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Tanka – 3

The Tanka poem has been considered the most important form and the oldest style of Japanese poetry, which dates back to the 1300s. The Tanka poem is similar to the Haiku but it is a little longer. Over the years, the Tanka has changed but, the form has remained the same, that is, it has 31 syllables. In the original Japanese Tanka, it was written as a one line poem with 31 syllables.

Today, the poem consists of five lines. Lines 1 and 3 have five syllables, and lines 2, 4 and 5 have seven syllables. Usually, the Tanka is written about nature and/or seasons. Therefore, the number of possible topics are endless.

Writing Tanka in English depends on how closely one wants to stay with the Japanese model. English is very different from Japanese. Most writers feel that converting onji syllables is not a one for one process. English syllables are long and carry too much information to equate to the Japanese onji. Tanka written in English would be difficult to recite properly in two breath lengths. (This shouldn't stumble western poets who like to write in Tanka style or from using English syllables in one format or from rhyming.) This is only a matter of personal taste and reflects only as to whether one wishes to stay close to the Japanese model or go away from it. If you are concerned with your English-based Tanka being translated to the Japanese language in a form that those reading it are used to, then you can stay closer to the Japanese model and modify it to make it work. If anyone doesn't prefer this, in order to keep the poem a semblance of a Tanka, then one must become more restrictive in tone and theme to have one's poems recognizable as Tanka in the Japanese tradition. There are other possibilities, but making a claim that the outcome is in fact a Tanka becomes much difficult to defend.

The history of the Tanka is interesting because in Japan thirteen hundred years ago lovers used Tanka as a way of sending secret messages. After being with their lover all night, it was a custom to have good manners and write a thank-you note a nice night together. They used 5-7-5-7-7 onji in a poem to express their feelings. They sent their messages in paper containers or wrote it on fans. Then they knotted it on a branch or stem of a single blossom. A messenger was sent to deliver these things to the other lover's house. As the messenger went, he was given something to drink, giving him the chance to be flirtatious with the household staff. During this visit, a Tanka would be written as a reply to the first note, which the messenger would then take back to his master. The writer would be under some pressure all night to write some sort of verse that was related to the previous note. This note needed to express his feelings carefully because this note would determine if the sender would want to return again. This was not an easy task! The chore of writing these morning-after notes was raised to an acceptable art. Basically, a woman who was good with a pen and who had a command of the language had more lovers and financial support than others did.

In the old days, they used Tanka as a way of privately expressing emotions, especially between friends and lovers when they were separated. When they expressed their feelings in Tanka, they were usually longing for a better time, more faithful lovers, younger years, or just plain old hard times. Some writers have been looking for this outlook all along.

– Continued

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