Haiku is like a grandson of tanka because it is derived from “Renga (連歌)” which is created by connecting tanka poems with multiple people. Matsuo Basho (1644-1694) established haiku as a form of literary art. But the word “haiku (俳句)” was created after the Meiji period. Until then, it was called “haikai (俳諧)”.
The history of tanka is much older than that, and it has existed as a fixed form of verse for over 1,300 years ago. Unlike haiku that was born in the lives of the common people, tanka was a part of the culture of high-ranking people, such as royalty and nobility. There are many collections of poems of tanka compiled by orders of the emperor, nobility and shoguns.
Finally, I will introduce a famous poet of haiku, and tanka.
Famous haiku poets
Famous tanka poets
- Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
- Yamabe no Akahito
- Ki no Tsurayuki
- Ki no Tomonori
- Mibu no Tadamine
- Ise
- Nakatsukasa
- Murasaki Shikibu
- Ono no Komachi
- Sei Shonagon
- Ise
- Ishikawa Takuboku
- Saito Mokichi
- Yosa no Akiko
- Tawara Machi