noun
adaptation of a famous poem; allusive variation
A classical Japanese poetic technique where a new poem is composed by borrowing and reworking lines or imagery from a well-known earlier poem, creating layered meaning through allusion.
この和歌は、古今集の有名な歌の本歌取りで作られている。
This waka is composed as an allusive variation on a famous poem from the Kokinshū.
本歌取りの技法は、新古
The technique of honkadori was especially developed in the Shin Kokin Wakashū.
A broader aesthetic concept of likening one thing to another, while honkadori specifically involves poetic allusion to a known earlier poem.
Compound of 本歌 (honka, 'original poem') + 取り (tori, 'taking'). The term refers to the practice of 'taking' from an earlier poem to create a new one.