Brocade by Night

Book excerpt: 'Kokin Wakashū' (Collection of Early and Modern Japanese Poetry) is one of the world's earliest and most important poetic anthologies. It consists of over 1,000 poems, almost all of which were probably written between the last half of the eighth century and 905, the approximate date of the work's compilation. This is the first full-scale study in English of Kokinshū (as it is usually called), the anthology that fixed the basic style of Japanese poetry, and in so doing defined the aesthetics of an entire literary tradition. Kokinshū cannot be appreciated without some knowledge of Chinese poetry and its influence on Japanese writers, Heian aesthetics ideals, the aims of the anthology's poets and compilers, the expectations of the intended audience, and the nature of Heian society. Brocade by Night attempts to provide the necessary perspective by discussing the Chinese poetry known to the Japanese, the characteristics of early Japanese composition in both Chinese and Japanese, and the social and literary atmosphere out of which Kokinshū arose. The author also discusses the content and form of typical Kokinshū poems, the structure of the anthology, and the question of individuality in a genre of convention. The role of Kokinshū principal compiler, Ki no Tsurayuki, is described, and the author examines two of Tsurayuki's other works, Tosa nikki and Shinsen waka. A companion volume, 'Kokin Wakashū', The First Imperial Anthology of Japanese Poetry, consists of new translations of Kokinshū and Tosa nikki and the first translation in any language of Shinsen waka