Waka

:See Waka (disambiguation) and Tanka (disambiguation) for other usages.

History of Waka development

Waka has a long history. It was first recorded in the early of the 8th century in Kojiki and Manyoshu. Under influence from other genres like Kanshi, Chinese poetry, stories like Tale of Genji or even Western style poetry, it has developed gradually and has increased its capacity of expression and topics.

Related Topics:
8th century - Kojiki - Manyoshu - Tale of Genji

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In Donald Keene's books, He uses four large categories: 1) Early and Heian Literature (Kojiki to past 'The Tale of Genji' to 1185) 2) The Middle Ages ('ch?sei' from 1185, including the Kamakura and Muromachi Periods) 3) Pre-Modern Era (1600-1867, then subdivided into 1600-1770 and 1770-1867) 4) Modern Era (post 1867, divided into Meiji (1868-1912), Taish? (1912-1926) and Sh?wa (from 1927)).

Related Topics:
Donald Keene - Kojiki - The Tale of Genji - Kamakura - Muromachi - Meiji - Taish? - Sh?wa

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Ancient

In ancient times waka had no fixed form. The earliest waka were recorded in Kojiki and Nihonshoki. The waka in the Man'y?sh? had no fixed form, but already poets in the late 7th century, in the time of Empress Saimei began to create Choka and Tanka in the form we know today.

Related Topics:
Kojiki - Nihonshoki - Man'y?sh? - Empress Saimei

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The ancient waka ancient were recorded in the 20 volumes of the Man'y?sh?, the oldest waka anthology in Japan. The editor is anonymous, but it is believed that the final editor of the Man'y?sh? was Otomo no Yakamochi. He was one of waka poets who belonged to the latest generation in this anthology and the last volume of the Man'y?sh? is mostly an anthology of his poems. The first waka of volume 1 was by Emperor Ojin. Nukata no Okimi, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, Yamabe no Akahito, Yamanoue no Okura, Otomo no Tabito and his son Yakamochi were the greatest poets in this anthology. But the Man'y?sh? recorded not only the works of those royals and nobles, but also works of commoners whose name were unrecorded. The main topics of the Man'y?sh? were love, sadness specially in occasion of someone's death, and other miscellaneous topics.

Related Topics:
Man'y?sh? - Anonymous - Otomo no Yakamochi - Emperor Ojin - Nukata no Okimi - Kakinomoto no Hitomaro - Yamabe no Akahito - Yamanoue no Okura - Otomo no Tabito

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During Nara period and the early Heian period the court was in favor of the Chinese style poetry (kanshi) and waka wasn't pursued in eagerness. In 10th century when Japan stopped sending official messangers to the Tang dynasty of China, the localisation of culture developed rapidly. The ancient poetry form in their mother tongue received interest again, and Emperor Daigo ordered the creation of an anthology of waka. It was the first waka anthology edited under the imperial order and it founded a long tradition of imperial anthologies of waka that continued to the Muromachi period. The famous waka poets in those days including Kino Tsurayuki gathered waka of ancient poets and their contemporaries, hence the anthology named Kokin Wakashu, literarly meaning the Ancient-and-Now Anthology. In those day a party for waka application were held frequently. The age of waka had arrived.

Related Topics:
Tang dynasty - Emperor Daigo - Kino Tsurayuki - Kokin Wakashu

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There were two types of waka party: Utakai and Utaawase. Utakai was a party in which all participants made a waka and recited them in order. Utakai derived from Shikai, Kanshi party and was held in occasion people gathered like seasonal party for the New Year, some celebrations for a newly borned baby, birthday or a newly building house. Utaawase was a contest in two teams. There were determined themes and a chosen poet from each team made a waka for a given theme. The judge made a judge for each theme and gave points to winning team. The team which got bigger points in the sum was the winner. The first recorded Utaawase was held in around 885. First Utaawase was playful but in the medieval it turned into a serious contest of literature and its size was grown.

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In ancient times, it was a custom between two exchange waka instead of letters in prose. In particular, it was common between lovers. Reflecting this custom, five of the twenty volumes of the Kokin Wakashu gathered waka for love. In the Heian period the lovers would exchange waka in the morning when lovers met at woman's home. The exchanged waka were called Kinuginu (??), because it was thought the man wanted to stay with his lover and when the sun rose he had almost no time to wear his clothes which had been laid instead of mattress (it was a custom in those days). Shortly, making and reciting Waka became an part of aristocratic culture. They recited a part of appropriate waka freely to imply something on an occasion. Works of this period, The Pillow Book and Tale of Genji provide us with such examples in life of aristocrats. Murasaki Shikibu wrote around 950 waka for her Tale of Genji as waka her characters made in the story.

Related Topics:
The Pillow Book - Tale of Genji - Murasaki Shikibu

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Medieval

In the late of Heian period, Renga, a form collaborated linked poetry developed. In the late of Heian period, great waka poets appeared. the father Fujiwara no Shunzei and his son Fujiwara no Teika, and Emperor Go-Toba. Emperor Go-Toba ordered the creation of a new anthology and joined in editing it as an editor. The anthology was named Shin-kokin Wakashu. He edited it again and again until he died in Oki island. Teika made copies of ancient books and wrote on the theory of waka. His descendants taught his method and were considered as waka masters.

Related Topics:
Fujiwara no Shunzei - Fujiwara no Teika - Emperor Go-Toba - Shin-kokin Wakashu - Oki island

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In the Muromachi period, renga had developed. It began to be popular in the court and people around it and spread to the priest monk who and then to the wealthy commoners. As same as waka, renga anthology under the imperial order was edited.

Related Topics:
Muromachi period - Renga

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Waka style lost flexibility because of the conventions of the court, but still remains an important part in their culture. A tradition named Kokin-denju, the heritage of Kokin Wakashu, was developed. It was a system on how to analyze the Kokin Wakashu and included the secret (or precisely lost) meaning of words. Study of waka became to learn such theory.

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There were comical waka already in the Kojiki and the Man'y?sh?, but the noble style of waka in the court reduced such aspects of waka. Renga was in the same atmosphere with many codes reflecting literature tradition. Haikai no renga (also called just Haikai) (playful renga) and Ky?ka, comical waka, were a reaction to this seriousness. But in the Edo period waka itself lost almost all of its flexibility and turned to refrain the old style in general.

Related Topics:
Kojiki - Man'y?sh? - Haikai

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Pre-modern

In the early Edo period waka was not fashionable genre. Newly created haikai no renga featuring the hokku as the opening verse (of which haiku was a late 19th-century revision) was the favored genre. This tendency was kept during this period, but in the late Edo period waka faced new trends out of the court. Motoori Norinaga, the great reviver of the traditional Japanese literature, attempted to revive waka as a way of expressing traditional feeling expressed in genuine Japanese way. He made waka and it became an important part of practices of his followers, Kokugaku scholars. In Echigo province a Buddhist priest Ryokan made many waka in a naïve style intentionally avoiding complex rules and the traditional way of waka. He belonged to another great tradition of waka, waka for expressing religious feeling from the ancient. But his frank expression of his feeling has fans even today. In the cities a comical, ironic and satiric form of waka emerged. It was called ky?ka (??), mad poem, and was loved by intellectual people in big cities like Edo and Osaka. It was not precisely a new form; satirical waka was made even in ancient times. But it was in the Edo period that this aspect of waka developed and reached an artistic expression. But most waka poets kept to ancient tradition or made those reformation another stereotype, and waka was still not a vivid genre in general at the end of this period.

Related Topics:
Haiku - Motoori Norinaga - Kokugaku - Echigo province - Ryokan - Ky?ka - Edo - Osaka

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Modern

The modern-era revival of tanka started with some poets who published the literature magazines and gathered their friends and disciples on them as contributors. Yosano Tekkan and the poets that were associated with his My?j? magazine, but that magazine was fairly short-lived. To Myojo a young high school student Otori You, later known Yosano Akiko as the wife Tekkan and Ishikawa Takuboku contributed. Masaoka Shiki's poems and writing (as well as the work of his friends and disciples) have had a more lasting influence. The magazine Hototogisu he founded has been issued even today. He was a great poet both in his new haiku form and tanka, being sometimes called the Father of Modern Tanka. Actually the term tanka was one of his invented words as a replacement for waka. After the World War Two waka had been considered rather out-of-date but since the late of 1980s has revived under the example of contemporary poet Tawara Machi.

Related Topics:
Yosano Tekkan - My?j? - Yosano Akiko - Ishikawa Takuboku - Masaoka Shiki - Hototogisu - 1980 - Poet - Tawara Machi

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In the Meiji period, Masaoka Shiki claimed the situation with waka should be improved and waka should be modernized just the as same as with other things in the country. He praised the style of Man'y?sh? and called it manly. In opposition to that, he denied the style of Kokin Wakashu which was the ideal type of waka during a thousand year, and called it feminine. He also praised Minamoto no Sanetomo, the third Shogun of Kamakura Shogunate, who was a disciple of Fujiwara Teika and made waka in a style much like that in the Man'y?sh?. After Shiki died, in the Taisho period, Saito Mokichi and his friends who gathered a poetry circle Araragi that praised the Man'y?sh?. Using their magazine they spread their influence throughout the country. Besides their modernization, in the court the old traditions still remind. The court holds many utakai even today both officially and privately. The utakai which the emperor holds at the first in a year is called utakai-hajime and it is an important event for waka poets. Anyone can apply to it with a waka according to an announced theme before the year and many people apply in every year.

Related Topics:
Man'y?sh? - Kokin Wakashu - Minamoto no Sanetomo - Fujiwara Teika - Taisho - Saito Mokichi - Araragi

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Today there are many circles of waka poets. Many newspapers have a weekly waka column and there are many professional and amateur waka poets.

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