The Shūiwakashū (or the Shūishū for short), the ‘Collection of Gleanings of Japanese Poetry’, was the third of the 21 anthologies of waka compiled at imperial command (chokusenshū). Commissioned by Emperor Kazan (968-1008; r. 984-1008) and completed at some point between 1005-1011, the circumstances of its compilation and even the identity of its compiler(s) remain something of a mystery. About all that it was can be said is that Fujiwara no Kintō probably had a major hand in the work. 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 Summer Autumn Winter Felicitations Partings Acrostics Miscellaneous I Miscellaneous II Sacred Poems (kagura no uta) Love I Love II Love III Love IV Love V Miscellaneous Spring Miscellaneous Autumn Miscellaneous Felicitations Miscellaneous Love Laments |
The 20 Books contain a total of 1,351 poems. The anthology focuses on earlier poets, making it somewhat less interesting than the the other early chokusenshû.
The principal poets of the collection (those with more than 10 poems included) are: Tsurayuki (113), Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (104), Ônakatomi no Yoshinobu (59), Kiyowara no Motosuke (46), Taira no Kanemori (38), Fujiwara no Sukemi (37), Ōshikōchi no Mitsune (34), Minamoto no Shitagō (27), Ise (25), the Monk Egyō (19), Emperor Murakami (16) and Fujiwara no Kintō (15).
The following poems from Shūishū are on WakaPoetry.net:
Book I: Spring
| SIS I: 1 SIS I: 5 SIS I: 8 SIS I: 15 SIS I: 18 SIS I: 21 | SIS I: 28 SIS I: 32 | SIS I: 68 SIS I: 71 SIS I: 75 SIS I: 78 |
Book II: Summer
Book III: Autumn
| SIS III: 139 SIS III: 140 SIS III: 141 | SIS III: 149 SIS III: 161 SIS III: 171 SIS III: 184 SIS III: 188 SIS III: 191 | SIS III: 198 SIS III: 202 | SIS III: 207 SIS III: 214 |
Book IV: Winter
| SIS IV: 220 SIS IV: 223 SIS IV: 224 SIS IV: 227 | SIS IV: 230 SIS IV: 231 SIS IV: 236 SIS IV: 242 SIS IV: 245 SIS IV: 250 |
Book V: Felicitations
Book VI: Partings
Book VII: Acrostics
Book VIII: Miscellaneous 1
| SIS VIII: 432 SIS VIII: 436 SIS VIII: 443 SIS VIII: 445 SIS VIII: 451 SIS VIII: 455 SIS VIII: 468 SIS VIII: 470 SIS VIII: 481 SIS VIII: 486 SIS VIII: 491 |
Book IX: Miscellaneous 2
Book X: Sacred
Book XI: Love 1
Book XII: Love 2
Book XIII: Love 3
| SIS XIII: 778 SIS XIII: 794 SIS XIII: 815 SIS XIII: 818 SIS XIII: 822 SIS XIII: 830 SIS XIII: 832 SIS XIII: 840 SIS XIII: 847 |
Book XIV: Love 4
Book XV: Love 5
Book XVI: Miscellaneous Spring
Book XVII: Miscellaneous Autumn
| SIS XVII: 1084 SIS XVII: 1088 SIS XVII: 1089 SIS XVII: 1091 | SIS XVII: 1093 SIS XVII: 1094 | SIS XVII: 1098 SIS XVII: 1102 SIS XVII: 1112 SIS XVII: 1128 SIS XVII: 1141 |