Japanese poetry differs to western poetry in many aspects, including style and tone. However, there are also great differences amongst the different types of poetry from difference periods of Japanese poetry. In this essay I will compare two types of Japanese poetry styles. The first one is the Manyoshu, also known as Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves, which dates to 759 A. D. Next came the following period in Japanese poetry: the Kokin Wakashu (Collections of Poems Ancient and Modern) period or commonly known as the Kokinshu, which dates to 905 A.D. Both have similarities and differences that I will explain along with sample poems from their respective category, along with my analysis of these poems.
First, the Manyoshu is the older of the two works. It is the great literature work that came out of the Nara period. Most of the 4,500 poems or so are tanka, but the masterpieces are the 260 choka. One piece of work from Manyoshu comes from the great poet Hitomaro:
Since in Karu lived my wife,
I wished to be with her to my heart’s content;
But I could not visit her constantly
Because of so many watching eyes -
Men would know of our troth,
Had I sought her too often.
So our love remained secret like
a rock-pent pool;
I cherished her in my heart,
Looking to after-time when
we should be together,
And lived secure in my trust
As one riding a great ship.
Suddenly there came a messenger
Who told me she was dead -
Was gone like a yellow leaf of Autumn
Dead as the day dies with the setting sun,
Lost as the bright moon is lost behind the cloud
Alas, she is no more, whose soul
Was bent to mine like the bending seaweed.
It can be seen how this poem expresses sorrow for the loss of a loved one along with the intricate and hidden relations some men and women had during this period.
To see the difference between a poem from the Manyoshu and one from the Kokinshu, the following is a poem from the Kokinshu:
I thought to see whether I could do without you
I cannot tell of the longing, even in jest.
- by Anonymous
Autumn leaves which fall in distant mountains
Are damasks worn in the darkness of the night.
- by Ki no Tsurayuki
These mountain cherries with no one to look upon them: Might they not bloom when all others have fallen?
- by Lady Ise
The differences are not quite as conspicuous but the most obvious one
is the difference in sizes. The poem by Hitomaro, is called a choka or “long poem”. It is created by interchanging the lines of the poem starting with 5 syllables and then moving to 7 syllables and repeating; it ends with two lines both being 7 syllables. On the other side, the Kokinshu poem is called a waka (formally known as tanka or “Chinese poems”). All waka contain 5 lines, which are made from the syllable style of 5-7-5-7-7. The difference in size clearly means that the amount of information each type of poem conveys will be different. This most likely implies that the Kokinshu poems considered transferring the meaning of the poem in the shortest amount of words. This means that they considered the perfection of the words more important than stylish, verbose phrases.
The differences between the poems goes beyond length. The themes of the poems are also a distinctive factor. The poem by Hitomaro deals with nostalgic and sorrowful sentiments from the author to his wife, using nature as means to communicate these. On the other hand, the poem from the Kokinshu is more straight in the fact the way that it does not use a lot of metaphors when he talks about nature. Based on the aforementioned statements, both poems are similar to their nature related topics, even though the Kokinshu poem is more heavily influenced by it. Furthermore, tone is another blatant difference between both poems. In the Manyoshu poem, Hitomaro is very sentimental and expressive of his feelings. He expresses his yearning to see his wife and his uncontrollable sorrow for losing her. It is a very emotive poem. However, the Kokinshu poem is a lot more direct. It expresses its emotional meanings directly through the use of nature. Perhaps this difference can be accounted to the fact that the Kokinshu poems are substantially shorter, which implies that the poet has to convey its main idea in a short and efficient fashion.
Nonetheless, both poems show clear aspects of Japanese literature during both periods. Their obliqueness is a clear aspect. Both poems tend to be indirect towards what they refer to. Also, both poems make use of makura kotoba and utamakura, or pillow words and place-name-pillow words, respectively. Both literary tools serve to implicitly stand for something else. Most of the time these literary tools help to express natural phenomena by the authors. However, in my own opinion, the Manyoshu poetry style is a lot more efficient since it has more lines to convey its theme and meaning. I believe, the short style of the Kokinshu takes away some meaning the poet is trying to express.
First, the Manyoshu is the older of the two works. It is the great literature work that came out of the Nara period. Most of the 4,500 poems or so are tanka, but the masterpieces are the 260 choka. One piece of work from Manyoshu comes from the great poet Hitomaro:
Since in Karu lived my wife,
I wished to be with her to my heart’s content;
But I could not visit her constantly
Because of so many watching eyes -
Men would know of our troth,
Had I sought her too often.
So our love remained secret like
a rock-pent pool;
I cherished her in my heart,
Looking to after-time when
we should be together,
And lived secure in my trust
As one riding a great ship.
Suddenly there came a messenger
Who told me she was dead -
Was gone like a yellow leaf of Autumn
Dead as the day dies with the setting sun,
Lost as the bright moon is lost behind the cloud
Alas, she is no more, whose soul
Was bent to mine like the bending seaweed.
It can be seen how this poem expresses sorrow for the loss of a loved one along with the intricate and hidden relations some men and women had during this period.
To see the difference between a poem from the Manyoshu and one from the Kokinshu, the following is a poem from the Kokinshu:
I thought to see whether I could do without you
I cannot tell of the longing, even in jest.
- by Anonymous
Autumn leaves which fall in distant mountains
Are damasks worn in the darkness of the night.
- by Ki no Tsurayuki
These mountain cherries with no one to look upon them: Might they not bloom when all others have fallen?
- by Lady Ise
The differences are not quite as conspicuous but the most obvious one
is the difference in sizes. The poem by Hitomaro, is called a choka or “long poem”. It is created by interchanging the lines of the poem starting with 5 syllables and then moving to 7 syllables and repeating; it ends with two lines both being 7 syllables. On the other side, the Kokinshu poem is called a waka (formally known as tanka or “Chinese poems”). All waka contain 5 lines, which are made from the syllable style of 5-7-5-7-7. The difference in size clearly means that the amount of information each type of poem conveys will be different. This most likely implies that the Kokinshu poems considered transferring the meaning of the poem in the shortest amount of words. This means that they considered the perfection of the words more important than stylish, verbose phrases.
The differences between the poems goes beyond length. The themes of the poems are also a distinctive factor. The poem by Hitomaro deals with nostalgic and sorrowful sentiments from the author to his wife, using nature as means to communicate these. On the other hand, the poem from the Kokinshu is more straight in the fact the way that it does not use a lot of metaphors when he talks about nature. Based on the aforementioned statements, both poems are similar to their nature related topics, even though the Kokinshu poem is more heavily influenced by it. Furthermore, tone is another blatant difference between both poems. In the Manyoshu poem, Hitomaro is very sentimental and expressive of his feelings. He expresses his yearning to see his wife and his uncontrollable sorrow for losing her. It is a very emotive poem. However, the Kokinshu poem is a lot more direct. It expresses its emotional meanings directly through the use of nature. Perhaps this difference can be accounted to the fact that the Kokinshu poems are substantially shorter, which implies that the poet has to convey its main idea in a short and efficient fashion.
Nonetheless, both poems show clear aspects of Japanese literature during both periods. Their obliqueness is a clear aspect. Both poems tend to be indirect towards what they refer to. Also, both poems make use of makura kotoba and utamakura, or pillow words and place-name-pillow words, respectively. Both literary tools serve to implicitly stand for something else. Most of the time these literary tools help to express natural phenomena by the authors. However, in my own opinion, the Manyoshu poetry style is a lot more efficient since it has more lines to convey its theme and meaning. I believe, the short style of the Kokinshu takes away some meaning the poet is trying to express.