A 1305 Copy of Japan's First Imperial Poetry Anthology
In a private library tucked into the wooded hills of northwest Kyoto, two slender volumes hold a hand-copied text of the Kokin Wakashū, the anthology that set the standard for court poetry in Japan for the better part of a thousand years. A colophon inside dates the copying to the twenty-seventh day of the fourth month of Kagen 3 (1305), and names the scribe: Reizei Tamesuke, a court noble and poet who founded one of the great families of Japanese verse.
The work is held today by the Yōmei Bunko, the archive of the Konoe family in Kyoto's Ukyō ward. It carries the formal name Kokinshū, in the hand of Reizei Tamesuke (Karoku recension), and was designated an Important Cultural Property in 1939.
The name puzzles many readers at first. Tamesuke copied the book in 1305, yet it is called the "Karoku" manuscript, after an era (1225–1227) that ended decades before he was born. The answer lies not in when the copy was made, but in which version of the text it preserves.
What the Kokin Wakashū Is
Around the year 905, Emperor Daigo ordered the compilation of an anthology of Japanese-language verse, the waka that court society composed in thirty-one syllables. The result was the Kokin Wakashū, usually shortened to Kokinshū, meaning "Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern." Ki no Tsurayuki led a team of four compilers and gathered roughly 1,100 poems into twenty books, arranging them by season, love, travel, and other themes.
Tsurayuki also wrote the anthology's preface in Japanese kana script, a short essay on the nature and origins of poetry that became the founding document of Japanese literary criticism. For later generations, the Kokinshū was less a book than a curriculum. Knowing its poems was a mark of education, and copying it accurately was a serious scholarly task.
That last point matters here. There were no printing presses for this material in medieval Japan. Every copy was made by hand, and small errors crept in with each transcription. By the thirteenth century, scholars cared deeply about which lineage of copies a given manuscript belonged to.
The "Karoku" Recension
Three families of Kokinshū texts circulated among medieval scholars, associated with the poets Fujiwara no Kiyosuke, Fujiwara no Shunzei, and Fujiwara no Teika. Teika's edited version proved the most influential, and it in turn split into two branches. One is known as the Jōō recension; the other, the Karoku recension, takes its name from Teika's editorial colophon dated Karoku 2 (1226).
The Yōmei Bunko volumes belong to this Karoku branch. So the title records two separate facts at once: the text descends from Teika's 1226 edition, and the physical book in front of you was written out by Tamesuke in 1305. Reading the name correctly is the first step to understanding what the object is.
For a reader today, the distinction explains why a single famous anthology survives in so many designated manuscripts across Japan. Each one is valued as calligraphy and also as a witness to how a particular line of the text was passed down.
The Scribe and His Family
Reizei Tamesuke (1263–1328) was born into the heart of the poetic establishment. His father was Fujiwara no Tameie, his grandfather the celebrated poet and editor Fujiwara no Teika, the very man behind the Karoku text. His mother was the nun Abutsu, author of the travel diary Izayoi Nikki.
Tamesuke's life was shaped by a long inheritance dispute. When Tameie died in 1275, the estate of Hosokawa in Harima province, along with a trove of poetic manuscripts, was contested between Tamesuke and his elder half-brother. Abutsu made the arduous journey east to Kamakura to petition the shogunate on her son's behalf, and her diary records that trip. The legal struggle dragged on for decades before Tamesuke's side prevailed in 1313.
Out of this rupture came three poetic houses descended from Teika: the Nijō, the Kyōgoku, and Tamesuke's own Reizei family. The Reizei survive to the present day as guardians of classical verse, and their storehouse still safeguards manuscripts in Teika's own hand. A copy of the Kokinshū written by the founder of that line, drawing on his grandfather's edition, sits at a meaningful point in this family story.
Why It Was Designated, and What It Carries
The manuscript was named an Important Cultural Property on May 27, 1939, in the category of calligraphy and classical books. Its value rests on several layers at once: the antiquity of the text it preserves, the identity of the scribe, and the documented chain of custody that vouches for it.
The colophon gives the precise copying date in 1305 and notes that the text was checked against another copy, a careful editorial practice. A later postscript was added by Reizei Tamekazu (1486–1549), a head of the Reizei house in the turbulent sixteenth century, linking the volumes to the family across two centuries.
Two further documents are designated together with the manuscript. One is a certificate of authentication written by Sanjōnishi Kin'eda (1487–1563), among the most respected classical scholars of his age. The other is an authentication slip in the hand of Emperor Go-Sai (1638–1685). Endorsements like these, by a leading scholar and a reigning emperor, are part of why the attribution to Tamesuke has been accepted with confidence.
Seeing It, and the Surrounding Area
The Yōmei Bunko is a working research archive rather than a museum, and it is not generally open to the public. Viewing the collection on site usually requires a letter of introduction, and the small seasonal displays are arranged for booked groups.
The realistic way to see this manuscript is through special exhibitions. The Konoe treasures travel periodically to venues such as the Museum of Kyoto, where this very volume appeared in a spring exhibition. Checking the schedules of major Kyoto museums is the surest approach for anyone hoping to stand in front of the original.
The archive sits close to Ninna-ji, the great temple and World Heritage site, so the immediate area rewards a visit even when the library itself is closed. Travelers drawn to the world that produced this manuscript can also seek out the Reizei family residence near Imadegawa in central Kyoto, an Important Cultural Property and the oldest surviving aristocratic townhouse in the city, opened to visitors only on occasion.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Kyoto
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Kokinshu〈written by Tameso Reizei/(Karoku Book)〉
- [ Kinkakuji Fushimi Inari & Kimono Rental ]
Q&A
- Why is it called the "Karoku" manuscript if it was copied in 1305?
- "Karoku" refers to the textual lineage, not the copying date. The text descends from Fujiwara no Teika's edition of the Kokinshū bearing a colophon dated Karoku 2 (1226). Tamesuke copied a book of that lineage in 1305.
- Can I see the original manuscript?
- Not easily. The Yōmei Bunko is a private archive and is not generally open. The practical option is a temporary exhibition, such as the periodic showings of Konoe family treasures at the Museum of Kyoto.
- Who was Reizei Tamesuke?
- A court noble and poet (1263–1328), grandson of Fujiwara no Teika and son of the diarist Abutsu. He founded the Reizei family, a line of poets that still exists in Kyoto.
- What is the Kokin Wakashū?
- It is Japan's first imperially ordered anthology of waka poetry, compiled around 905 under Emperor Daigo. Ki no Tsurayuki and three colleagues collected about 1,100 poems in twenty books.
- What are the attached items mentioned in the designation?
- Two authentication documents: a certificate by the scholar Sanjōnishi Kin'eda and an authentication slip in the hand of Emperor Go-Sai. Both vouch for the attribution to Tamesuke.
Basic Information
| Name | Kokinshū, in the hand of Reizei Tamesuke (Karoku recension) / 古今集〈冷泉為相筆／（嘉禄本）〉 |
|---|---|
| Designation | Important Cultural Property (Calligraphy and Classical Books) |
| Designated | May 27, 1939 (Shōwa 14) |
| Date of copying | Kagen 3 (1305) |
| Scribe | Reizei Tamesuke (1263–1328) |
| Quantity | 2 volumes (jō) |
| Attached items | Certificate of authentication by Sanjōnishi Kin'eda (1); authentication slip by Emperor Go-Sai (1) |
| Owner | Yōmei Bunko Foundation |
| Location | Kyoto Prefecture |
| Public access | Not generally open; viewable through periodic special exhibitions |
References
- National Database of Designated Cultural Properties (Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/201/7960
- Cultural Heritage Online — Kokin Wakashū (on the Karoku recension)
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/218390
- Yōmei Bunko (collection overview)
- https://ymbk.sakura.ne.jp/collection.htm
- The Museum of Kyoto — exhibition of Konoe family treasures
- https://www.bunpaku.or.jp/exhi_sogo_post/20260214-0412/
Last verified: 2026.06.18