In this song in addition to the regular refrain of rokuchōshi (yoiya sa, koi sasa) the last word of the second line is repeated to correspond to a refrain and within the song itself Omaya and Washa alternate rhythmically.
Rhyme is not used in Japanese poetry either literary or folk, since the language is basically a series of syllables all ending in vowels. An exception to this is a final ‘n’ which is derived from an archaic ‘mu’. It always counts as a separate syllable where it occurs and if it is followed by a ‘b’ or ‘p’, it becomes ‘m’. In place of rhyme other devices are used. Alliteration occurs as in Song 20: Korobi kokureba or Song 39: Okitsu motsuretsu More common is assonance, e.g., in Song 31: Mono mo īyo de or Song 34: Kaya-yane arare Internal repetitions and plays on sound are also frequent, as in Song 37:
Sake no sakana
Udonu ka soba ka
Udonu soba yori
Kaka no soba
or Song 50:
Shōchū wa nomi nomi
Mi wa hadeka demo
Geko no tatetaru
Kura wa naka
Rhythm of the songs is emphasized or coördinated with various bodily movements depending upon the occasion. In the banquet songs in addition to the samisen music, the participants clap their hands to emphasize the time, in children’s games songs the rhythm corresponds to some movement such as the bouncing of a ball, in the dotsuki, the rhythm of the song assists the pounders to keep regular time in their work.
There are two notable characteristic literary forms in Japanese poetry, the pillow word and the pivot word. The pillow word is a formalized set phrase, like the “rosy fingered dawn” of Homer, which often serves as the opening line of a tanka. This is not common in the folksongs, though some examples do occur such as comparing a girl to a flower in Song 41. The pivot word is a single
