The Japanese WAKA is similar to the TANKA and the HAIKU. It is a quintet in syllables of 5-7-5-7-7.

The first two lines treat one subject, the second two treat another, and the last line is a refrain or paraphrase. The first two lines are a dependent clause, while the last three are independent.

Examples 1 & 2 by His Majesty the Emperor:

Celebration Of The New Year

When dawn was breaking
The Kashiko-dokoro' s
Garden surface showed
In the midst of piling snows
The watchfires burning red.
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Visit To Saipan Two Poems

At Saipan
An old man who had fought there,
Just as it had been,
Lying down on the sea-shore
Told us the whole sad story.
　
Down below this cliff,
Multitudinous the lives
That people lost here,
Where the ocean is so deep
And the seas are blue and clear.