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A book on waka poetry from the mid-Heian period written by Fujiwara no Kinto. The date of its creation is unknown. The extant copy lacks a preface and has various incomplete points, leading to theories that it is missing or abbreviated. The contents cover a wide range of topics, including a discussion of excellent poems, examples of excellent poems, a discussion of waka illnesses, a discussion of original poems, a discussion of waka style (only for tanka), and a discussion of utamakura (poem pillow), making it a fully-fledged, systematic book on waka poetry. The description of excellent poems that "in general, a poem is excellent if it is deep in heart, has a pure appearance, and has something pleasing to the heart" is particularly famous, and this discussion of "spiritual appearance" has had a great influence on later waka theories as it shows the essence of Kinto's theory of waka poetry.

[Yoshinobu Hirata]

"Japanese Classical Literature Series 65: Collection of Poetry Essays, Collection of Nohgaku Essays" edited by Hisamatsu Senichi and Nishio Minoru (1961, Iwanami Shoten)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

平安中期の歌学書。藤原公任(きんとう)著。成立年時は未詳。現存本は序文を欠き、種々不整備な点がみられることから、脱落説、錯簡説などがある。内容は、秀歌論、秀歌例、歌病論、本歌論、歌体論（旋頭歌(せどうか)のみ）、歌枕(うたまくら)論にまで及び、体系だった本格的な歌論書の形態を有している。「およそ歌は心深く、姿清げにて、心にをかしき所あるをすぐれたりといふべし」という秀歌論の叙述はとくに有名で、その「心姿」の論は、公任歌論の真髄を示すものとして、後代の歌論に多大な影響を与えた。

［平田喜信］

『久松潜一・西尾実校注『日本古典文学大系65　歌論集　能楽論集』（1961・岩波書店）』

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