The Ogura Anthology of Japanese Waka, a Hundred Pieces from a Hundred Poets

From Preface: "The so-called 'Hyakunin-Isshu' is a collection of a hundred pieces of Japanese waka respectively composed by a hundred poets. The selection of the verses, ranging from the one composed in the seventh century to the one in 1216, has generally been attributed to Fujiwara-Teika (or Sadaiye), a famous courtier and poet (1162-1241). He devoted himself to waka almost through his eighty years of life, as a poet of waka as well as a student and a collector of the verses in the field. He lived in a villa at Ogura in Kyoto, hence the collection has also popularly been called the 'Ogura-Hyakunin-Isshu'. Waka, or tanka as is called in modern times, consists of 31 syllables, forming two parts, kami-no-ku (the upper hemistich) and shimo-no-ku (the lower hemistich). The syllables of kami-no-ku are arranged in the form of 5-7-5 syllables, and those of shimo-no-ku in that of 7-7. Unlike the English prosody, rhyme scheme is rarely found in waka, although internal rhyme or something similar to it is intentionally adopted. The most peculiar art of prosody in waka is in the use of makura-kotoba (pillow-words) and joshi (a euphonically and prefatory expression not having any particular meaning) and engo (pivot-words); alliteration is also sometimes taken in. But, when all is said, the beauty of balance and rhythm is the essence of Japanese classic waka poetry."--Haruo Miyata