A stone inscribed with a ryûka about Tomari Takahashi (Tomari High Bridge)
- Japanese: 琉歌 (ryuuka)
Ryûka is the most standard form of traditional poetry in the Ryûkyû Islands. A standard ryûka consists of four lines, with an 8-8-8-6 mora structure (in contrast to the 5-7-5-7-7 structure of Japanese tanka).
Songs in the classical Okinawan repertoire of uta-sanshin (song accompanied on sanshin) are often based on ryûka.
A famous example, which appears in the Omoro sôshi, and which serves as the lyrics for the classical song Kajadifu-bushi:
| きゆぬふくらしゃや | Kiyu nu fukurasha ya |
| なうにじゃなたてぃる | Nau ni jana tatiru |
| つぃぶてぃをるはなぬ | Tsibudioru hana nu |
| つぃゆちゃたぐとぅ | Tsiyu chata gutu |
References
- Thompson, Robin. "The Music of Ryukyu." Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese Music. Surrey: Ashgate Publishing, 2008. p311.