Kokin

Kokin most commonly refers to the Kokin Wakashū, an early imperial anthology of Japanese waka poetry compiled circa 905 CE during the Heian period. The title 古今和歌集 translates as “Collection of Ancient and Modern Waka,” signaling the project’s aim to gather poems from antiquity to the present. The collection was issued by imperial command, with Ki no Tsurayuki serving as chief editor and a group of court poets contributing to its compilation.

The Kokin Wakashū consists of six volumes and roughly 1,100 waka, including both long and short forms. The poems cover a span from late Nara to early Heian times and emphasize refined diction, seasonal imagery, and the aesthetic ideals that came to define court poetry. The preface, attributed to Ki no Tsurayuki, offers a famous discussion of language, audience, and the purpose of poetry in Japanese. The work established standards that guided later poetic practice and influenced subsequent imperial anthologies.

Its influence extends to later compilations, most notably the Dai Kokin Wakashū (Great Kokin Wakashū), compiled in the early 13th century under imperial patronage and drawing on the precedents set by the Kokin Wakashū. In literary history, the Kokin Wakashū is regarded as a foundational text of classical Japanese literature, shaping aesthetics, form, and the transmission of waka across generations. The term Kokin may also be used more broadly to reference discussions of “ancient and modern” poetry in Japanese criticism.