What variant name for waka literally means Japanese poem or Yamato song?

The variant name for waka that means “Japanese poem” or “Yamato song” is Yamato-uta.

Yamato was an ancient name associated with Japan, while uta means “song” or “poem.” The expression therefore emphasizes waka as poetry native to Japan, in contrast with kanshi, the Chinese-style poetry that Japanese writers composed in literary Chinese.

Waka originally had a broad meaning: it covered several Japanese poetic forms, including chōka, tanka, sedōka, katauta, and bussokusekika. Over time, especially after the Heian period, most of these forms faded from regular use and waka became closely identified with the 5-7-5-7-7 tanka pattern.

Yamato-uta is consequently a historical or explanatory name rather than a separate verse structure with its own fixed meter. A common mix-up is choosing kara-uta, which means “Chinese song” and points in the opposite cultural direction. Uta-awase, meanwhile, was a poetry competition, not another name for waka.