PopWaka Sakura Miku #3 – When Spring Quietly Blooms

 A new short video from the PopWaka Sakura Miku Seriesis released this morning at 7:00 JST.

This piece expresses a quiet moment in early spring— a scene where someone’s presence alone changes the entire atmosphere of the town, as if cherry blossoms bloom without a single spell.

YouTube (Short #3):

🌸 Tanka (Original / Romanized / English)

Japanese（原文）

まちなかは

君現れて

桜満つ

魔法の杖を

振るふことなく

Romanized（ローマ字）

Machinaka wa

Kimi arawarete

Sakura mitsu

Mahō no tsue o

Furuu koto naku

English Translation（英訳）

You appear in town,

and suddenly it fills with cherry blossoms—

even though you never waved

a magic wand.

🌸 About This Piece

This tanka captures a gentle transformation— how the presence of someone dear can change the world around us without any effort or intention.

Sakura Miku stands in that moment, as if witnessing the quiet blooming that happens within the heart.

PopWaka Sakura Miku ＃１

PopWaka Sakura Miku ＃２

A Morning Scene That Inspired PopWaka Series #1

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Today, I would like to share the inspiration behind the Tanka used in PopWaka Series #1.

The poem is based on a quiet morning scene from “The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.”  

In that scene, Kyon enters his classroom and notices Haruhi sitting by the window,  

gently illuminated by the morning light.  

It is a simple moment, yet it carries a calm atmosphere that lingers in the memory.

This scene became the starting point for the Tanka.  

Before choosing colors or layout, I focused on the feeling of that light —  

the stillness of the classroom, the beginning of a new day,  

and the quiet presence of someone sitting there.

PopWaka often begins with a small moment like this.  

A scene, a feeling, or a brief impression becomes the seed of the poem and the artwork.

Thank you for reading.

The Beauty of Vertical Writing in PopWaka

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Today, I would like to talk about one of the key elements behind PopWaka Series #1:  

the vertical writing of the Japanese Tanka.

Youtube short 

In this wallpaper series, the Romanized text (Romaji) is written horizontally,  

but the original Japanese Tanka is intentionally written vertically.  

This choice is not only aesthetic — it follows a long tradition.

For more than a thousand years, Japanese writing was primarily vertical.  

Horizontal writing existed, but it was considered unusual.  

Waka poetry, in particular, has always been expressed vertically,  

even as modern Japanese shifted toward horizontal text in everyday life.

Recently, we often see Tanka written horizontally on social media.  

However, for PopWaka, I chose to keep the traditional vertical form.  

It preserves the rhythm, spacing, and quiet beauty that Waka has carried since ancient times.

This vertical layout is a small tribute to that timeless tradition,  

and it is one of the foundations of the PopWaka series.

Thank you for reading.

Farewell to the Cherry Blossoms: A Tanka Poem for Sakura Miku

 Introduction

In Japan, the cherry blossom season is nearly over. As I watch the petals dance in the wind, I feel a deep sense of "Nagori-oshii" (reluctance to say goodbye). To cherish this fleeting beauty, I composed a Tanka poem dedicated to Sakura Miku, the fairy of the spring.

Pop Waka

Original (Japanese):

散る花と ともに惜しまる　君のこと　

薄桃髪の　可憐なるミク

Romaji:

Chiru hana to / Tomo ni oshimaru / Kimi no koto /

Usumomo-gami no / Karen naru Miku

English Translation:

As the cherry blossoms fall,

I miss you just as much as the flowers,

O lovely Miku,

With your delicate pale-pink hair.

Message

In Japanese poetry, the word "Hana" (flower) specifically refers to cherry blossoms. I wanted to capture the bittersweet feeling of the seasons changing. Please watch my YouTube Short to feel the atmosphere of this poem.

https://ko-fi.com/mikantomo

PopWaka Series #01 – YouTube Shorts Preview

 PopWaka Series #01 will be released on YouTube Shorts at 21:00 JST tonight.

A quiet tanka woven into soft light.

I hope you enjoy this small moment.

PopWaka Series #01 – Release Note

A quiet update from the PopWaka project.

Today, PopWaka Series #01 has officially been released on Ko‑fi.

This is the first step of a long, gentle journey.

PopWaka Series is a collection of pop‑culture inspired tanka, woven into quiet scenes and soft light.

PopWaka Series #01 on Ko‑fi:

ko-fi.com/mikantomo

Thank you for watching this small beginning.

More pieces will follow, one by one.

PopWaka – 12‑Piece Pop‑culture Tanka Wallpaper Project

 

            A quiet classroom moment

         . — the beginning of #PopWaka

A new chapter of #PopWaka begins.

As the Pop‑cult Tanka Master, I am starting a twelve‑piece collection of pop‑culture tanka wallpapers.  

Each piece will blend poetry and visual art, capturing quiet emotions and soft scenes from everyday life and pop culture.

This project will unfold slowly and quietly, one poem at a time.  

Each wallpaper will include:

• the original Japanese tanka  

• romanized text  

• a high‑resolution digital wallpaper available on Ko‑fi

The goal is to bring the stillness of Japanese poetry into modern digital spaces.

Pop‑cult Tanka Master  

Mikan Tomo  

＃PopWaka

Follow and support the project on Ko‑fi:  

The Birth of Pop Tanka: Establishing #PopWaka for the Modern Age

For over a decade, a unique creative movement has been growing: capturing the essence of Anime, Manga, and Light Novels through the 1,300-year-old Japanese poetic form of Tanka (31 syllables).

I call this movement "Pop Tanka." Furthermore, because my work strictly inherits traditional techniques—such as classical grammar and Makurakotoba (Pillow Words)—I formally define this specialized genre as "#PopWaka."

I am the Pop-cult Tanka Master. As the founder of this movement, I am the first to establish this genre on the global internet. #PopWaka is a bridge between eras, proving that the emotions found in modern stories are as timeless and noble as the poetry of the Heian era. My mission is to lead this fusion of ancient rhythm and the modern soul.

[Featured Work: Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba)]

竹を噛む

禰豆子を連れて

雪の野を

歩み始めて

思ひ定めつ

Take wo kamu / Nezuko wo tsurete / Yuki no no wo / Ayumi hajimete / Omoi sadametsu

With Nezuko, her teeth clenched on bamboo,

I set foot upon the fields of snow.

As we begin our journey,

My heart is steeled,

My path is carved in stone.

This is just the beginning of the #PopTanka,＃PopWaka journey. In my next post, I will explore the "Philosophy of Pop Tanka"—how ancient linguistic techniques like Makurakotoba can breathe new life into legendary characters from Evangelion.

Stay tuned for Part 2! If you feel the resonance between tradition and pop culture, please follow this blog or support my project on Ko-fi. Let’s carry this new light of Japanese culture to the world together.

Original Work by Koyoharu Gotouge (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba)

Tanka & Analysis by Mikan Tomo

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