5-7-5-7-6 syllables. Tanka are also able to change the standard form of the rhyming as well. Ku-ware (splitting) is when a tanka looks like 5-7-5-9-5. Ku-matagari (straddling) is when the tanka looks like 8-4-5-7-7. The last two forms are able to function as a fermata or syncopation of music. This flexibility allows for changes in rhythm.

History

Modern

During the Kojiki and Nihonshoki periods the tanka retained a well defined form, but the history of the mutations of the tanka itself forms an important chapter in haiku

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