The Kinyôwakashû

The fifth imperial poetry anthology, the Kinyôwakashû (or Kinyôshû) 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 Kokinshû 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 Asasue (20), Fujiwara no Tadamichi (15(, Fujiwara no Asasuke (14), Fujiwara no Nagazane (14), the Monk Eien (or Yôen) (13), the Monk Gyôson (10), Minamoto no Asanaka (10), and Minamoto no Masamitsu (or Masateru) (10).