A tanka poem is an important form in Japanese poetry. These poems are made up of five units which after translation into English, usually take the form of five lines. They follow a syllable pattern of 5-7-5-7-7, similar, and yet longer than a haiku. There are two parts, the initial 5-7-7 known as the kami-no-ku or upper phrase, and the second half, 7-7, known as the shimo-no-ku or the lower phrase. Together, the poem is thirty-one syllables long.