examples of tanka.pdf

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IDE 631 
Unit 3 Assignment 
Shinnosuke Tsuzuki 
2003/09/15 
 
Designing Instruction to Teach Concept 
 
Concept: haiku 
 
Definition of haiku: a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, 
seven, and five. (The Concise Oxford Dictionary) 
 
Concept Analysis: A Japanese poem, haiku, has its origin in tanka. The definition of 
tanka is “a Japanese poem in five lines and thirty-one syllables, giving a complete 
picture of an event or mood.” (The Concise Oxford Dictionary) Therefore, tanka might 
be considered coordinate concept of haiku. Additionally, tanka and renga are other 
types of Japanese poems. They also might be considered coordinate concept of haiku. 
And, they are similar and related to the concept of haiku that might cause confusion to 
the students. Since the main reason why ancient Japanese poets made haiku, tanka, and 
renga is to express their feeling when they saw the beauty of the natural scenery, it can 
be said that the super-ordinate concept of these concepts is realism, in other words, 
representing things as they really are. 
 
Objective: The students will identify example of haiku. There are a lot of similar forms 
of poems in Japan. After this lesson, the students will understand what haiku is and how 
it differs from other poems which are tanka and renga.  
 
Strategy: Direct: Provide definition and then give examples. The instructors make the 
plan how the students understand the concept of haiku systematically. Both expository 
and inquiry approach will be used in the plan.  
 
Event 
Activity 
1.  Provide an introduction and context 
Explain how haiku has been developed in 
Japanese history. And, give 
some 
examples of haiku in order to explain its 
structure. 
 
2. State the concept name, give the 
definition, and provide the initial set of 
examples. 
Concept name: haiku 
Definition of haiku: a Japanese poem of 
seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, 
seven, and five. (The Concise Oxford 
Dictionary) 
Examples: Tanka and renga are the initial 
set of examples which might be 
considered coordinate concept of haiku. 
 
3. Provide a variety of examples and 
non-examples. Discuss why each is an 
example or why it is not an example. 
To support the concept of haiku, tanka is 
a best example because tanka is a 
prototype of haiku. Other Japanese 
poems (tanka and renga) are also good 
examples, because they have similar 
forms compared with haiku. 
On the other hand, a Japanese traditional 
novel or essay is not a good example to 
explain the concept of haiku, because the 
form of the novel or essay is a long 
passage. It 
is not a short verbal 
expression like haiku. Notice that haiku 
is one of the shortest poems all over the 
world. 
4. Provide exercises requiring students to 
identify examples. 
(Elicit performance) 
The students will argue in discussion 
groups (each group has 3 or 4 members), 
and demonstrate the concept of haiku. 
Trying to make their own haiku is a good 
practice to understand what haiku is.  
5. Provide feedback on exercises. 
Each group will have a presentation in 
order to share their opinions about haiku. 
If they have a common point of view, it 
might be a real concept of haiku.  
6. Assess learning (test). 
Let the students complete the worksheet 
(Figure.1). The instructors should know 
how the students understand the general 
concept of haiku. 
Figure.1 
 
1. Which of the following is the correct form of haiku? 
a. 5-7-5 
b. 5-7-5, 7-7 
c. 5-7-7 
d. 5-7 
 
2. What is the most important factor of haiku? 
a. realism 
b. ideology 
c. surrealism 
d. dadaism 
 
3. What kind of word (phrase) should be included in haiku? 
 
*Answer – “a season word (phrase)” 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Reference – The definitions of haiku, tanka and renga. 
 
Haiku: 
 
It is now generally agreed that the earliest poems were songs, prayers, and incantations 
to gods. One tentacle of the spread of poetry has been traced from Persia to India, up to 
China and over to Japan. Even before the written records in Japan (760 AD) people 
spoke tanka to gods and in praise of the reigning monarchy. Tanka, with its 5-7-5-7-7 
sound syllable count, its lofty ancestry, its shortness and ease for recall, became the 
favorite poetical form of the Japanese Imperial Court. And thus, both reached their 
highest popularity and brilliance during the same centuries -- ninth to eleventh. 
 
Resource: Jane Reichhold. Haiku definition Retrieved September 13, 2003 from the 
world wide web: http://www.ahapoetry.com/haidefjr.htm 
 
 
Tanka: 
 
Tanka is a poetic form that requires 31 onji, and is divided into 5 lines of 5-7-5-7-7 onji 
each. A Tanka is further divided rhythmically; the earliest Tanka were divided at the end 
of the 12th onji with a new rhythm beginning at the 13th and continuing to the end of 
the poem. Later, the trend became to divide the poem rhythmically at the end of the 17th 
onji and begin a new rhythm from the 18th onji to the end (or the last two 7 onji lines). 
Modern Tanka utilizes either rhythm break position, but though the break point is less 
important today than earlier times, rhythm and rhythm changes as an integral part of the 
structure of Tanka is of primary importance still. 
 
Resource: Richard MacDonald. What Is A Tanka? Retrieved September 13, 2003 from 
the world wide web: http://pachome1.pacific.net.sg/~loudon/rick.htm 
 
 
Renga: 
 
Renga is a form of linked poetry which evolved from tanka, the oldest Japanese poetry 
form. The word is both singular and plural as in our English "sheep" and "deer" so you 
don't have to learn two foreign words. 
In renga's eight hundred year history it has gone through many fashions and changes of 
goals and ideals. When it first began the trick was to turn the reader's thinking to admire 
a pun or jest as a three-line verse (of 17 syllables) was continued with a two-line verse 
of 7 and 7 syllables. If you have the feeling this is related to haiku, you are absolutely 
correct. The beginning three lines of a renga become haiku when they were snipped off 
(500 years after it began) by Basho (whom you know already). 
As you read some of the renga the important thing to watch is what happens 
BETWEEN the links. Think of each stanza as a springboard from which you are going 
to jump. As your mind leaps (and you think you know where the poem is going) you 
should be forced to make a somersault in order to land upright in the next link. It is the 
twist your mind makes between links that makes renga interesting.  
Some leaps are close (as in the beginning and end of the poem) so the subject is moved 
only slightly ahead. In the middle of the poem renga whizzes can pirouette until your 
head spins -- and that is just what is desired.  
Take your partner by the hand. Start tapping your feet. Bow. And away you go. Well, 
renga is not really dancing in the barn or ballroom concept, but it does witness to the 
dance of minds. Therefore you should take it seriously as you remember it is game with 
words. 
 
Resource: Renga Retrieved September 13, 2003 from the world wide web: 
http://www.ahapoetry.com/renga.htm#start