The Gosenwakashū (or the Gosenshū for short), the ‘Later Selection of Japanese Poetry’, was the second of the 21 anthologies of waka compiled at imperial command (chokusenshū). Commissioned by Emperor Murakami (926-927; r. 946-967) and completed around 951, it was compiled by Ônakantomi no Yoshinobu, Kiyowara no Motosuke, Minamoto no Shitagō, Ki no Tokibumi and Sakanoe no Mochiki, who go by the collective title of the ‘Five Men of the Pear Jar Room’. The anthology follows the pattern of the Kokinshū, being composed of 20 books, but lacks a preface:
| Book I Book II Book III Book IV Book V Book VI Book VII Book VIII Book IX Book X Book XI Book XII Book XIII Book XIV Book XV Book XVI Book XVII Book XVIII Book XIX Book XX | Spring I Spring II Spring III Summer Autumn I Autumn II Autumn III Winter Love I Love II Love III Love IV Love V Love VI Miscellaneous I Miscellaneous II Miscellaneous III Miscellaneous IV Partings/Travel Felicitations/Laments |
The 20 Books contain a total of 1,426 poems. As its name suggests, it contains works by many of the same poets as its predecessor, but it is interesting for its many lengthy headnotes, seemingly added by the compilers to provide appropriate contexts for the poems.
The principal poets of the collection (those with more than 10 poems included) are: Tsurayuki (74), Ise (70), Mistsune (23), Fujiwara no Kanesuke (23), Taifu (16), Fujiwara no Tokihira (14), Fujiwara no Morosuke (13), Fujiwara no Nakahira (10), Fujiwara no Saneyori (10), Fujiwara no Atsutada (10) and Mibu no Tadamine (10).
The following Gosenshū poems are on WakaPoetry.net:
Book I: Spring 1
Book II: Spring 2
Book III: Spring 3
Book IV: Summer
Book V: Autumn 1
Book VI: Autumn 2
Book VII: Autumn 3
Book VIII: Winter
| GSS VIII: 447 | GSS VIII: 451 GSS VIII: 458 | GSS VIII: 459 GSS VIII: 460 GSS VIII: 464 GSS VIII: 481 GSS VIII: 498 GSS VIII: 503 GSS VIII: 506 |
Book IX: Love 1
Book X: Love 2
Book XI: Love 3
Book XII: Love 4
| GSS XII: 806 GSS XII: 808 GSS XII: 809 GSS XII: 830 GSS XII: 831 GSS XII: 833 GSS XII: 836 GSS XII: 837 GSS XII: 839 GSS XII: 885 |
Book XIII: Love 5
| GSS XIII: 891 GSS XIII: 892 GSS XIII: 916 GSS XIII: 937 GSS XIII: 942 GSS XIII: 960 GSS XIII: 967 | GSS XIII: 968 GSS XIII: 972 GSS XIII: 991 |
Book XIV: Love 6
Book XV: Miscellaneous 1
Book XVI: Miscellaneous 2
Book XVII: Miscellaneous 3
| GSS XVII: 1195 GSS XVII: 1196 GSS XVII: 1197 GSS XVII: 1231 GSS XVII: 1238 GSS XVII: 1240 GSS XVII: 1242 GSS XVII: 1244 |
Book XVIII: Miscellaneous 4
| GSS XVIII: 1250 GSS XVIII: 1280 GSS XVIII: 1281 GSS XVIII: 1288 GSS XVIII: 1291 GSS XVIII: 1292 GSS XVIII: 1293 |