, and then later to develop the diversity of unique poetic forms of native poetry, such as '' waka'', ''haikai'', and other more Japanese poetic specialties. For example, in the ''Tale of Genji'' both ''kanshi'' and ''waka'' are frequently mentioned. The history of Japanese poetry goes from an early semi-historical/mythological phase, through the early Old Japanese literature inclusions, just before the Nara period, the Nara period itself (710 to 794), the Heian period (794 to 1185), the Kamakura period (1185 to 1333), and so on, up through the poetically important Edo period (1603 to 1867, also known as "Tokugawa") and modern times; however, the history of poetry often is different from socio-political history.

Japanese poetry forms

Since the middle of the 19th century, the major forms of Japanese poetry have been ''tanka'' (the modern name for '' waka''), ''haiku'' and ''shi'' or western-style poetry. Today, the main forms of Japanese poetry include both experimental poetry and poetry that seeks to revive traditional ways. Poets writing in tanka, haiku and shi may seldom write poetry other than in their specific chosen form, although some active poets are eager to collaborate with poets in other genres. The history of Japanese poetry involves both the evolution of Japanese as a language, the evolution of Japanese poetic forms, and the collection of poetry into anthologies, many by imperial patronage and others by the "schools" or the disciples of famous poets (or religion, in the case of the '' Bussokusekika''). The study of Japanese poetry is complicated by the social context within which it occurred, in part because of large scale political and religious factors such as clan politics or Buddhism, but also because the collaborative aspect which has often typified Japanese poetry. Also, much of Japanese poetry features short verse forms, often collaborative, which are then compiled into longer collections, or else are interspersed within the prose of longer works. Older forms of Japanese poetry include '' kanshi'', which shows a strong influence from Chinese literature and culture.

''Kanshi''

'' Kanshi'' literally means "Han poetry" and it is the Japanese term for Chinese poetry in general as well as the poetry written in Chinese by Japanese poets. ''Kanshi'' from the early Heian period exists in the '' Kaifūsō'' anthology, compiled in 751.

''Waka''

'' Waka'' is a type of poetry in classical Japanese literature. Unlike ''kanshi'', ''waka'' refers to poetry composed in Japanese. ''Waka'' is sometimes also used in the more specific and restrictive sense of poetry which is in Japanese and which is also in the ''tanka'' form. The anthology preserves from the eighth century 265 '' chōka'' (long poems), 4,207 ''tanka'' (short poems), one ''tan-renga'' (short connecting poem), one '' bussokusekika'' (a poem in the form 5–7–5–7–7–7; named for the poems inscribed on the Buddha's footprints at Yakushi-ji in Nara), four ''kanshi'' (Chinese poems), and 22 Chinese prose passages. However, by the time of the tenth-century '' Kokinshū'' anthology, ''waka'' had become the standard term used for short poems of the ''tanka'' form, until more recent times.

''Tanka''

''Tanka'' is poetry of 31 characters. It is written in the rhythm of 5-7-5-7-7 in Japanese. The ''tanka'' form has shown some modern revival in popularity. As previously stated, it used to be called waka.

Collaborative verse

Much traditional Japanese poetry was written as the result of a process of two or more poets contributing verses to a larger piece, such as in the case of the ''renga'' form. Typically, the "honored guest" composing a few beginning lines, often in the form of the ''hokku'' (which, as a stand-alone piece, eventually evolved into the haiku). This initial sally was followed by a stanza composed by the "host." This process could continue, sometimes with many stanzas composed by numerous other "guests", until the final conclusion. Other collaborative forms of Japanese poetry also evolved, such as the ''renku'' ("linked-verse") form. In other cases, the poetry collaborations were more competitive, such as with '' uta-awase'' gatherings, in which Heian period poets composed ''waka'' poems on set themes, with a judge deciding the winner(s).

Haiku

''Haiku'' is a short verse genre written in one line in Japanese and commonly three lines in English and other languages. It has achieved significant global popularity, having been adapted from Japanese into many other languages. Typical of Japanese haiku is the metrical pattern of 5, 7, and 5 '' on'' (also known as morae). Other features include the juxtaposition of two images or ideas with a '' kireji'' ("cutting word") between them, and a ''kigo'', or seasonal reference, usually drawn from a '' saijiki'', or traditional list of such words. Many haiku are objective in their depiction of personal experiences.

Japanese poetry anthologies

Much of Japanese poetry has been transmitted historically through published anthologies, many of them with imperial patronage. Important collections are the , , ''Shin Kokin Wakashū'', and the .

Early history and prehistory

The history of Japanese poetry is tied to the history of Japanese literature, that is in the purely historical sense of having extant written records. However, the early pre-history and mythology of Japan involve or include some references to poetry. And, the earliest preserved works in the Japanese language also preserve some previous poetry from this earlier period.

Mythology

According to Japanese mythology, poetry began, not with people, but with the celestial deities, the goddess Izanami and the god Izanagi. They were said to have walked around the world pillar, and encountered each other. The goddess spoke first, saying the following verse:

::::::''What joy beyond compare''
::::::''To see a man so fair!''

The male god, angry that the female had spoken first told her to go away and return later. When they again met, the male god spoke first, saying the following verse:

::::::''To see a woman so fair—''
::::::''What joy beyond compare!''

Chinese influence

Chinese literature was introduced into Japan ca the 6th century CE, mostly through the Korean peninsula. Just as the Chinese writing itself, Chinese literature, historical writings, religious scriptures and poetry laid the foundation for Japanese literature proper. Such influence is somewhat comparable to the influence of Latin on the European languages and literature.

In the court of Emperor Tenmu ( – 686) some nobles wrote Chinese language poetry ('' kanshi''). Chinese literacy was a sign of education and most high courtiers wrote poetry in Chinese. Later these works were collected in the '' Kaifūsō'', one of the earliest anthologies of poetry in Japan, edited in the early Heian period. Thanks to this book, the death poem of Prince Ōtsu is still extant today.

The strong influence of Chinese poetics may be seen in Kakyō Hyōshiki. In the 772 text, Fujiwara no Hamanari attempts to apply phonetic rules for Chinese poetry to Japanese poetry.

Many of the Tang Dynasty poets achieved fame in Japan, such as Meng Haoran (Mōkōnen), Li Bo (Ri Haku), and Bai Juyi (Haku Kyo'i). In many cases, when these poets were introduced to Europe and the Americas, the source was via Japan and a Japanese influence could be seen in the pronunciations of the names of the poets, as well as the accompanying critical analysis or commentary upon the poets or their works.

Nara period

The Nara period (710 to 794) began in Japan, in 710, with the move of the Japanese capital moved from Fujiwara (today's Asuka, Nara) to Nara. It was the period when Chinese influence reached a culmination. During the Nara period, Tōdai-ji ("Great Temple of the East") was established together with the creation of the Great Buddha of Nara, by order of Emperor Shōmu. The significant '' waka'' poets in this period were Ōtomo no Tabito, Yamanoue no Okura, and Yamabe no Akahito.

Early poems recorded

The oldest written work in Japanese literature is ''Kojiki'' in 712, in which Ō no Yasumaro recorded Japanese mythology and history as recited by Hieda no Are, to whom it was handed down by his ancestors. Many of the poetic pieces recorded by the ''Kojiki'' were perhaps transmitted from the time the Japanese had no writing. The ''Nihon Shoki'', the oldest history of Japan which was finished eight years later than the ''Kojiki'', also contains many poetic pieces. These were mostly not long and had no fixed forms. The first poem documented in both books was attributed to a kami (god), named Susanoo, the younger brother of Amaterasu. When he married Princess Kushinada in Izumo Province, the kami made an ''uta'', or ''waka'', a poem.
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This is the oldest waka (poem written in Japanese) and hence poetry was later praised as having been founded by a kami, a divine creation.

The two books shared many of the same or similar pieces but ''Nihonshoki'' contained newer ones because it recorded later affairs (up till the reign of Emperor Tenmu) than ''Kojiki''. Themes of waka in the books were diverse, covering love, sorrow, satire, war cries, praise of victory, riddles and so on. Many works in ''Kojiki'' were anonymous. Some were attributed to kami, emperors and empresses, nobles, generals, commoners and sometimes enemies of the court. Most of these works are considered collectively as "works of the people", even where attributed to someone, such as the kami Susanoo.

Heian period

The Heian period (794 to 1185) in Japan was one of both extensive general linguistic and mutual poetic development, in Japan. Developments include the Kanbun system of writing by means of adapting Classical Chinese for use in Japan by using a process of annotation, and the further development of the kana writing system from the Man'yōgana of the Nara period, encouraging more vernacular poetry, developments in the '' waka'' form of poetry. The Heian era was also one in which developed an increasing process of writing poems (sometimes collaboratively) and collecting them into anthologies, which in the case of the Kokin Wakashū were given a level of prestige, due to imperial patronage.

''Waka'' in the early Heian period

It is thought the reached its final form, the one we know today, very early in the Heian period. There are strong grounds for believing that Ōtomo no Yakamochi was the final editor but some documents claim further editing was done in the later period by other poets including Sugawara no Michizane.

Though there was a strong inclination towards Chinese poetry, some eminent waka poets were active in the early Heian period, including the six best waka poets.

Man'yōshū anthology

Compiled sometime after 759, the oldest poetic anthology of waka is the 20 volume , in the early part of the Heian period, it gathered ancient works. The order of its sections is roughly chronological. Most of the works in the have a fixed form today called chōka and tanka. But earlier works, especially in Volume I, lacked such fixed form and were attributed to Emperor Yūryaku.

The begins with a waka without fixed form. It is both a love song for an unknown girl whom the poet met by chance and a ritual song praising the beauty of the land. It is worthy of being attributed to an emperor and today is used in court ritual.

The first three sections contain mostly the works of poets from the middle of the 7th century to the early part of the 8th century. Significant poets among them were Nukata no Ōkimi and Kakinomoto no Hitomaro. Kakinomoto Hitomaro was not only the greatest poet in those early days and one of the most significant in the , he rightly has a place as one of the most outstanding poets in Japanese literature.
The also included many female poets who mainly wrote love poems. The poets of the were aristocrats who were born in Nara but sometimes lived or traveled in other provinces as bureaucrats of the emperor. These poets wrote down their impressions of travel and expressed their emotion for lovers or children. Sometimes their poems criticized the political failure of the government or tyranny of local officials. Yamanoue no Okura wrote a chōka, ''A Dialogue of two Poormen'' (貧窮問答歌, Hinkyū mondōka); in this poem two poor men lamented their severe lives of poverty. One hanka is as follows:

:世の中を　憂しとやさしと　おもへども　飛び立ちかねつ　鳥にしあらねば
:Yononaka wo / Ushi to yasashi to / Omo(h)e domo / Tobitachi kanetsu / Tori ni shi arane ba
:I feel the life is / sorrowful and unbearable / though / I can't flee away / since I am not a bird.

The contains not only poems of aristocrats but also those of nameless ordinary people. These poems are called ''Yomibito shirazu'' (よみびと知らず), poems whose author is unknown. Among them there is a specific style of waka called ''Azuma-uta'' (東歌), waka written in the Eastern dialect. Azuma, meaning the East, designated the eastern provinces roughly corresponding to Kantō and occasionally Tōhoku. Those poems were filled with rural flavors. There was a specific style among Azuma-uta, called ''Sakimori uta'' (防人歌), waka by soldiers sent from the East to defend Northern Kyushu area. They were mainly waka by drafted soldiers leaving home. These soldiers were drafted in the eastern provinces and were forced to work as guards in Kyūshū for several years. Sometimes their poetry expressed nostalgia for their faraway homeland.

Tanka is a name for and a type of poem found in the , used for shorter poems. The name was later given new life by Masaoka Shiki (pen-name of Masaoka Noboru, October 14, 1867 – September 19, 1902).

''Kanshi'' in the Heian period

In the early Heian period kanshi—poetry written in Chinese by Japanese—was the most popular style of poetry among Japanese aristocrats. Some poets like Kūkai studied in China and were fluent in Chinese. Others like Sugawara no Michizane had grown up in Japan but understood Chinese well. When they hosted foreign diplomats, they communicated not orally but in writing, using kanji or Chinese characters. In that period, Chinese poetry in China had reached one of its greatest flowerings. Major Chinese poets of the Tang dynasty like Li Po were their contemporaries and their works were well known to the Japanese. Some who went to China for study or diplomacy made the acquaintance of these major poets. The most popular styles of kanshi were in 5 or 7 syllables ( onji) in 4 or 8 lines, with very strict rules of rhyme. Japanese poets became skilled in those rules and produced much good poetry. Some long poems with lines of 5 or 7 syllables were also produced. These, when chanted, were referred to as shigin – a practice which continues today.

Emperor Saga himself was proficient at kanshi. He ordered the compilation of three anthologies of kanshi. These were the first of the imperial anthologies, a tradition which continued till the Muromachi period.

''Roei'' style ''waka''

Roei was a favored style of reciting poetical works at that time. It was a way of reciting in voice, with relatively slow and long tones. Not whole poetic pieces but a part of classics were quoted and recited by individuals usually followed by a chorus. Fujiwara no Kintō (966–1041) compiled '' Wakan rōeishū'' ("Sino-Japanese Anthology for Rōei", ca. 1013) from Japanese and Chinese poetry works written for roei. One or two lines were quoted in ''Wakan rōeishū'' and those quotations were grouped into themes like Spring, Travel, Celebration.

''Waka'' in the context of elite culture

''Kuge'' refers to a Japanese aristocratic class, and ''waka'' poetry was a significant feature of their typical lifestyle, and this includes the ''nyobo'' or court ladies. In ancient times, it was a custom for ''kuge'' to exchange waka instead of letters in prose. Sometimes improvised waka were used in daily conversation in high society. In particular, the exchange of waka was common between lovers. Reflecting this custom, five of the twenty volumes of the (or ''Kokinshū'') gathered waka for love. In the Heian period the lovers would exchange waka in the morning when lovers parted at the woman's home. The exchanged waka were called ''Kinuginu'' (後朝), because it was thought the man wanted to stay with his lover and when the sun rose he had almost no time to don his clothes which had been laid out in place of a mattress (as was the custom in those days). Soon, writing and reciting Waka became a part of aristocratic culture. People recited a piece of appropriate waka freely to imply something on an occasion. In the '' Pillow Book'' it is written that a consort of Emperor Murakami memorized over 1,000 waka in ''Kokin Wakashū'' with their description.

'' Uta-awase'', ceremonial waka recitation contests, developed in the middle of the Heian period. The custom began in the reign of Emperor Uda (r. 887 through 897), the father of Emperor Daigo (r. 897 through 930) who ordered the compilation of the ''Kokin Wakashū''. It was 'team combat' on proposed themes grouped in similar manner to the grouping of poems in the ''Kokin Wakashū''. Representatives of each team recited a waka according to their theme and the winner of the round won a point. The team with the higher overall score won the contest. Both winning poet and team received a certain prize. Holding Uta-awase was expensive and possible only for Emperors or very high ranked kuge.

The size of Uta-awase increased. Uta-awase were recorded with hundreds of rounds. Uta-awase motivated the refinement of waka technique but also made waka formalistic and artificial. Poets were expected to create a spring waka in winter or recite a poem of love or lamentation without real situations.

Emperor Ichijō (980–1011) and courts of his empresses, concubines and other noble ladies were a big pool of poets as well as men of the courts.

''The Pillow Book'' (begun during the 990s and completed in 1002) and ''Tale of Genji'' by Murasaki Shikibu (c. 978 – c. 1014 or 1025), from the early 11th century of the Heian period, provide us with examples of the life of aristocrats in the court of Emperor Ichijō and his empresses. Murasaki Shikibu wrote over 3,000 tanka for her ''Tale of Genji'' in the form of waka her characters wrote in the story. In the story most of those waka were created as an exchange of letters or a conversation. Many classic works of both waka and kanshi were quoted by the nobles. Among those classic poets, the Chinese Tang-dynasty poet Bai Juyi (Po Chü-i) had a great influence on the culture of the middle Heian period. Bai Juyi was quoted by both ''The Pillow Book'' and ''Tale of Genji'', and his ''A Song of unending Sorrow'' (長恨歌), whose theme was a tragic love between the Chinese Emperor and his concubine, inspired Murasaki Shikibu to imagine tragic love affairs in the Japanese imperial court in her ''Tale of Genji''.

Fujiwara no Teika

Fujiwara no Teika (1162 to 1241) was a waka poet, critic, scribe and editor of the late Heian period and the early Kamakura period. Fujiwara no Teika had three lines of descendants: the Nijō, Reizei family and Kyōgoku family. Besides that, various members of the Fujiwara family are noted for their work in the field of poetry.

''Kokin Wakashū'' anthology

In the middle of the Heian period Waka revived with the compilation of the Kokin Wakashū. It was edited on the order of Emperor Daigo. About 1,000 waka, mainly from the late Nara period till the contemporary times, were anthologized by five waka poets in the court including Ki no Tsurayuki who wrote the

The Kana preface to Kokin Wakashū was the second earliest expression of literary theory and criticism in Japan (the earliest was by Kūkai). Kūkai's literary theory was not influential, but Kokin Wakashū set the types of waka and hence other genres which would develop from waka.

The collection is divided into twenty parts, reflecting older models such as the and various Chinese anthologies. The organisation of topics is however different from all earlier models, and was followed by all later official collections, although some collections like the ''Kin'yō Wakashū'' and ''Shika Wakashū'' reduced the number of parts to ten. The parts of the Kokin Wakashū are ordered as follows: Parts 1–6 covered the four seasons, followed by congratulatory poems, poetry at partings, and travel poems. The last ten sections included poetry on the 'names of things', love, laments, occasional poems