Waka is a type of poetry in classical Japanese literature. Although waka in modern Japanese is written as 和歌, in the past it was also written as 倭歌, and a variant name is yamato-uta (大和歌).
The Kokin Wakashū is an early (c. 900) anthology of waka poetry which fixed the form of Japanese poetry.
Wa is the oldest attested name of Japan. From c. the 2nd century AD Chinese and Korean scribes regularly used the Chinese character 倭; 'submissive'', 'distant'', 'dwarf' to refer to the inhabitants of the Wa kingdoms on Kyushu and those of the ancient Yamato kingdom. In the 8th century, the Japanese replaced the character with 和, wa, 'harmony', 'peace', 'balance'.
The 6th century 唐閻立本王會圖; Táng yánlìběn wáng huì tú, depicting envoys visiting the Tang emperor. From left to right, ambassadors from Wa, Silla, and Baekje. Wa is represented here by Kumaso or Azumi settlers of Kyushu
The golden seal said to have been granted to the 'King of Wa' by Emperor Guangwu of Han in 57 CE
Text of the Wei Zhi
A tattooed Haniwa statue, Kamiyasaku Tomb, Fukushima Prefecture, 4th–6th century