Last month, an experiment called “Marugoto Tanka,” meaning the entire village is for tanka poetry, was held in the town, and I went to check it out. With the aid of a map, the idea was to look ...

Students will write tanka poetry in the correct form. What are the poems about? What images come to mind? How do the lengths and form of the poems differ? What are some similarities in the themes?

He served as a judge for the annual “Utakai Hajime,” or the Imperial New Year’s Poetry Reading ceremony, and as a tanka adviser for the imperial family. His grand resume belies his checkered ...