Forms of Japanese Short Poetry


Haiku- A Japanese lyric verse form having three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables, traditionally invoking aspects of nature or the seasons.

Haiga-Traditional Japanese haiga involved brush art work coupled with a haiku poem done in brush calligraphy. Digital art-haiku or Photo Haiku is one form of modern Haiga.

Tanka-Verse form of 31 syllables in five unrhymed lines, the first and third having five syllables each and the others seven.

Senryu- A short Japanese poem that is similar to a Haiku poem in structure but deals with human beings rather than nature, often in a humorous or satiric way. Haiku is usually published with the name of the author and senryu is not.

Gogyohka- literally translates as "five-line verse", unlike its predecessors Haiku and Tanka, it has no fixed syllable pattern.