This book is the first complete translation of the tenth-century work Kokinshu, one of the most important anthologies of the Japanese classical tradition.

Compiled in the early tenth century, the Kokinshū is an anthology of some eleven hundred poems that aimed to elevate the prestige of vernacular Japanese poetry

The chapters are organized around the poetic devices, including kakekotoba, makurakotoba, joshi, and utamakura. The analysis uses a new kind of descriptive mode