22 - Japanese poetic thought, from earliest times to the thirteenth century

Summary

Dating from the late Nara period, Fujiwara no Hamanari's Kakyo hyoshiki is regarded as the oldest extant karonsho. Written in kanbun, it is heavily indebted to Chinese poetic theory, particularly that of the Six Dynasties period. The Kokin wakashu was the first anthology of Japanese poetry to be compiled by imperial commission. The next major karon text after Tsurayuki's Kokinshu preface is the Shinsen zuino of Fujiwara no Kinto, the leading waka poet of his age and a noted polymath whose talents extended to poetry in kanbun and court music. The poet Minamoto no Toshiyori is thought to have completed his lengthy treatise Toshiyori zuino about a century after Kinto was at the height of his influence. The Rokujo house flourished for almost a century, and its members produced a number of poetic treatises, the best known of which are the Ogisho and Fukurozoshi. Shunzei's son Teika occupies a uniquely influential position in the history of classical Japanese literature.