, or , is a Japanese form of popular collaborative linked verse poetry. It is a development of the older Japanese poetic tradition of
ushin renga, or orthodox collaborative linked verse. At renku gatherings participating poets take turns providing alternating verses of 17 and 14
morae. Initially
haikai no renga distinguished itself through vulgarity and coarseness of wit, before growing into a legitimate artistic tradition, and eventually giving birth to the
haiku form of Japanese poetry. The term
renku gained currency after 1904, when
Kyoshi Takahama started to use it.