Quiet step
Impatience inflames the soul
Funny tricks
Should I not know
How passion flares up
Ruboko Sho
Who among us has not seen mysterious short poems that look like a hieroglyph picture? A few strokes of the brush - and in front of you is a complete thought, image, philosophy.
Haiku, tanka, haiku. What is it, how and when did such poems appear and how do they differ?
They appeared in the Middle Ages. Nobody knows when it all started, but what is known for sure is that all these forms of Japanese versification were born from folk songs and ... and the syllabary alphabet. Those who attended my lectures on IDC know that the alphabet does not necessarily consist of letters. It may consist of hieroglyphs or syllables. (Strictly speaking, the name “alphabet” is not entirely suitable for them, but, nevertheless, this is what stuck). And here the syllabary alphabet is hiragana and/or katakana. Why do I put and/or? Because in Japanese there are TWO forms of the same syllabary - kana. Each form is used when addressing different classes. Moreover, there used to be even more of them, in particular there were hentaigana and man'yogana, but they remained in the historical past. Children in Japan learn hiragana first and then katakana. Today in Japan there is a fairly strong mixture of both alphabets, but still addresses to foreigners or official letters are usually written in katakana, and everything else in hiragana. Katakana came into existence because of the need to translate Chinese texts, reading which was considered the lot of only high-ranking persons. Accordingly, the Middle Ages were characterized by addressing superiors only in katakana. But even today in Japan this is partially preserved.
By the way, you probably noticed that Japanese show Does the names of cities, countries or Western names give a strong distortion of sounds? The point again is syllabic alphabet. You cannot convey one sound with one letter. And when one sound is conveyed by a syllable, anything is possible. For example, the name of my city Novosibirsk will sound like Noboshibirusuku, Moscow will sound like Moseke or Mosukuba, and St. Petersburg will become much easier to pronounce: Sankutsu-Peterburugu. By the way, if you are curious, you can enter any name in Latin and see how it sounds in Japanese. True, sometimes this will be far from the truth due to different local traditions.
But let's get back to the poems.
The folk song of Japan was called "uta" and was divided according to the type of activity of the singers (sendouta, for example, meant "rowers' song") and by length. There was a nagauta - a long song and a mijikauta - short song. This short song, having reached the nobility and educated people Japan, gradually replaced all other variants of different uta. Only now it began to be called tanka or tanka.
The tanka first flourished in the 8th century, the Nara era. We received an anthology of poems from those times, "Man'yeshu." Here are two examples from this book:
At my gates
There are ripe fruits on the elm trees,
Hundreds of birds pinch them when they fly in,
Thousands gathered different birds, -
And you, my love, are not there...
Unknown Author
translation by A. Gluskina.
According to the classical canon, the tanka should consist of two stanzas. The first stanza contains three lines of 5-7-5 syllables, respectively, and the second - two lines of 7-7 syllables. The total result is a five-line poem. This is what form is all about. I draw your attention to the fact that a line and a stanza are different things.
The content should be like this. The first stanza presents a natural image, the second - the feeling or sensation that this image evokes. Or vice versa.
Oh, can't sleep
Alone on a cold bed.
And then this rain -
It knocks so much that even for a moment
It's impossible to close your eyes.
Akazome-emon
translator: T. Sokolova-Delyusina
At the Oyamada hut
I'm freed from my dreams
An alarm call.
Oh, it's nearby in the mountains
The deer is calling!
Saigyo
translator: A. Belykh
The next heyday of tanka came in the Heian era (IX-XII centuries). Tanka of this period - elegant works of noble nobles, love letters and dialogues perfect in form, vivid sketches and ridicule encrypted with wordplay. Two main anthologies of these poems have reached us (by the way, the publication of tanku or haiku by one author has never been popular; usually anthologies of all poets were collected - from little-known to the emperor) “Kokinshu” and “Shinkokinshu”. At this time, Buddhism came to Japan from China, and with it Chinese culture and philosophy. The concept of “mono no aware” was born - “the charm of things,” usually sad. This era gave the world another great writer of Japan SAIGYO (Sato Norikiyo, 1118-1190) and the court lady Sei-Senagon, who wrote “Notes at the Bedside”, which gave us as much knowledge about the life of the Japanese court as no chronicle had ever given. this era.
my soul is yearning -
lily that almost came off
from the roots, and will easily float away -
If only there was a flow,
to captivate the flower!
Ono no Komatsu
bright night -
in the bright moonlight
plum blossoms,
and the flowers fall
along with the snow
Fujiwara no Kinto
met while walking...
but for now I was wondering
he or not he? -
disappeared into the clouds
midnight moon
Murasaki-shikibu
if you're going to die -
then in a month" new clothes",
under the cherry blossom,
when it shines
full moon!
Saige
By the way, the fusion of pagan Shinto and Buddhism gave birth to a new aesthetics. Shinto, like any pagan religion, contained many “dark” and mysterious elements, spirits, etc., accordingly, the “yugen” principle appears in the culture, which sets the main mood in tanka. A certain mysticism and even darkness appears in them.
Autumn wind
drives the clouds above.
Through the flying shreds
So bright, so pure it will spill
A dazzling moonbeam.
Sake no Taifu Akisuke
(translated by V. Sanovich)
They are coming next in Japan" dark ages"internecine wars, and until the 19th century tanka degenerates into gloomy Buddhist-samurai songs about imminent death. But even after the onset of some stability, this gloominess remains in poetry:
sad to watch
how the boy smiles
saying goodbye to my father,
who goes there
from where they don't return
Fusia Takanao
Or something like this:
Deeper and deeper into the mountains
I'll be leaving
But is there a place in the world
Where won’t I hear bitter news?
"Light - calm
I would like to die!"
Flashed through my thoughts
And immediately my heart
It echoed: “Yes!”
Saigyo
Gradually, the art of a short song reaches such popularity that even unique games are spreading among the nobility: one of the players pronounces the beginning of the tanka, the second must either continue or come up with his own answer. Diplomats deliver entire dialogues in tanks, declare war or make peace, find out the intentions of their opponents and look for friends.
Tanka lovers are no worse, if not better, than diplomatic ones, building their simple, but such a deep scheme that allows them to express their feelings and find out responses better than any other methods.
Gradually the game became more difficult. For example, they played like this. The last stanza of the old tanka served as the beginning of a new one, and at each “step” you need to turn events a little so that gradually, having made a full turn, you would return to the original description. This is somewhat similar to the game "burime", but it is called "haikai no renga" (something like a "chain game"). By the way, some games lasted for years...
It's like a miracle here
For a silver coin -
A remote tavern in the mountains.
Basho
This is completely out of place -
The guy has a long dagger!
Keray
Suddenly jumps out in the dark
Scared frog
From a thicket of tangled grass.
Bonte
Woman collecting herbs
The lantern drops from his hands.
Basho
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
(translated by V. Markova)
Renga became a separate species poetry with its own rules. The choice of the “seed” - the first haiku poem of three lines - is very important for her. After all, it will determine the mood, style, and theme of the competition.
Gradually they began to compete in writing exactly these three lines of the first stanza. Even entire competitions were held... Particularly distinguished in them was Matsuo Basho (Matsuo Munefusa, 1644-1694), who became the founder of haiku - a new direction in classical Japanese poetry - these very three lines of haiku.
But it is wrong to consider haiku and haiku to be the same thing. After all, haiku usually contains something like an introduction or greeting, and this is understandable: competitions for drawing up renga chains took place in the houses of the nobility or in sacred places, and the first lines were supposed to be dedicated to the owners of the house or the gathering place. In haiku, nothing like that was required anymore.
I'll finish here about the tanka and return to the haiku.
In the 20th century, tanka found a second wind, in particular thanks to Masaoka Shiki, who took "Man'yoshu" as a basis and began to write "in the old style"
finally happy
I climbed Mount Fuji
and when my knees began to tremble
at the very top
woke up
Shiki
Another famous one modern poet Ishikawa Takuboku, who, on the contrary, began to innovate and change the classic themes and forms of tanku.
On the sandy white beach
Islet
IN eastern ocean
I, without wiping my wet eyes,
I play with a little crab.
Takuboku
(translated by V. Markova)
At all modern trends Japanese versification is no stranger to a certain modernism and postmodernism and a slight mockery of its own solemn ceremonies...
"Gluttony!"
you exclaimed, and from now on
The sixth of July is the salad's birthday.
In a green sweater - as if in your arms
I'm drowning:
winter is just around the corner.
Tawara Mati
(translated by D. Kovalenin)
The tank is characterized by another curious feature that cannot be ignored. They were written huge amount women. Two masterpieces “of all times and peoples” in the tanka “The Tale of Genji” and “Notes at the Bedside” were written by women. This is partly explained by the fact that men were supposed to write Chinese poetry. The Japanese syllabary was written mainly by women. This is especially true after the Heian era.
Flapping wings
It's like farewell letters
On white clouds.
About a friend left in a field
The lonely goose is sad...
Saigyo
Tank history and examples
The origins of the tank are in folk legends and oral poetry era tribal system. Tanka is currently cultivated as the main form of Japanese national poetry. In the 13th-14th centuries. There was a satirical genre - rakushu, and in later times - humorous poetry kyoka (literally translated "mad poems"), which also use the tanka stanza, that is, 5-7-5-7-7.
The poet Tsurayuki (9th - early 10th centuries) defines tanka as poetry “whose roots are in the human heart”.
A poem composed according to this form can contain up to 50 or 100 lines, in which case it is called teka (Japanese: 長歌 te:ka"long song"), or nagauta (Japanese: 長歌 nagauta) , however, most Japanese tanka consists of five lines according to the pattern - 5-7-5-7-7, which is total is 31 syllables.
Widely known all over the world Japanese tercets haiku (or haiku) and tanka pentaverse. The epitaph of the greatest Japanese poet of our century, Ishikawa Takuboku, became his most famous tanka:
Piercing bitter lines; unobtrusive but obvious antithesis eternal life nature and the brevity of human existence are contained in these few meager lines.
At the turn of the century, several poetic cycles appeared in the genres of Japanese lyricism. This "Imitation of Japanese" Vyacheslav Ivanov, "Japanese Tanks and Hi-Kai" Valeria Bryusova, "Five Tanks" Andrey Bely.
This is what V. Bryusov’s Japanese tank looks like:
In the blue of the pond
The white stork is reflected;
Flash - no trace.
Your image is contained
In the poor heart forever.
See also
Notes
Links
Literature
- Boronina I.A. Poetics of the Japanese "tanka" // Peoples of Asia and Africa. 1965. No. 5.
- Breslavets T.I. Tradition in Japanese poetry: Classic tanka verse / T.I. Breslavets. - Vladivostok: Far Eastern University Publishing House, 1992.-120 p.
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Synonyms:See what "Tanka" is in other dictionaries:
- (otherwise: mijikauta “short song”) the main form of Japanese feudal lyric poetry, belonging to the so-called. "Waka" (Yamato songs ancient name Japanese). The origins of T. in folk legends and oral poetry of the era of the tribal system. In the future, T... Literary encyclopedia
Tanka- TANKA is the most common of the solid forms of Japanese verse. Tanka in Japanese book poetry (Bungaku) plays the same role as in the European sonnet. But much more ancient form. The Japanese language, without long and short syllables,... ... Dictionary of literary terms
Icon, five-line Dictionary of Russian synonyms. tanka noun, number of synonyms: 2 icon (21) pentaverse... Dictionary of synonyms
Modern encyclopedia
Coin; silver coin; V figurative meaning: purity, a sign of purity, purity. Anthropolexema. Tatar, Turkic, Muslim female names. Glossary of terms... Dictionary of personal names
Tanka- (short song), the oldest genre of Japanese poetry (first recorded in the 8th century), unrhymed five-line verses of 31 syllables (5+7+5+7+7), dedicated to love experiences, wanderings, and nature. Expresses a fleeting mood, full of lyricism, understatement,... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
TANK- (Japanese “short song”): consists of 31 syllables; traditional form Japanese verse, rhythmically organized by alternating syllables 5 7 5 7 7. Tanka - an ancient form of Japanese poetry, existed in the form of a lyrical miniature, which required from ... ... Eurasian wisdom from A to Z. Dictionary
- (short song) a lyric poem consisting of 31 syllables alternating between five and seven syllables metric units(5–7–5–7–7). The poetics of tanka, which developed in the early Middle Ages, received its most complete expression in... ... All Japan
tank- TANKA (Japanese) ancient national uniform a five-line poem in Japanese poetry, without rhyme and without clearly perceptible meter; in the first and third lines of T. there are five syllables, in the rest there are seven, so in total there are 31 syllables in T., i.e. almost... ... Poetic dictionary
tank- (non-cl.) a genre of Japanese poetry, an unrhymed five-line lyrical or philosophical content, distinguished by special grace and laconicism. Rubric: Genres and genres of literature + Structure of a poetic work Genus: Solid forms Others... ... Terminological dictionary-thesaurus in literary studies
Japanese poetry based on the alternation of a certain number of syllables. There's no rhyme, but great attention is given to sound and rhythmic organization poems.
Haiku or haik y (initial verses), - a genre of Japanese poetry: an unrhymed tercet of 17 syllables (5+7+5). The art of writing haiku is, first of all, the ability to say a lot in a few words. Genetically, this genre is related to tanka.
Tanka (short song) is the oldest genre of Japanese poetry (first recorded in the 8th century). Unrhymed five-line verses of 31 syllables (5+7+5+7+7). Expresses a fleeting mood, full of understatement, distinguished by poetic grace, often complex associativity, and verbal play.
Over time tank(five-line) began to be clearly divided into two stanzas: a tercet and a couplet. It happened that one poet composed the first stanza, the second - the subsequent one. In the twelfth century, chain verses appeared, consisting of alternating tercets and couplets. This form was called "renga" ("strung stanzas"); The first tercet was called the "initial stanza", or haiku in Japanese. The renga poem did not have a thematic unity, but its motifs and images were most often associated with a description of nature, with an obligatory indication of the season. The opening stanza (haiku) was often the best stanza in the rengi. This is how separate collections of exemplary haiku began to appear. The tercet became firmly established in Japanese poetry in the second half of the seventeenth century.
Haiku has steady meter. This does not exclude poetic license, for example, Matsuo Basho(1644-1694). He sometimes did not take into account the meter, striving to achieve the greatest poetic expressiveness.
Matsuo Basho is the creator of not only haiku poetry, but also the whole aesthetic school Japanese poetics. His real name- Matsuo Munefusa. Born in the castle town of Ueno, Iga Province (in the center of the island of Honshu), in the family of a poor samurai, Matsuo Yozaemon. Basho's relatives were educated people, which primarily presupposed knowledge of the Chinese classics. Basho's father and older brother taught calligraphy. Since childhood, Basho himself was a friend of the prince's son, a great lover of poetry; Soon Basho himself began to write poetry. After early death his young master Basho went to the city and took monastic vows, thereby freeing himself from serving his feudal lord, but did not become a real monk.
He studied with the then famous haiku poetry masters Katamura Kigin and Nishiyama Soin. In 1680 he published the first anthology of his own poems and those of his students. Then he settled in a hut on the outskirts of Edo (Tokyo). In 1684 he began to travel like his favorite poet Saigyo. As Basho's fame grew, students of all ranks began to flock to him. By the end of his life he had many students all over Japan, but Basho’s school was not the usual school of a master and students listening to him at that time: Basho encouraged those who came to him to search for own path, each had his own handwriting, sometimes very different from the handwriting of the teacher. Basho's students were Korai, Ransetsu, Issho, Kikaku; Chiyo belongs to the Basho school, a talented poetess who, having become a widow at an early age and having lost a child, became a nun and devoted herself to poetry...
Some genres of Japanese poetry
Classic tanka in written (and even longer in oral) form has existed since the 8th century and has undergone many changes. The themes of such tanka are strictly regulated and, as a rule, they are songs of love or separation, songs written just in case or on the way, in which human experiences occur against the backdrop of the changing seasons of the year and are, as it were, fused (or rather, inscribed) into them.
Classic tank contain five lines of 5 - 7 - 5 - 7 - 7 syllables, respectively, and this small space does not allow translating into other languages the entire associative series that arises in a Japanese reader (or writer). Because the tanka is carried within keywords, responsible for the emergence of certain associations, then by translating all the meanings of these words into other languages, it is possible to achieve an approximate recreation of the original logical chain. It should also be noted that tankas, although they are a poetic form, do not have rhyme.
Japan was one of the leading forces during World War II. Scale strategic plans her leadership had to be confirmed high quality technology. Therefore, in the 30s, the Japanese created many models of tanks, which fought without interruption for several years on the Pacific front of World War II.
Purchasing Western models
The idea of creating their own tanks appeared in Japan after the First World War. This conflict showed the prospects of this modern look weapons. Since the Japanese did not have their own industry necessary for the production of tanks, they began to get acquainted with the developments of the Europeans.
This was a familiar method of modernization for Tokyo. Country rising sun spent several centuries in total isolation and only began to develop intensively in the second half of the 19th century. New sectors of the economy and industry emerged from scratch. Therefore, the task of conducting a similar experiment with tanks was not so fantastic.
The first to be purchased in 1925 were the French Renault FT-18, which at that time were considered the best cars of their kind. These models were adopted by the Japanese. Very soon, the engineers and designers of this country, having gained Western experience, prepared several of their own pilot projects.
"Chi-I"
The first Japanese tank was assembled in Osaka in 1927. The machine was named "Chi-I". It was an experimental model that never saw production. However, it was she who became the “first lump”, which turned out to be the starting point for further technical research for Japanese specialists.
The model had a cannon, two machine guns, and its mass was 18 tons. Its design feature consisted of several towers on which guns were mounted. It was a bold and controversial experiment. The first Japanese tank was also equipped with a machine gun, designed to protect the vehicle from the rear. Because of this feature, it was installed behind the engine compartment. Tests showed that the multi-turret design was unsuccessful in terms of combat effectiveness. Subsequently, Osaka decided to abandon the implementation of such a system. The Japanese tank "Chi-I" remains historical model who has never been to real war. But some of its features were inherited by machines later used on the fields of World War II.
"Type 94"
Mostly Japanese ones were developed in the 30s. The first model in this series is the Tokushu Keninsha (abbreviated TK, or "Type 94"). This tank was distinguished by its small dimensions and weight (only 3.5 tons). It was used not only for combat, but also for auxiliary purposes. Therefore, in Europe, the Type 94 was considered a wedge.
As an auxiliary vehicle The transport vehicle was used to transport goods and assist convoys. This was the original purpose of the machine as intended by the designers. However, over time, the project evolved into a full-fledged combat model. Almost all subsequent Japanese ones inherited from the Type 94 not only the design, but also the layout. In total, more than 800 units of this generation were produced. The Type 94 was primarily used during the invasion of China, which began in 1937.
The post-war fate of Tokushu Keninsha is curious. Part of the fleet of these models was captured by the Allies, who defeated the Japanese after the atomic Tanks were transferred to the Chinese Communists and Kuomintang troops. These parties were hostile to each other. Therefore, the Type 94 was tested for several more years in the fields of the Chinese civil war, after which the People's Republic of China was formed.
"Type 97"
In 1937, the Type 94 was declared obsolete. Further research by engineers led to the appearance of a new machine - direct descendant Tokushu Keninsha. The model was called "Type 97" or "Te-Ke" for short. This Japanese tank was used during battles in China, Malaya and Burma until the very end. In fact, it was a deep modification of the Type 94.
The crew of the new car consisted of two people. The engine was located at the rear and the transmission at the front. An important innovation compared to its predecessor was the unification of the combat and management departments. The vehicle received a 37-mm cannon, inherited from the TK.
New Japanese tanks were first tested in the field in battles on the Khalkhin Gol River. Since they did not participate in the first strikes on Soviet positions, most of the Te-Ke managed to survive. Almost all active combat units of this type were transferred to the Pacific theater of World War II. These small tanks were especially effective for reconnaissance of enemy positions. They were also used as machines that organized communication between in different parts front. Its small size and weight made the Type 97 an indispensable weapon for infantry support.
"Chi-Ha"
Interestingly, almost all Japanese tanks of World War II were developed by Mitsubishi employees. Today this brand is known primarily in the automotive industry. However, in the 30-40s, the company's factories regularly produced reliable vehicles for the army. In 1938, Mitsubishi began production of the Chi-Ha, one of the main Japanese medium tanks. Compared to its predecessors, the model received more powerful guns (including 47 mm cannons). In addition, it featured improved aiming.
"Chi-Ha" were used in combat from the very first days after their appearance on the assembly line. On initial stage During the war with China, they remained an effective weapon in the hands of Japanese tank crews. However, after the United States was drawn into the conflict, Chi-Ha had a serious combat competitor. These were M3 Lee tanks. They coped with everyone without much difficulty Japanese cars light and medium segment. Largely because of this, out of more than two thousand Chi-Ha units as museum exhibits Today there are only a dozen representatives of this model left.
"Ha-Go"
If we compare all the Japanese tanks of World War II, we can identify two of the most basic and widespread models. This is the already described “Chi-Ha” and “Ha-Go”. This tank was mass-produced in 1936-1943. In total, more than 2,300 units of this model were produced. Although it is difficult to single out the best Japanese tank, it is the Ha-Go that has the most rights to this title.
His first sketches appeared in the early 30s. Then the Japanese command wanted to get a car that could become effective auxiliary for cavalry attacks. That is why "Ha-Go" was so different important qualities, both high cross-country ability and mobility.
"Ka-Mi"
An important feature of the Ha-Go was that this tank became the basis for numerous modifications. All of them were experimental and therefore not widely used. However, this does not mean that there were no competitive models among them.
High-quality, for example, was "Ka-Mi". It was unique in that it remained the only mass-produced Japanese amphibious tank of World War II. The development of this modification of "Ha-Go" began in 1941. Then the Japanese command began to prepare a campaign to attack the south, where there were many small islands and archipelagos. In this regard, the need arose for an amphibious landing. Japanese heavy tanks could not help in this task. Therefore, Mitsubishi started developing a fundamentally new model, based on the most common tank in the Land of the Rising Sun, the Ha-Go. As a result, 182 Ka-Mi units were produced.
Use of amphibious tanks
The chassis of the previous tank was improved so that the vehicle could be used effectively on water. For this purpose, in particular, the body was significantly modified. Because of its originality, each “Ka-Mi” was assembled slowly and for a long time. For this reason the first major operation with the use of amphibious tanks occurred only in 1944. The Japanese landed on Saipan - the largest of the Towards the end of the war, when imperial army did not advance, but, on the contrary, only retreated, and its landing operations. Therefore, the Ka-Mi began to be used as a regular ground tank. This was facilitated by the fact that it was universal in its design and driving characteristics.
In 1944, photographs of Japanese tanks sailing along the coast of the Marshall Islands spread around the world. By that time, the empire was already close to defeat, and even the appearance of new technology there was no way to help her. Nevertheless, the Ka-Mi themselves made a great impression on their opponents. The tank's hull was spacious. It could accommodate five people - driver, mechanic, gunner, loader and commander. Externally, "Ka-Mi" immediately caught the eye because of its two-man turret.
"Chi-He"
"Chi-He" appeared as a result of work on the errors associated with the characteristics of Chi-Ha. In 1940, Japanese designers and engineers decided to catch up with Western competitors in the simplest way by copying foreign technologies and developments. Thus, all the initiative and originality of Eastern specialists was put aside.
The result of this maneuver was not long in coming - “Chi-He”, more than all its Japanese “relatives”, both externally and internally began to resemble European analogues of that time. But the project was implemented too late. In 1943-1944. Only 170 Chi-He were produced.
"Chi-Nu"
The continuation of the ideas embodied in “Chi-He” became “Chi-Nu”. It differed from its predecessor only in improved weapons. The design and layout of the body remains the same.
The series turned out to be few in number. At the final stage of the Second World War in 1943-1945. Only about a hundred "Chi-Nu" were produced. According to the idea of the Japanese command, these tanks were to become an important force in the country's defense during the landing American troops. Because of atomic bombings and the quick capitulation of the state leadership to this foreign attack never happened.
"O-I"
How were Japanese tanks different? The review shows that among them there were no models of the heavy class according to the Western classification. The Japanese command preferred light and medium vehicles, which were easier and more efficient to use in conjunction with infantry. However, this did not mean that there were no projects of a fundamentally different type in this country.
One of these was the idea of a super-heavy tank, which received the draft name "O-I". This multi-turret monster was supposed to accommodate a crew of 11 people. The model was designed as an important weapon for impending attacks on the USSR and China. Work on O-I began in 1936 and continued one way or another until the defeat in World War II. The project was either closed or resumed. Today there is no reliable data that at least one prototype of this model was produced. "O-I" remained on paper, like Japan's idea of its regional dominance, which led it to a disastrous alliance with Hitler's Germany.
Tanka, or mijikauta is it Japanese medieval genre landscape, love and philosophical lyrics; an unrhymed 31-syllable pentaverse based on the principle of alternating 5-syllable and 7-syllable lines according to the pattern of 5–7–5–7–7 syllables.
Structure and example of a tank
According to the rhythmic structure of the tank, it is an ancient stanza, which consists of five verses, has no meter and rhyme. The poetic unit is a syllable. The first and third verses contain 5 syllables each, the second, fourth, and fifth are seven-syllable, and in total there are 31 syllables in the tank.
Despite the brevity of their form, tanka poems are distinguished by poetic grace and deep meaning, and the first three lines contain the main idea, and the last two lines contain the conclusion.
Tank example:
You, winds of the sky,
passage between the clouds
hurry up and close
so that young creatures
still stay with us!
(Henjo, 9th century)
The connection between tanka and the waka genre
Based on the principle of constructing a tanka, the verse teka (Japanese “long song”), or nagauta, is organized, which differs from the lyrical quintuple by its unlimited size (up to 50 verses or more).
Tanka, like nagauta, is a type of Japanese medieval poetic genre waka, which was cultivated among the feudal aristocracy.
Origin and rise of the genre
Tanka originated in Japanese poetry early Middle Ages(8th century) and reached its peak in the 9th–10th centuries, becoming a traditional poetic form of aristocratic literature in Japan along with nagauta and sadoka.
Classic examples of the genre are presented in medieval anthologies of Japanese lyric poetry, which were published by order of the emperors. The work of the “six immortal” poets of Japan (9th century) is rich in tanka poems: Ariwara no Narihira, Ono no Komachi, Henjo, Funya no Yasuhide, Kisen-hoshi, Otomo Kuronushi.
Anthology "Man'yoshu"
The first and most recognized anthology of Japanese poetry is the Manyoshu (Collection of Myriad Leaves), dating from approximately 759. Of 4,516 works poetry collection 4207 - short tanka songs, among the authors of which were Yamabe no Akahito, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, Otomo no Tabito, Yamanoue no Okura, Takahashi Mushimaro, Otomo no Yakamochi.
Manyoshu is the golden age of Japanese poetry. Direct presentation, simplicity and emotional richness - characteristic features anthology works.
Anthology "Kokinshu"
Tanka poetry received its most complete, complete expression in the imperial anthology Kokinshu, or Kokinwakashu (Collection of Old and New Songs of Japan, 922). This collection consists of 1111 lyric poems waka, grouped by topic.
"Kokinshu" is considered to be the embodiment silver age Japanese poetry, a symbol of rebirth poetic art during the Heian period (794-1185).
The meaning of thangka in modern poetry
Having undergone many modifications, the poetic form of tanka has been preserved and prevails in the Japanese national poetry of modern times (Masaoka Shiki, Ishikawa Takuboku, Yosano Tekkan, Ashida Takako, etc.).
A poet who writes a tanka is called a kajin.
The word tanka is borrowed from Japanese language and translated means a short song.
