Japanese word

一首

Pronunciation

Romajiisshu

Meaning

  • nountanka

Example

この本から一首を選びます。ko no hon ka ra is shu o era bi ma su

I choose one tanka from this book.

Illustration for 一首 (tanka)

More examples

旅の思い出を一首に詠みました。tabi no omo i de o is shu ni yo mi ma shi ta

I composed a tanka about my travel memories.

Core concept

Marks one self-contained piece of verse within a body of poetry, with tanka as its central use.

Common phrases

  • 一首詠むis shu yo mu

    compose a tanka

  • 一首読むis shu yo mu

    read a tanka

Similar words

短歌tanka: A Japanese poem of thirty-one syllables arranged in five lines.
和歌waka: A traditional Japanese poem, usually composed in the thirty-one-syllable tanka form.

Definition in Japanese

詩歌の作品一つを数える語で、特に短歌や和歌に用いる。shiika no saku hin hito tsu o kazo e ru go de toku ni tan ka ya wa ka ni mochi i ru

Word origin

The word 一首 (isshu) joins 一 (ichi, "one") with 首 (shu, "counter for waka and other poems") to mean one counted poem.

Usage tips

  • The famous anthology 百人一首 (Hyakunin Isshu) links 一首 (isshu) with a fixed literary format in which each of one hundred poets contributes a single poem.

Other meanings

  • poemnoun

Word lists with this word