Kanshi (poetry)

Kanshi is a kind of poem that was very popular in Japan a long time ago. It is different from regular Japanese poems because it uses Chinese words and follows a different set of rules.

When people write Kanshi, they usually use five or seven syllables per line. But what's a syllable you ask? A syllable is like a beat or a sound in a word. For example, your name might have two syllables - the 'Ja' and the 'son'. Five or seven syllable lines might go like this:

Five syllable line: The river flows fast / Between the rocks and the shore / Like my beating heart.

Seven syllable line: The moon in the sky / Looks like a big round lantern / Lighting up the night.

Kanshi poems are usually about nature, love, or important events. They are also often written as a way to express feelings and thoughts, kind of like how you might write in a diary.

So, Kanshi poems are a special kind of poem from Japan that use Chinese words and follow different rules for how many syllables are in each line. They often talk about nature, love, or important events, and people write them when they want to express their feelings and thoughts in a creative way.