The Shinkokinwakashû

The Shinkokinshû, the 'New Collection of Ancient and Modern (Japanese Poetry)', is the eighth imperial anthology, and generally reckoned to be the second in terms of quality after the Kokinshû. It was commissioned by Emperor Gotoba (1180-1239; r. 1183-1198), and compiled by a team of poets, of whom Fujiwara no Teika is the most renowned. Gotoba took a considerable interest in the compilation process, having a number of disagreements with Teika over it, and even going so far as to produce his own version of the collection later.

As its name suggests, the Shinkokinshû was envisaged as a successor to the Kokinshû, and follows its 20 book pattern, but also includes a substantial representation of older poets among the new. The anthology is the pinnacle of techniques of association and integration that had been developing in waka for some time, with each individual poem leading on to the next and integrated into increasingly larger sequences of poems, with the longest sequence, of course, being the entire collection. I will endeavour to present some sequences in the Japan 2001 Waka, but the full effect will have to await a complete translation of the entire work.

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 Summer Autumn I Autumn II Winter Felicitations Laments Parting Travel Love I Love II Love III Love IV Love V Miscellaneous I Miscellaneous II Miscellaneous III Shintô Buddhism

The principal poets of the collection (those with 10 poems or more included) are: The Monk Saigyô (94), Jien (92), Fujiwara no Yoshitsune (78), Fujiwara no Toshinari (Shunzei) (75), Princess Shokushi (49), Fujiwara no Sada'ie (Teika) (46), Fujiwara no Ietaka (42), The Monk Jakuren (35), Emperor Gotoba (35), Ki no Tsurayuki (33), The Daughter of Fujiwara no Toshinari (29), Izumi Shikibu (25), Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (23), Fujiwara no Masatsune (22), Minamoto no Tsunenobu (19), Fujiwara no Ari'ie (19), Minamoto no Michitomo (17), Fujiwara no Hideyoshi (Hidetô) (17), Sugawara no Michizane (15), Sone no Yoshitada (16), Fujiwara no Sanesada (16), Sanuki (16), Ise (15), Kunaikyô (15), Murasaki Shikibu (14), Ôe no Masafusa (14), The Monk Jakuzen (14), Minamoto no Michiteru (14), Ariwara no Narihira (12), Kishi (12), Fujiwara no Sanekata (12), Fujiwara no Kiyosuke (12), Fujiwara no Shun'e (12), Ôtomo no Yakamochi (12), Sagami (11), The Monk Gyôson (11), Minamoto no Toshiyori (Shunrai) (11), Fujiwara no Kanezane (11), Ôshikôchi no Mitsune (12), Emperor Murakami (10), Ônakatomi no Yoshinobu (11), Akazome Emon (11), The Monk Nôin (10), Tayu (10), Kamo no Chômei (10) and Fujiwara no Kintsune (10).