sedōka

Japanese poetry

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July 13, 2026

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The term sedōka refers to a Japanese poetic form consisting of two three-line stanzas, each with a syllable structure of 5, 7, and 7. This form was sometimes used for poems that involved dialogue. A single sedōka was considered incomplete, and a pair of them formed a complete poem.12

The sedōka is a type of waka, which is classical Japanese poetry, particularly prevalent from the 6th to the 14th century. While sedōka and chōka (long poems) were less common after the 8th century, the tanka (short poem) form, with its 5-7-5-7-7 syllable structure, has endured and is considered the basic form of Japanese poetry, influencing later forms like renga and haiku.2

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waka
The sedōka, or “head-repeated poem,” consists of two tercets of five, seven, and seven syllables each. An uncommon form, it was sometimes used for dialogues. Kakinomoto Hitomaro’s sedōka are noteworthy. Chōka and sedōka were seldom written after the 8th century.
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The sedōka, or “head-repeated poem,” consists of two tercets of five, seven, and seven syllables each. An uncommon form, it was sometimes used for dialogues. Kakinomoto Hitomaro’s sedōka are noteworthy. Chōka and sedōka were seldom written after the 8th century.
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literature
Broad and narrow conceptions of poetry
…it has 31 syllables; the sedōka has 38; the dodoitsu, imitating folk song, has 26. From the 17th century onward, the most popular poetic form was the haiku, which has 17 syllables.
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…it has 31 syllables; the sedōka has 38; the dodoitsu, imitating folk song, has 26. From the 17th century onward, the most popular poetic form was the haiku, which has 17 syllables.
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Kakinomoto Hitomaro
Probably he also wrote sedōka (“head-repeated poem,” consisting of two three-line verses of 5, 7, 7 syllables), a relatively minor song form that seems to have been first adapted to literary purposes by Hitomaro and to have barely survived him. All of the poems accepted as indisputably authored by…
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Probably he also wrote sedōka (“head-repeated poem,” consisting of two three-line verses of 5, 7, 7 syllables), a relatively minor song form that seems to have been first adapted to literary purposes by Hitomaro and to have barely survived him. All of the poems accepted as indisputably authored by…
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