The , sometimes abbreviated as Shinsenzaishū, a title which recollects the ''

Senzai Wakashū , often abbreviated as ''Senzaishū'', is an imperial anthology of Japanese waka poetry. It was compiled in 1187 by Fujiwara no Shunzei at the behest of the Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa, who ordered it in 1183. It consists of twenty volumes cont ...

'', is an

imperial anthology Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

. The title is in opposition to the prior

. It was completed in 1359, three years after being commissioned by

Emperor Go-Kōgon was the 4th of the Emperors of Northern Court during the Period of the Northern and Southern Courts. According to pre-Meiji scholars, his reign spanned the years from 1352 through 1371.Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Annales des empereurs du japon'' ...

at the request of the

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamakur ...

Ashikaga Takauji was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate."Ashikaga Takauji" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 625. His rule began in 1338, beginning the Muromac ...

. It was compiled by

Fujiwara no Tamesada Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include: ; Families * The Fujiwara clan and its members ** Fujiwara no Kamatari ...

(who also compiled the '' Shokugoshuishu'', and was a member of the older conservative Nijō). It consists of twenty volumes containing 2,364 poems. The collection is considered mediocre, but an interesting example of how power continued to transfer from the Emperors to the military authorities- traditionally, announcing the collection of a new Imperial anthology was the exclusive privilege of an Emperor.

References

*pg. 486 of ''Japanese Court Poetry'',

Earl Miner Earl Roy Miner (February 21, 1927 – April 17, 2004) was a professor at Princeton University, and a noted scholar of Japanese literature and especially Japanese poetry; he was also active in early modern English literature (for instance, his ob ...

, Robert H. Brower. 1961,

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Press, LCCN 61-10925 Japanese poetry anthologies Late Middle Japanese texts 1350s in Japan {{Japan-lit-stub