Makura kotoba or ‘pillow words’ were one of the primary poetic resources for poets of the Man’yô period and earlier. Single words or phrases, usually of five syllables, associated in poems with certain other fixed words or phrases, makura kotoba formed links in terms of meaning, association or sound and provided a means by which a poet could add depth to his/her poems or heighten the tone of his rhetorical style.
While makura kotoba do appear in the early songs in the Kojiki and Nihongi, their use was primarily established by Hitomaro in the Man’yō period. It is estimated that he coined approximately half of the makura kotoba he used, handing down an important resource to future generations of poets. Over time, the true meanings of many makura kotoba became lost, and their use became mere convention, but they continued to be coined and used by Japanese poets well into the twentieth century.
The list below is by no means complete, but should give an indication of the types of expressions used as makura kotoba and the words to which they were applied.
| Akane sasu Akiyama nö Asa mo yösi Asigaki nö Asi ga tiru Asipiki nö |
Adusa yumi Amazakaru Amadutapu Aratape nö Aratama nö Awoni yösi |
| Isana tori Ipatuna nö Ipa pasiru Uti nabiku Utipi sasu Utipi satu |
Utiyösuru Utusemi nö Unmiwo nasu Oki tu töri Ositeru Opobune nö |
| Kakozimo nö Kamikaze nö Kusa makura Këkörömo wo Kötö sapeku Köma turugi Komori ku nö |
Sikitape nö Sinagatöri Siraka tuku Sirotapë nö Suzu ga ne nö Sora kazopu Sora ni mitu |
| Natukusa nö Natusobiku Namayomi nö Nayotake nö Nubatama nö |
Papasoba nö Parugasumi Paru töri nö Pisakata nö Pi nö motö nö Pukamiru nö Puyugömori |
| Masurawo nö Mina nö wata Muratori nö Monönöpu nö Momosiki nö |
Yasumi sisi Wakakusa nö |