Japanese Poetry

Japanese poetry is poetry of or 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, and may perhaps include the poetry in Japan which was written in the Chinese language: 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 Shijing was well known by the literati of Japan by the 6th century). It took several hundred years to digest the foreign impact and make it an integral part of Japanese culture and to merge it with into a Japanese language literary tradition, and then later to develop the diversity of unique poetic forms of native poetry. For example, in the Tale of Genji both kinds of poetry are frequently mentioned.

A new trend came in the middle of the 19th century. Since then, the major forms of Japanese poetry have been tanka (new name for waka), haiku and shi. Nowadays the main forms of Japanese poetry can be divided into experimental poetry and poetry that seeks to revive traditional ways. Poets writing in tanka, haiku and shi move in separate planes and seldom write poetry other than in their specific chosen form, although some active poets are eager to collaborate with poets in other genres.

Important collections are the Man'yōshū, Kokin Wakashū and Shin Kokin Wakashū.