Kokin Wakashū

Kokin Wakashū is an imperial anthology of Japanese waka poetry compiled in the early tenth century. Its poems and preface helped establish standards for classical Japanese poetic composition.

Waka: Waka is a traditional Japanese poetry form, especially the five-line, thirty-one-syllable pattern called tanka. The anthology gathers waka and helped define the form’s classical conventions.
Imperial anthology: An imperial anthology is a poetry collection commissioned or authorized by a sovereign court. The Kokin Wakashū established the model for a continuing series of court-sponsored collections.
Emperor Daigo: Emperor Daigo ruled Japan from 897 to 930 during the Heian period. He ordered the compilation that produced the Kokin Wakashū.
Gosen Wakashū: Gosen Wakashū is the second imperial anthology of Japanese waka, compiled in the tenth century. It followed the Kokin Wakashū in the imperial anthology tradition it established.
Tanka: Tanka is a five-line Japanese poem with a traditional pattern of 5-7-5-7-7 sound units. Most poems in the anthology use this compact five-line form.
Thirty-Six Poetry Immortals: The Thirty-Six Poetry Immortals are a group of celebrated Japanese poets selected in the Heian period. Several poets represented in the anthology later became central figures in this canon.
Ki no Tsurayuki: Ki no Tsurayuki was a Heian-period poet and court official who helped compile the Kokin Wakashū. He is traditionally credited with its Kana Preface and was one of its four compilers.
Shūi Wakashū: Shūi Wakashū is the third imperial anthology of Japanese waka, compiled in the early eleventh century. Its selection and organization continued the courtly anthology practice begun by the Kokin Wakashū.
Kana Preface: The Kana Preface is a Japanese-language essay on poetry traditionally attributed to Ki no Tsurayuki. It introduces the anthology with an influential account of poetry’s nature and history.
Poem sequence: A poem sequence is a set of poems arranged to create meaning through order and relation. Its seasonal and thematic sections make arrangement part of the anthology’s interpretation.

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