The , commonly abbreviated as , is an early anthology of the ''

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 ...

'' form of Japanese poetry, dating from the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese ...

. 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 ...

, it was conceived by Emperor Uda () and published by order of his son

Emperor Daigo was the 60th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 醍醐天皇 (60)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Daigo's reign spanned the years from 897 through 930. He is named after his place of burial. G ...

() in about 905. Its finished form dates to 920, though according to several historical accounts the last poem was added to the collection in 914. The compilers of the anthology were four court poets, led by

Ki no Tsurayuki was a Japanese author, poet and court noble of the Heian period. He is best known as the principal compiler of the ''Kokin Wakashū'', also writing its Japanese Preface, and as a possible author of the '' Tosa Diary'', although this was publish ...

and also including

Ki no Tomonori Ki no Tomonori (紀友則) (c. 850 – c. 904) was an early Heian ''waka'' poet of the court, a member of the ''sanjūrokkasen'' or Thirty-six Poetry Immortals. He was a compiler of the '' Kokin Wakashū'', though he certainly did not see it to ...

(who died before its completion),

Ōshikōchi no Mitsune Ōshikōchi no Mitsune (凡河内躬恒) was an early Heian administrator and ''waka'' poet of the Japanese court (859– 925), and a member of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals. He was sent as the governor of Kai, Izumi and Awaji provinces, a ...

, and

Mibu no Tadamine Mibu no Tadamine (壬生忠岑) was an early Heian '' waka'' poet of the court (active 898–920), and a member of the ''sanjūrokkasen'' or Thirty-six Poetry Immortals. His son Mibu no Tadami was also a distinguished poet. He emerged as an i ...

Significance

The ''Kokinshū'' is the first of the , the 21 collections of Japanese poetry compiled at Imperial request. It was the most influential realization of the ideas of poetry at the time, dictating the form and format of Japanese poetry until the late nineteenth century; it was the first anthology to divide itself into seasonal and love poems. The primacy of poems about the seasons pioneered by the ''Kokinshū'' continues even today. The Japanese preface by

is also the beginning of Japanese criticism as distinct from the far more prevalent Chinese poetics in the literary circles of its day. The anthology also included a

Classical Chinese Classical Chinese, also known as Literary Chinese (古文 ''gǔwén'' "ancient text", or 文言 ''wényán'' "text speak", meaning "literary language/speech"; modern vernacular: 文言文 ''wényánwén'' "text speak text", meaning "literar ...

preface authored by Ki no Yoshimochi. The idea of including old as well as new poems was another important innovation, one which was widely adopted in later works, both in prose and verse. The poems of the ''Kokinshū'' were ordered temporally; the love poems, for instance, though written by many different poets across large spans of time, are ordered in such a way that the reader may understand them to depict the progression and fluctuations of a courtly love-affair. This association of one poem to the next marks this anthology as the ancestor of the ''

renga ''Renga'' (, ''linked verse'') is a genre of Japanese collaborative poetry in which alternating stanzas, or ''ku (''句), of 5-7-5 and 7-7 mora (sound units, not to be confused with syllables) per line are linked in succession by multiple poets. ...

'' and ''

haikai ''Haikai'' ( Japanese 俳諧 ''comic, unorthodox'') may refer in both Japanese and English to ''haikai no renga'' ( renku), a popular genre of Japanese linked verse, which developed in the sixteenth century out of the earlier aristocratic renga. ...

'' traditions.

Structure

The exact number of poems in the collection varies depending on the textual tradition. One online edition,Online edition of th
Kokin wakashu
at th
UVa Library Japanese Text Initiative
. which follows the Date Family text based on a manuscript prepared by

Fujiwara no Teika , better-known as Fujiwara no Teika"Sadaie" and "Teika" are both possible readings of ; "...there is the further problem, the rendition of the name in romanized form. Teika probably referred to himself as Sadaie, and his father probably called ...

, contains 1,111 poems. The collection is divided into twenty parts, reflecting older models such as the '' Man'yōshū'' and various Chinese anthologies. The organization of topics is however different from all earlier models, and was followed by all later official collections, although some collections like the ''

Kin'yō Wakashū The , sometimes abbreviated as ''Kin'yōshū'', is a Japanese imperial anthology of waka whose two drafts were finished in 1124 and 1127. It was compiled at the behest of the Retired Emperor Shirakawa, by Minamoto no Shunrai (~1055–1129; somet ...

'' and ''

Shika Wakashū , abbreviated as ''Shikashū'', is an imperial anthology of Japanese waka, compiled c.1151–1154 CE at the behest of the Emperor Sutoku who ordered it in 1144. It was compiled by Fujiwara no Akisuke (1090–1155; a member of the Rokuj� ...

'' scaled the model down to ten parts. The following divisions of the ''Kokinshū'' mention the Japanese names of the parts, their modern readings,Miner (1985), pages 186–187McCullough and their English translations.Brower, pg 482 The compilers included the name of the author of each poem, and the or inspiration of the poem, if known. Major poets of the ''Kokinshū'' include

Ariwara no Narihira was a Japanese courtier and '' waka'' poet of the early Heian period. He was named one of both the Six Poetic Geniuses and the Thirty-Six Poetic Geniuses, and one of his poems was included in the ''Ogura Hyakunin Isshu'' collection. He i ...

Ono no Komachi was a Japanese waka poet, one of the '' Rokkasen'' — the six best waka poets of the early Heian period. She was renowned for her unusual beauty, and ''Komachi'' is today a synonym for feminine beauty in Japan. She also counts among the ...

Henjō , better known as , was Japanese waka poet and Buddhist priest. In the poetry anthology '' Kokin Wakashū'', he is listed as one of the six notable waka poets and one of the thirty-six immortals of poetry. Biography Munesada was the eighth son ...

and

Fujiwara no Okikaze was an early 10th Century middle Heian ''waka'' poet and Japanese nobleman. Great-grandchild of Fujiwara no Hamanari. He is designated as a member of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals. 38 of his poems are included in the anthologies compiled by th ...

, apart from the compilers themselves. Inclusion in any imperial collection, and particularly the ''Kokinshū'', was a great honour.

Manuscripts

On October 20, 2010, Kōnan Women's University announced the discovery of a complete manuscript dating to c. 1220–1240. It is the oldest manuscript to contain both the Chinese and Japanese prefaces. It is split into two volumes, 15.9 cm tall by 14.6 cm wide, totaling 429 pages containing all 1111 poems. It is thought to be a copy of a manuscript made by

, but the identity of the copier is unknown. The manuscript was purchased from a used book store in 1982 for 4,280,000 yen.

Notes

References

* * * * *

External links

* Manuscript scans at

Waseda University Library The collections of Waseda University Library (早稲田大学図書館; ''Waseda Daigaku Toshokan'') form one of the largest libraries in Japan. Established in 1882, they currently hold some 5.6 million volumes and 46,000 serials. History The W ...