The fifth imperial poetry anthology, the Kin’yōwakashū (or Kin’yōshū) the ‘Collection of Golden Leaves of Japanese Poetry’. It was ordered by Emperor Shirakawa (1053-1129; r.1072-1086) and compiled by Minamoto no Toshinari (or, more usually, Shunrai) (?1055-?1129). Shunrai was a gifted poet and critic, championing more ‘modern’ trends in poetry, as opposed to conservatives such as Fujiwara no Mototoshi (?-1142/3). Consequently, he was regarded as eccentric by his peers (he did produce some odd poetry) and Shirakawa required two rewrites of the anthology before he was satisfied with it.
The Kinyôshû follows the Kokinshū pattern, though in only ten books and 716 poems, making it the shortest of the imperial anthologies; it also lacks a preface.
| Book I Book II Book III Book IV Book V Book VI Book VII Book VIII Book IX Book X | Spring Summer Autumn Winter Felicitations Partings Love I Love II Miscellaneous I Miscellaneous II |
The principal poets of the collection (those with 10 or more poems included) are: Minamoto no Toshiyori (or Shunrai) (31), Minamoto no Tsunenobu (26), Fujiwara no Kinzane (23), Fujiwara no Akisue (20), Fujiwara no Tadamichi (15(, Fujiwara no Asasuke (14), Fujiwara no Nagazane (14), the Monk Eien (or Yôen) (13), the Monk Gyōson (10), Minamoto no Asanaka (10), and Minamoto no Masamitsu (or Masateru) (10).
All three versions of Kin’yōshū remain extant, so below poems are listed with the numbering of the version in which they appear. This means there are some variations, but also some duplications.
Book III:
Book IV:
Book V:
Book VI:
Book VII:
Book VIII:
| KKS VIII: 448 KYS VIII: 449 KYS VIII: 470 KYS VIII: 473 | KYS VIII: 474 KYS VIII: 477 | KYS VIII: 480 | KYS VIII: 502 KYS VIII: 510 |