"Tanka Joto!": Reader Tanka Contest Held on X to Coincide with "Tanka Boom" Among Gen Z, Linking Manga x Tanka x Illustration

TOPPAN HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.'s group company, BookLive Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Masashi Awano), produces and distributes original comics as the publisher "Live Comics." Live Comics and TV Asahi have jointly produced the manga "Tanka Joto!", which began distribution on major domestic e-book stores on April 10th (Friday). To commemorate the launch, a campaign offering free access to chapters 1-6 for one month starting today will be held. To coincide with the increased number of readers engaging with the work through this campaign, and to allow readers to enjoy the world of tanka poetry more deeply, a related event, a tanka contest, will be held concurrently. ## About "Tanka Joto!" This new manga by Runo Minagawa is themed "Tanka x Yankee." It tells the story of Koga Narumi, a high school student with talent in tanka but who dislikes it, and his encounters with classmates like Kanta Tsuchiya, who loves tanka despite being poor at it. The story unfolds as they deepen their bonds through life-or-death battles. Tanka poet Hiroshi Sakakibara, knowledgeable in manga, serves as the tanka supervisor. This is a new-sense entertainment work that fuses the passionate words of "yankees" who "issue challenges with tanka" with beautiful artwork. ## "Issue Your Challenge with Tanka!" "Tanka Joto!" Tanka Contest (Held on X) * **Period:** Friday, April 10, 2026 – Thursday, May 7, 2026 * **How to Enter (Completed on X):** 1. Follow the official Grenat X account (). 2. Read "Tanka Joto!" (Now available on major e-book stores; chapters 1-6 are free during the period). 3. Create a tanka inspired by characters, scenes, lines, or the atmosphere that left an impression on you. 4. Post on X with "#短歌で啖呵を切りやがれ_短歌上等". * Submissions from those new to tanka are also welcome. Emphasis is placed on the originality of ideas and freshness of language over technical skill. 5. Judging will be conducted by Hiroshi Sakakibara, with the Grand Prize (1 poem) and selected entries (5 poems) to be announced in mid-June via the editorial department's official X account and other channels. * The evaluation will encourage readers' free creativity while respecting the work's worldview. * **What is Tanka...** Tanka is a traditional Japanese fixed-form poem consisting of a total of 31 syllables arranged in a 5-7-5-7-7 pattern. It does not have restrictions on seasonal words, and the mainstream approach is to freely compose using modern language for everyday emotions and scenery. "Modern Tanka," enjoyed casually on social media, is also popular and has become established as an expressive method for straightforwardly conveying emotions. ## Award-winning works will be included as official content The Grand Prize (1 poem) will be included on the cover page of Volume 13 of "Tanka Joto!", to be distributed later, accompanied by an original illustration by Runo Minagawa tailored to the content of the tanka. Through this "three-stage creation" of Manga → Reader Tanka → Illustration, it is...