Six best Waka poets

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The six most well known Waka poets (六歌仙 Rokkasen) were selected poets of Waka in the early Heian period. They were:

• Henjo
• Ariwara no Narihira
• Hun'ya no Yasuhide
• Kisen
• Ono no Komachi
• Ōtomo Kuronushi

The six Waka poets derived from the anthology of poems Kokin Wakashū (905), where Ki no Tsurayuki, one of compilers, referred to them as "famous poets in the near past" in the preface. He did not give high acclaim or the title "immortals of waka" (kasen) to them, however. That title was given later. Similar Japanese poet groupings include the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals and the group of one hundred poets included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

[edit] References

• Japanese Wikipedia