Poetry and Songs of the Edo Period

The prosperity of the Edo period allowed for an equal development and maturity of culture and entertainment, and especially many forms of theater and music appeared. The differences between the noble samurai class and the common townsfolk gave rise to specific styles of music and theater, which defined and differentiated themselves the more the classes were set apart. A specific style of music and metric was created during this time, named kouta or kinsei kouta-cho, and it was so influential that it still persists in folk music to this day. It was a style of music for the shamisen, a banjo-like instrument, designed to accompany the singing of a poem or a story.\n\nPoetry also went through its own period of development, with traditional styles being revived and expanded, and new ones being created. It was very common to write poetry in collaboration with other people while alternating stanzas, and even ordinary citizens began participating in that. The starting stanza of the chain began to be perceived as a poem in itself, which with time gave rise to the haiku.\n\nOld pond;\nfrog leaps in;\nwater sound.