How to write and sing Shigin (Japanese way of chanting poem) properly?

Question

1, Should Shigin be written in Yamato (old Japanese language)? Or an even older version of Japanese? Can I write it in modern Japanese?

2, Are there rules for Shigin? Such as setting rhythms, melodies, rhymes, etc? Is 5-7-5 form required?

3, Anything else to be noted to write Shigin which even Japanese people can feel it themselves?

Thank you.

This question is too broad. Please ask for something more precise, on a specific word / expression. — Makoto, Commented Dec 24, 2020 at 10:58
I am sorry, I am new in this community so maybe it will take me time to learn to ask properly. Maybe I should start with, "Does anyone here listen to Shigin?". Because if there is no one, all those questions above should be deleted. — BlackXIII, Commented Dec 25, 2020 at 0:51
Do not be sorry, you are new to the community, it is normal to make mistakes. Try to look at the questions to check how they are asked. It will give you a rough idea. The best way to get an answer in your case would be something like explaining in a few words what Shigin is and then ask : is the 5-7-5 form always required?: it is something precise, but the discussion can also be extended, depending on the answers — Makoto, Commented Dec 25, 2020 at 10:33

naruto · Accepted Answer · 2020-12-26 21:33:56Z

1

It's usually written in classical Japanese or kanbun kundoku. But be aware that Yamato-kotoba is not the same as classical Japanese. Typical 詩吟 pieces have many Sino-Japanese words. Mixing 詩吟 and modern Japanese may be technically possible but I haven't heard of something like that. It's perhaps like mixing Shakespeare's English and hip-hop.
詩吟 is a traditional genre of art, and of course there are many rules and patterns. This question is almost like "Are there rules for Flamenco?" to me. Although the character-by-character translation of 詩吟 is "poem chanting", its actual meaning is very specific, and it only refers to this genre of art. To my knowledge, the 5-7-5 pattern is not very important.

answered Dec 26, 2020 at 18:45

naruto

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thank you. Actually I expected a no for the question to use modern Japanese in Shigin. I just want to write Shigin the right way. So Shigin can be written using Chinese plus prepositions, conjunctions like の, を, して, and such? And with Japanese structure "Noun + conjunction + verb + (して)"? And the Chinese word is pronounced in Japanese? About rhyme, the way Shigin is chanted makes me not able to detect the rhyme. So I guess rhyme is not so important in Shigin. But images of nature perhaps are important. I can see they use a lot metaphors with nature.
– BlackXIII
Commented Dec 30, 2020 at 7:26
@BlackXIII Rhyme is not important in Shigin. To write Lyrics(?) of Shigin, you have to learn the grammar of classical Japanese or kanbun (Japanese native speakers learn them at high school).
– naruto
Commented Dec 31, 2020 at 4:16
thank you. Will do.
– BlackXIII
Commented Dec 31, 2020 at 10:57

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