Ten Styles of Tanka – Post 10 – January 29, 2016

Photos: The great Alaska earthquake of 1964 – Alaska Dispatch News

rumbling silence
then Mother dances madly
buildings topple
new streets bloom as other’s die
mournful howling of lost dogs

© G.s.k. ‘16

10. Demon-quelling – onihishigitei (or kiratsu no tei), characterised by strong or even vulgar diction and terms

“Because its methods are at odds with the classical poetical values of beauty, elegance, and grace, Teika said the style to be “more difficult” and should be attempted only when the student has become proficient in the other methods. One of Teika’s examples is taken from the Man’yoshū, #4:503 which is a more violent version than a similar poem in the Shinkokinshū, #10:911:

kamikaze ya / Ise no hamaogi / orishikite / tabine ya suran / araki hamabe ni

divine winds
reeds on the Ise beach
are broken
to make a traveller’s bed
on this rough shore

The operative words to demonstrate the demon-quelling style are “divine winds” the breaking off of reeds, and the rough seacoast. Teika taught that even though the poet put these elements into a poem, they should be treated with sensibility and gentleness however, it seems this has been most easy to ignore. Yet in an exploration of current tanka examples, I found this style under-represented and in no way as violent as the ancient poems.”

Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu #66 Teika’s Ten Tanka Techniques by Jane Reichhold

Ten Styles of Tanka – Post 9 – January 28, 2016

the falling clouds
bring to mind fire and grief
as the wind whispers
visions of the past haunt me
of a winter long ago

G.s.k. ‘16

9. Exquisite detail – komayaka naru tei

This style is indicated by exact and precise details with often complex imagery. In Teika’s anthology of tanka styles he has 29 examples. One of which is one from the Kokinshū, #4:193, written by Ōno Chisato (890-905):

tsuki mireba / chiji ni mono koso / kanashikere / waga ni hitiostu no / /aki ni wa aranedo

gazing at the moon
a thousand sad things
overcome me
not only I feel this
in autumn alone

Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu #66 Teika’s Ten Tanka Techniques by Jane Reichhold

Ten Styles of Tanka – Post 8 – January 27, 2016

the cold moon
illuminates the clouds
high over the lake
but not even the moon
can illuminate closed minds

G.s.k. ‘16

 

8. Novel treatment – hitofushi aru tei, Using an unusual or original poetic conception

Among the 26 examples is the poem by Fujiwara Motozane (ca 950) from the Shinkokinshū, #11:1060:

namidagawa / mi mo uku bakari / nagaruedo / kienu wa hito no / omoi narikeri

a river of tears
floats my body off
on its current
but it cannot quell the fire
you have set in my heart

 

Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu #66 Teika’s Ten Tanka Techniques by Jane Reichhold

Ten Styles of Tanka – Post 7 – January 26, 2016

on the cobbles
the duck went for a stroll
in Malcesine
posing for the tourists
for an evening snack

G.s.k. ‘16

 

7. Clever treatment – omoshiroki tei, a witty or ingenious treatment of a conventional topic

The style must have been popular because Teika gave 31 poems in his anthology of style examples. This one is by the Archbishop Jien (1155-1225) on the topic of “snow” from the Shinkokinshū, #6:679:

niwa no yuki ni / waga ato tsukete / idetsuru o / towarenikeri to / hito ya miruran

in the snow only
I was in the garden
leaving footprints
will people think someone brought
comfort to my loneliness?

Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu #66 Teika’s Ten Tanka Techniques by Jane Reichhold

Ten Styles of Tanka – Post 6 – January 25, 2016

the old gull
sitting on the ancient pylon
silently waits
the sun plays hide and seek
in the gathering clouds

G.s.k. ‘16

6. Visual description – miru tei

“This is a rather bland style emphasising visual description and imagery and often containing no subjective or emotive statements. Some of the decedents of Teika, such as his son Tameie, used this style or technique to counteract the strong subjective vein of the “Fujiwara style”. In the Teika Jittei are 12 examples of this style among which is this poem by Minamoto Tsunenobu (1016-1097) written on the subject of “young rice shoots” as published in Shikokinshū, #3:225:

sanae toru / yamado no kakehi / morinikeri / hiku shimenawa ne / tsuyu zo koboruru

the water pipe
leading into mountain fields
must be leaking
moisture drips down sacred ropes
around the beds of rice

It seems Shiki’s shasei style of “sketching” in haiku would be a carry-over from this tanka technique.”

 

Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu #66 Teika’s Ten Tanka Techniques by Jane Reichhold

Ten Styles of Tanka – Post 5 – January 24, 2016

as the sun sets
the north star shines brightly
in the gloaming
awing the voyager
a grain of sand on the beach

© G.s.k. ‘16

 

5. Lofty style – taketakaki tei, a method of achieving grandeur and elevation

One of the traditional examples of this style is the poem by Fujiwara Yoshitsune (1169-1206) composed on the given theme of “the moon at dawn” in the Shinkokinshū #16:1545:

ana no to o / oshiakegata no / kumonma yori / kamiyo no tsuki / kage zo nokoreru

the coming dawn
pushes open the Gates of Heaven
from the clouds
the moon from the Age of Gods
is an image left behind

Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu #66 Teika’s Ten Tanka Techniques by Jane Reichhold

Ten Styles of Tanka – Post 4 – January 23, 2016

old willow is gone
it can never be replaced
these empty tears
fall down my cheeks unchecked
remembering summer shade

© G.s.k. ‘16

4. Conviction of feeling – ushintei

This is Teika’s most famous poetical ideal; one that he most developed in his middle and later years. Over this time he came to give ushin two distinct senses. One, in the narrow sense of “deep feeling” as one of the ten styles and in the broader sense of “conviction of feeling” – the quality that must be part of every good poem. Teika felt this could not be an adopted “style” but could result only if the poet “approached the art with the utmost seriousness and concentration”. These strong words of stubborn and uncompromising demand were typical of Teika’s goal of the highest stand of artistic integrity.
Another interpretation of the style is that it uses a highly subjective sense in which the speaker’s feeling pervade the imagery and rhetoric of the poem. It is especially appropriate for poems expressing love or grief.

Given as example is this poem by Princess Shikishi, #9:1034 in the Shinkokinshū:

tama no o yo / taenaba taene / nagaraeba / shinoburu koto no / yowari mo zo suru

jewel of my soul
threaded on the string
that should break
how to endure these things
I am getting weaker

Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu #66 Teika’s Ten Tanka Techniques by Jane Reichhold

Ten Styles of Tanka – Post 3 – January 22, 2016

 

November Afternoon

in the distance
as the sun melts in the mist
a solemn ray
disperses light on the lake
and his soul in the wind

© G.s.k. ‘16

3. Elegant beauty – urawashiki tei, characterised by harmony, balance, and beauty of cadence

Examples of this style is this one from the great poet of the late 7th century – Kakinomoto no Hitomaro from the Kokinshū, #9:409:

honobono to / akashi no ura no / asagiri ni / shimagakureyuku / fune o shi zo omou

dimly dimly
on the shores of Akashi Bay
morning mist
vanishing by distant islands
longing follows the ship

Carpe Diem Tokubetsudesu #66 Teika’s Ten Tanka Techniques by Jane Reichhold

 

 

 

The Ten Styles of Tanka – Post Two – January 21, 2016

that winter at noon
I was happy – full of life
the willows shone bright
their leaves flowed like silver rain
imitating a spring day

© G.s.k. ‘16

“2. Appropriate statement – koto shikarubeki

From the former emperor Go-Toba’s Secret Teachings, is his statement that the Priest Shun’e said of this style “that a poem should be composed so that seems to glide as smoothly as a drop of water rolling down the length of a five-foot iris leaf”. The priest was known to have composed in a smooth quiet manner.

As example is this poem by Shunzei, #16:988 Senzaishū:

sumiwabite / mi o kakusubeki / yamazoto ni /amari kuma naki /yowa no tsuki kana

weary of the world
I thought to hide myself away
in this mountain village
but it reaches every corner of the night
bright radiance of the moon

Teika’s Ten Tanka Techniques by Jane Reichhold

The Ten Styles of Tanka – Post One – January 20, 2016

winter morning
walking down this empty path
only silence
memories of summer’s joy
have frozen on the wind

© G.s.k. ‘16

1. Mystery and depth – yūgentei, the image evoking ineffable loneliness (This category is associated mostly with Fujiwara Shunzei (1114-1204) – examples from  Toshiyori:

uzura naku / mano no irie no / hamakaze ni / obananami yoru / aki no yūgure

cries of quail
from the shore of Mano cove
winds blow
waves of plume grass
ripple in autumn dusk

furusato wa / chiru momijiba ni / uzumorete /noki no shinobu ni / akikaze zo fuku

my birthplace
buried under crimson leaves
fallen in the garden
sedge grass from the eaves
melancholy autumn wind

 

(Today’s episode is dedicated to the Ten Tanka Techniques by the famous Japanese poet Fujiwara no Teika written by by Jane Reichhold on Carpe Diem Haiku Kai,. It seems a shame to write just one tanka for the whole episode but on the other hand to write ten tanka all in one post means no single tanka technique or indeed tanka can be appreciated.  So, I’ve decided to write a tanka dedicated to each technique on separate posts.

For the complete post published by Chèvrefeuille on the ten tanka techniques, which is really extremely interesting, please click on the link above.)