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Classics

From the Man'yōshū to haikai — every song, traced back to its source anthology.

The Collection

歌集めぐり

Beyond the Hyakunin Isshu, classical Japanese literature is full of words that still sing: the Man'yōshū — Japan's oldest poetry anthology — the opening bell of the Tale of the Heike, the Iroha pangram poem, Bashō's haiku. Classics collects the songs born from those texts, each with the original, its romaji reading, an English translation, and the story behind it.

Man'yōshū

3 songs
Kagerō “First Light” — Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (Man'yōshū I · 48)Released
Iyoyo Masumasu “More and More” — Ōtomo no Tabito (Man'yōshū V · 793)Coming soon
Iyashike Yogoto “Let Good Things Pile Up” — Ōtomo no Yakamochi (Man'yōshū XX · 4516 — the anthology's final poem)Coming soon

Kokin Wakashū (Kokinshū)

5 songs
Ama no Hara Hyakunin Isshu No. 7Abe no Nakamaro (Kokinshū, Travel · 406)Coming soon
Hana no Iro wa Hyakunin Isshu No. 9Ono no Komachi (Kokinshū, Spring II · 113)Released
Kimi ga Tame Hyakunin Isshu No. 15Emperor Kōkō (Kokinshū, Spring I · 21)Coming soon
Chihayaburu Hyakunin Isshu No. 17Ariwara no Narihira (Kokinshū, Autumn II · 294)Released
Hisakata no Hyakunin Isshu No. 33Ki no Tomonori (Kokinshū, Spring II · 84)Released

The Tales of Ise

1 songs
Harumi “Spring Sea” — Ariwara no Narihira (The Tales of Ise, episode 68)Released

Gosen Wakashū (Gosenshū)

2 songs
Aki no Ta Hyakunin Isshu No. 1Emperor Tenji (Gosenshū, Autumn II · 302)Coming soon
Kore ya Kono Hyakunin Isshu No. 10Semimaru (Gosenshū, Miscellaneous I · 1089)Coming soon

The Tales of Yamato

1 songs
Koke no Koromo “The Robe of Moss” — Ono no Komachi & Archbishop Henjō, poem exchange (Gosenshū / Tales of Yamato 168)Coming soon

Shūi Wakashū (Shūishū)

3 songs
Shinoburedo Hyakunin Isshu No. 40Taira no Kanemori (Shūishū, Love I · 622)Coming soon
Koi su Chō Hyakunin Isshu No. 41Mibu no Tadami (Shūishū, Love I · 621)Coming soon
Aimite no Hyakunin Isshu No. 43Fujiwara no Atsutada (Shūishū, Love II · 710)Coming soon

Iroha — Heian Songs

1 songs
Iroha Uta “The Iroha Song” — Iroha — the pangram poem (attr. Kūkai, Heian period)Released

Shōyūki — Court Diaries

1 songs
Mochizuki “The Full Moon” — Fujiwara no Michinaga's 'Full Moon Poem' (Shōyūki diary, 1018)Released

Goshūi Wakashū (Goshūishū)

2 songs
Arazaran Hyakunin Isshu No. 56Izumi Shikibu (Goshūishū, Love III · 763)Coming soon
Yo o Komete Hyakunin Isshu No. 62Sei Shōnagon (Goshūishū, Miscellaneous II · 939)Coming soon

Shika Wakashū (Shikashū)

1 songs
Se o Hayami Hyakunin Isshu No. 77Retired Emperor Sutoku (Shikashū, Love I · 229)Coming soon

Shin Kokin Wakashū (Shin Kokinshū)

4 songs
Haru Sugite Hyakunin Isshu No. 2Empress Jitō (Shin Kokinshū, Summer · 175)Coming soon
Tago no Ura Hyakunin Isshu No. 4Yamabe no Akahito (Shin Kokinshū, Winter · 675)Coming soon
Meguriaite Hyakunin Isshu No. 57Murasaki Shikibu (Shin Kokinshū, Miscellaneous I · 1499)Coming soon
Tama no O yo Hyakunin Isshu No. 89Princess Shikishi (Shin Kokinshū, Love I · 1034)Coming soon

Shin Chokusen Wakashū (Shin Chokusenshū)

1 songs
Konu Hito o Hyakunin Isshu No. 97Fujiwara no Teika (Shin Chokusenshū, Love III · 849)Coming soon

The Tale of the Heike

1 songs
Gion Shōja no Kane “The Bell of Gion” — The Tale of the Heike, opening lines (Kamakura period)Released

Haikai — The Narrow Road to the Deep North

1 songs
Samidaregawa “River of May Rain” — Matsuo Bashō, haiku (The Narrow Road to the Deep North, 1689)Coming soon