Ruiju Koshu

The First Classified Edition of the Man'yoshu

The Ruiju Koshu (類聚古集) is a Heian-period manuscript of the Ruiju Koshu in 16 folded volumes, held by Ryukoku University in Fukakusa Tsukamoto-cho, Fushimi Ward, Kyoto City, which in 1953 was designated a National Treasure.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs records 16 folded volumes owned by Ryukoku University.

According to the Ryukoku University Library, it was compiled by Fujiwara no Atsutaka (died 1120) before his death; each volume is 22.3 by 14.2 centimetres.

Contents

According to the library, it rearranges the poems of the Man'yoshu, which lack a consistent order, by form into long poems, short poems and sedoka, then by subject, such as spring, summer, autumn, winter, heaven and earth, and mountains and waters, and within spring by the progression of seasonal things and events.

It seems to have been read soon after compilation: Minamoto no Toshiyori, a relative by marriage of Atsutaka, used it in composing poems, and the poet Fujiwara no Nakazane drew on it for his treatise Kigosho.

What to Look For

The library lists its value: it is the only surviving manuscript of the work, the first book to classify and edit Man'yoshu poems, and it shows how the texts in Man'yogana were transmitted and read at the time.

The library notes that at the end of volumes three, four and others is a monogram said to be in the hand of Emperor Fushimi, with the note that he had read it.

Visiting the Ruiju Koshu

Images are published in the Ryukoku University Library rare materials database; check the library for access to the original.