TY - JOUR AU - Kensuke, Koshida PY - 2020/11/30 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Globalization of Tanka: How Twitter Contributes to Development of Traditional Japanese Poetry JF - Intercultural Relations JA - RM-IR VL - 4 IS - 2(8) SE - Articles DO - 10.12797/RM.02.2020.08.09 UR - https://journals.akademicka.pl/relacje/article/view/2519 SP - 137-149 AB - <p>Tanka poems are a representative type of classical Japanese poetry with a long history. Beginning as <em>Waka</em>, which were widely composed starting in the 7<sup>th</sup> century, today they continue to be produced by people of diverse backgrounds while retaining their ancient characteristics. In other words, <em>tanka </em>poems can be regarded as a valuable part of Japanese cultural heritage that are loved and enjoyed in contemporary Japan.</p><p>My paper focuses on the current state of modern <em>tanka</em> and the significance of <em>tanka</em> in contemporary society. In the processes of globalization, the Internet (for example, Twitter and other social media) is becoming the main platform for creating and reading modern <em>tanka</em>. Twitter, in particular, has become the largest such forum and features <em>tanka</em> from all over the world. And more, there are some poets who use Twitter as their main place of work. A similar phenomenon is seen in other social media, and it can be said that social media has had a great impact on modern <em>tanka</em>.</p><p>The main conclusion of my paper is that social media has become a global tool for <em>tanka </em>which has been passed as a tradition shaped over centuries from one generation to another. As a result, the traditional framework of social exclusiveness of this poetic genre from ancient times has been removed, leaving an environment where people of any social status can easily create and read <em>tanka</em> and join the <em>tanka</em> community. In other words, because of the impact of social media, the <em>tanka</em> community today has become a melting pot of a wide variety of people, with poets now coming from very different backgrounds.</p><p>This indicates that <em>tanka’s</em> character as an aspect of Japan’s cultural heritage is changing, especially among young generations who use social media in their daily life, while still retaining some of its traditional attributes. <em>Tanka</em> is an important genre in Japanese literature, itself a core element of Japanese culture, while possessing, at the same time, the potential to be shared all over the world. Therefore, research on <em>tanka</em> on a global scale offers a potentially significant contribution to Japanese studies.</p> ER -