About us
At Misohitomoji, which translates to 'thirty-one syllables,' we want to make waka poetry more than just an academic or aesthetic interest by incorporating it into our daily lives.
We are not originally in the business of ancient Japanese literature. For this reason, we may lack in knowledge compared to researchers who have been studying for many years. However, we have found joy in the personalities of haiku poets that can be discovered in their poems. That joy led us to try applying their knowledge and wisdom to our lives today.
Waka are 31-syllable poems that have a history of more than 1,000 years in Japan. These poems have been passed down from the characters of Japanese mythology, to the warlords of the Warring States period, to the people of today. Waka can convey love for nature, the joys and sorrows of life, or moral lessons. By reading waka, we touch the hearts of individuals from the past who remind us of the truths that have existed since ancient times. In Japan today, we lack opportunities to discuss our true feelings due to economic disparity and the normative pressures of society. Under such circumstances, through reading waka and sympathizing with our ancestors we can find inspiration and a guideline for our own self-cultivation.
We are sharing tanka poems, focusing on dōka, on Instagram. If you have any recommended tanka, please let us know. We welcome your comments and opinions.
Podcast
In the podcast, we talk about realizations encountered while reading and interpreting tanka, as well as our personal perspective on the difficulties of interpreting tanka due to the differences between the Japanese and English languages. We also look at the authors of these poems and use their poetry as a prism through which to interpret their lives.
Just search for “Misohitomoji Podcast” on your favorite podcast app to listen.
Column
We have tried to include an explanation for each of the poems we have shared, including a brief historical background, along with our personal interpretations and impressions.
Shop
We want to put the wisdom of the past to use in our daily lives. Encountering this wisdom in a book is great, but we want to make more opportunities to find it each day. This is the inspiration behind the products we make ourselves and the collaborators we introduce.