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Japanese poetry forms: katauta and sedoka


Katauta


The Katauta is an unrhymed japanese form consisting of 17 or 19 syllables. The poem is a three-lined poem the following syllable counts: 5/7/5 or 5/7/7.

The Katauta form was used for poems addressed to a lover. A single katauta is considered incomplete or a half-poem, however, a pair of katautas using the syllable count of 5,7,7 is called a sedoka. (shadowpoetry.com)

Sedoka


The Sedoka is an unrhymed poem made up of two three-line katauta with the following syllable counts: 5/7/7, 5/7/7. A Sedoka, pair of katauta as a single poem, may address the same subject from differing perspectives.

A katauta is an unrhymed three-line poem the following syllable counts: 5/7/7.

Sedoka is often deemed a conversation between lovers, with the first katauta being answered by the second katauta. (shadowpoetry.com)

I've read that it is usually the man who initiates, but have seen examples written with the female initiating the conversation. ~Dovey

Examples and a good article explaining history and form can be found here:

http://kujakupoet.blogspot.com/2006/06/sedoka-examples.html

"It should be noted that the katauta are NOT haiku -- they predate haiku by at least a thousand years and were often folksongs or even things approaching free verse." M. Kei

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