Kang Han-na: A South Korean Poet Finds Her Voice in Japan’s Tanka
The South Korean poet Kang Han-na is the only foreign winner of an award for tanka, a Japanese poetic form with a history of over 1,500 years. She says that breaking down complex, tangled feelings into a short tanka can reveal surprisingly simple answers.
Kang Han-na, a South Korean poet, discovered her poetic voice through her immersion in Japanese tanka. Graduating from Sookmyung Women’s University in Seoul, she began appearing on NHK’s tanka program, which catapulted her career. Kang won the Modern Tanka Award for New Writers in 2020 for her debut collection, Mada mada desu (A Long Way to Go). Currently a professor at Tokyo’s Professional University of Information and Management for Innovation, Kang also runs a cosmetic brand business in Japan.
Born in South Korea, Kang relocated to Japan in 2011, inspired by a visit to Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima. The shrine's reverence for history and perseverance resonated with her, prompting her move. Kang admired the slow, thoughtful pace of life in Japan, contrasting it to Korea’s fast-paced environment.
While mastering Japanese, Kang was moved by Shinkai Makoto’s The Garden of Words and its reference to a poem from the Man'yōshū collection. Intrigued by how 31 syllables could encapsulate complex emotions, Kang began writing tanka, despite the form’s unfamiliarity. The 7-5 syllable structure, deeply ingrained in Japanese tradition, posed a challenge for her Korean-influenced sijo background.
Over the next years, Kang published several tanka collections, drawing attention for exploring themes like culture shock, Japan-South Korea relations, and her mother’s memory. Selected as a finalist for the Kadokawa Tanka Prize three times from 2016 to 2018, her work found appreciation from Japanese judges who valued the rhythm of tanka. Her collection, Mada mada desu, earned the Modern Tanka Award for New Writers in 2020.
Kanga’s tanka is a form of "literature of subtraction," distilling profound emotions into simple lines. For her, tanka offers clarity in a world of complexity. Living in Japan for over 15 years, Kang now contributes to society through her teaching and business endeavors.
Written by urgent.news from Nippon.com's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
