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Man'yōshū; Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves
the oldest existing collection of Japanese poetry, compiled around the 8th century, containing over 4,500 poems
Historical significance
万葉集 is Japan's oldest poetry anthology, compiled around 759 CE. It is valued as a record of ancient Japanese language and culture.
Contents
- 4,516 和歌 (Japanese poems)
- Poems from emperors, nobles, and commoners
- Topics: love, nature, travel, grief, everyday life
Notable features
- Written in 万葉仮名 (man'yōgana), using Chinese characters phonetically
- Contains various poetic forms: 短歌, 長歌, 旋頭歌
Modern relevance
The era name 令和 (2019-present) was derived from a passage in the 万葉集, marking the first time a Japanese era name came from a Japanese classic rather than Chinese literature.