The Man'yōshū is an anthology of Japanese waka poetry. It was compiled in the eighth century (during Japan's Nara period), likely in a number of stages by several people,[1] with the final touches likely being made by Ōtomo no Yakamochi,[1] the poet whose work is most prominently featured in the anthology.[2] The Man'yōshū is the oldest anthology of poetry in classical Japanese,[1] as well as the largest, with over 4,500 poems included,[a] and is widely regarded as the finest.[1] The collection is distinguished from later anthologies of classical Japanese poetry not only by its size but by its variety of poetic forms, as it includes not only the 5-7-5-7-7 tanka form, which by the time of the Kokin Wakashū had become ubiquitous, but also the longer chōka form (which included an indefinite number of 5-7 verses and ended with 5-7-7), the 5-7-7-5-7-7 sedōka and the 5-7-5-7-7-7 bussokusekika.[5] The poets also came from a wide variety of social classes, from members of the imperial family and courtiers to frontier guards and commoners in the eastern provinces (ja), while later anthologies would be limited to works composed by those of the upper classes.[6]
The vast majority of the poems of the Man'yōshū were composed over a period of roughly a century,[b] with scholars dividing them into four "periods". Princess Nukata's poetry is included in that of the first period (645–672),[7] while the second period (673–701) is represented by the poetry of Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, generally regarded as the greatest of Man'yōshū poets and one of the most important poets in Japanese history.[8] The third period (702–729)[9] includes the poems of Takechi no Kurohito, whom Donald Keene called "[t]he only new poet of importance" of the early part of this period,[10] when Fujiwara no Fuhito promoted the composition of kanshi (poetry in classical Chinese).[11] Other "third period" poets include: Yamabe no Akahito, a poet who was once paired with Hitomaro but whose reputation has suffered in modern times;[12]Takahashi no Mushimaro, one of the last great chōka poets, who recorded a number of Japanese legends such as that of Ura no Shimako;[13] and Kasa no Kanamura, a high-ranking courtier who also composed chōka but not as well as Hitomaro or Mushimaro.[14] But the most prominent and important poets of the third period were Ōtomo no Tabito, Yakamochi's father and the head of a poetic circle in the Dazaifu,[15] and Tabito's friend Yamanoue no Okura, possibly an immigrant from the Korean kingdom of Paekche, whose poetry is highly idiosyncratic in both its language and subject matter and has been highly praised in modern times.[16] Yakamochi himself was a poet of the fourth period (730–759),[17] and according to Keene he "dominated" this period.[18] He composed the last dated poem of the anthology in 759.[19]
Numbers given in the following list are those used in the Kokka Taikan (KKTK). The Japanese text follows Susumu Nakanishi's Man'yōshū Jiten and includes the poets' kabane where applicable, with italic romanizations included where the Japanese text differs from the proper names at the start of each entry. Italicized numbers indicate traditional attribution given as such in the Man'yōshū itself. (Man'yōshū poems that were attributed to these poets by later works are not listed.) "Poet" names in parentheses indicate that the name is not that of a human poet but that of an earlier collection from which the Man'yōshū took the poems; such works are listed separately, immediately below the entry on the poet with whom they are associated, following Nakanishi. Square brackets indicate poems' numbers according to the Kan'ei-bon text of the Man'yōshū, rather than the KKTK. "Anonymous" poems such as those attributed to "a man" or "a girl" are included when Nakanishi lists them under those "names".
Literally "a lady of Fujiwara", apparently a different person from (ii) below. Daughter of Kamatari, consort of Emperor Tenmu, and younger sister of Hikami no Iratsume.
Literally "a lady of Fujiwara", apparently a different person from (i) above. Real name 氷上娘 Hikami no Iratsume. Daughter of Kamatari, consort of Emperor Tenmu.
Literally "the Fujiwara minister"; not a name but a title used in various places in the collection, sometimes clearly referring to Kamatari or Nakamaro, but in two spots uncertain, possibly referring to either Fusasaki or Maro, or to another unknown individual.
One of the guests at the 730 plum blossom viewing at the residence of Ōtomo no Tabito in the Dazaifu. He is claimed in the MYS text to have been governor of Iki Province (壱岐守 Iki no Kami) at some point. Old commentaries call him Itamochi no Muraji Yasumaro (板持連安麿).
One of several different women identified by this name. The Man'yōshū Mibugushi (万葉集美夫君志) claims her to be a different person from (ii) and (iii), above, but the Man'yōshū Chūshaku (万葉集註釈) treats them as the same person. No poems by this woman were included in the Man'yōshū, but she was the recipient of KKTK 110.
364–365, 366–367, 543–545, 546–548, 907–909, 910–912, 920–922, 928–930, 935–937, 1453–1455, 1532–1533; 30 poems in total, of which 8 are chōka and 22 tanka
The identity of KKTK 243's author is unknown, as there are three possible candidates who were all princes named Kasuga and lived during the time the Man'yōshū poems were being composed. Nakanishi tentatively attributes 243 to the figure who died in 699, but presents another who died in 689, and the author of KKTK 669, who died in 745, as alternative possibilities.
Her real name unknown, Meko simply means "wife". She was the wife of a fisherman from Shika Island in Chikuzen Province (筑前国志賀白水郎 Chikuzen no Shika no Ama).
Literally "the Okamoto Emperor", referring to an emperor who ruled from the Okamoto Palace, but which of the two emperors who reigned there—Emperor Jomei or Empress Saimei—this refers to is uncertain.
Literally "the woman's parents". 3814 is a request to the parents to marry their daughter, whom the poet heard had recently been divorced. They sent a reply, 3815, explaining that she had already remarried.
Literally meaning "a lady", this refers to at least three people as used in the notes and poetic attributions of the Man'yōshū, including one poet. (i) and (iii) had no poems attributed to them in the collection.
Literally meaning "a man", this refers to several people as used in the notes and poetic attributions of the Man'yōshū, including probably four distinct poets. (iii) and (v) had no poems attributed to them in the collection, but were mentioned in the headnote of 3803 and the endnote of 3806, respectively.
Literally meaning "a girl", this refers to several people as used in the notes and poetic attributions of the Man'yōshū, including at least eight distinct poets.
Wife of Tabito, and apparently a different person from (ii) below. The Man'yōshū includes no poems attributed to her, but she was mentioned in a note accompanying 1472.
Not a name but a title used in various places in the collection, probably referring to Tabito, Yasumaro or Michitari. The one poem attributed to "Maetsukimi", was probably written by Tabito or Yasumaro.
1047–1049, 1050–1052, 1053–1058, 1059–1061, 1062–1064, 1065–1067, 1792–1794, 1800, 1801–1803, 1804–1806; 31 poems in total, of which 10 are chōka and 21 tanka
Literally "a courtesan", someone who would perform musical and poetic entertainment at parties held at regional government offices.No poems included in the Man'yōshū, but was associated with 4106, 4108 and 4110.
^The precise number of poems is a matter of dispute.[3] The Kokka Taikan gives a figure of 4,516,[4] but this includes several duplicate poems[4] and arbitrarily includes or leaves out poems in variant texts.[4] The scholar Yūkichi Takeda, on analysis of these problems, gave 4,506 as the number of poems.[4] The total number of variant poems, poems duplicated from the Kojiki, poems included in certain texts of the Man'yōshū, etc. which Takeda left out is given by Nakanishi, in his entry in the Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten on the number of poems in the Man'yōshū, as 70.[4]
^A small number of poems are attributed to figures from the ancient past, such as Emperor Yūryaku.
^The Genryaku-bon attributes these to Fumimochi.[130]