How to write and sing Shigin (Japanese way of chanting poem) properly?


1, Should Shigin be written in Yamato (old Japanese language)? Or an even
older version of Japanese? Can I write it in modern Japanese?

2, Are there rules for Shigin? Such as setting rhythms, melodies, rhymes, etc?
Is 5-7-5 form required?

3, Anything else to be noted to write Shigin which even Japanese people can
feel it themselves?

Thank you.



  1. It's usually written in classical Japanese or [kanbun kundoku](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanbun). But be aware that Yamato-kotoba is not the same as classical Japanese. Typical 詩吟 pieces have many [Sino-Japanese words](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Japanese_vocabulary). Mixing 詩吟 and modern Japanese may be technically possible but I haven't heard of something like that. It's perhaps like mixing Shakespeare's English and hip-hop.
  2. 詩吟 is a traditional genre of art, and of course there are many rules and patterns. This question is almost like "Are there rules for Flamenco?" to me. Although the character-by-character translation of 詩吟 is "poem chanting", its actual meaning is very specific, and it only refers to [this genre of art](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4wGbZsPrqo). To my knowledge, the 5-7-5 pattern is not very important.

