Editing Tanka (section)

==Poetic culture==
In ancient times, it was a custom between two writers to exchange waka instead of letters in prose. In particular, it was common between lovers. Reflecting this custom, five of the twenty volumes of the Kokin Wakashū gathered waka for love. In the Heian period the lovers would exchange waka in the morning when lovers met at the woman's home. The exchanged waka were called ''Kinuginu'' (後朝), because it was thought the man wanted to stay with his lover and when the sun rose he had almost no time to put on his clothes on which he had lain instead of a mattress (it being the custom in those days). Works of this period, ''[[The Pillow Book]]'' and ''[[The Tale of Genji]]'' provide us with such examples in the life of aristocrats. [[Murasaki Shikibu]] uses 795 waka in her ''The Tale of Genji'' as waka her characters made in the story. Some of these are her own, although most are taken from existing sources. Shortly, making and reciting waka became a part of aristocratic culture. They recited a part of appropriate waka freely to imply something on an occasion.<ref name="Poetry Kaleidoscope">{{cite book |last1=Sfetcu |first1=Nicolae |title=Poetry Kaleidoscope |date=12 May 2014 |publisher=MultiMedia |isbn=9781312780200 |page=175 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2EmNAwAAQBAJ&q=in%20ancient%20times&pg=PA175 |access-date=30 April 2024}}</ref>

Much like with [[Japanese tea ceremony|tea]], there were a number of rituals and events surrounding the composition, presentation, and judgment of waka. There were two types of waka party that produced [[occasional poetry]]: ''Utakai'' and ''[[Uta-awase]]''. Utakai was a party in which all participants wrote a waka and recited them. Utakai derived from Shikai, Kanshi party and was held in occasion people gathered like seasonal party for the New Year, some celebrations for a newborn baby, a birthday, or a newly built house. ''Utaawase'' was a contest in two teams. Themes were determined and a chosen poet from each team wrote a waka for a given theme. The judge appointed a winner for each theme and gave points to the winning team. The team which received the largest sum was the winner. The first recorded Utaawase was held in around 885. At first, Utaawase was playful and mere entertainment, but as the poetic tradition deepened and grew, it turned into a serious aesthetic contest, with considerably more formality.<ref name="Poetry Kaleidoscope">{{cite book |last1=Sfetcu |first1=Nicolae |title=Poetry Kaleidoscope |date=12 May 2014 |publisher=MultiMedia |isbn=9781312780200 |page=175 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2EmNAwAAQBAJ&q=in%20ancient%20times&pg=PA175 |access-date=30 April 2024}}</ref>