Kanshi is the genre of poetry composed in Classical Chinese by Japanese poets, and was the most prestigious form of poetry among Japanese aristocrats from the early Heian period until the modern era. Its earliest surviving collection, the Kaifuso, was compiled in 751 and gathers occasional verse from 672 to 751, and it was followed by three ninth-century imperial anthologies, the Ryounshu of 814, the Bunka Shureishu of 818 and the Keikokushu of 827, commissioned by Emperor Saga. Kanshi outranked the native waka genre in prestige until the Kokin Wakashu anthology of 905, and its composition continued through the Edo and Meiji periods, practiced by figures such as the Heian-era monk-poet Kukai, the courtier Sugawara no Michizane, and, much later, novelist Natsume Soseki.
Facts
Place of Origin Notable Example Defining TraitComposed in 5 or 7 syllable lines, in 4 or 8 line forms 1 In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Japan, originated there.
Sources
1. Kanshi (poetry), Wikipedia
Lead section
Kanshi (漢詩) is a Japanese term for Chinese poetry in general as well as the Japanese poetry written in Chinese by Japanese poets.
History section
The earliest collection of kanshi was the Kaifūsō, compiled in 751.
Forms section
Kanshi had multiple forms, but most notable were in 5 or 7 syllables in 4 or 8 lines.
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