poetry written in Japanese, as distinct from poetry written in Chinese by a Japanese writer, or poetry in other languages.
Origin
1875-80; < Japanese: literally, Japanese song < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinesehé harmony (as a euphemistic reading of the character for wō dwarf, an ancient Chinese designation for the Japanese) + gē song
British Dictionary definitions for waka
waka
/ˈwɔːkə/
noun (NZ)
1.
a Māori canoe, usually made from a tree trunk
2.
a tribal group claiming descent from the first Māori settlers in New Zealand