Editing Man'yōshū (section)

== Poets ==
{{main|List of Man'yōshū poets}}
The vast majority of the poems of the {{Transliteration|ja|Man'yōshū}} were composed over a period of roughly a century,{{efn|A small number of poems are attributed to figures from the ancient past, such as [[Emperor Yūryaku]].}} with scholars assigning the major poets of the collection to one or another of the four "periods" discussed above. [[Princess Nukata]]'s poetry is included in that of the first period (645–672),{{sfn|Keene|1999|pp=92–102}} while the second period (673–701) is represented by the poetry of [[Kakinomoto no Hitomaro]], generally regarded as the greatest of {{Transliteration|ja|Man'yōshū}} poets and one of the most important poets in Japanese history.{{sfn|Keene|1999|pp=102–118}}<!-- Not entirely sure if Keene verifies this description of Hitomaro, but lots of other sources do so it's practically WP:BLUE. Hijiri88, December 30, 2018. --> The third period (702–729){{sfn|Keene|1999|pp=118–146}} includes the poems of [[Takechi no Kurohito]], whom [[Donald Keene]] called "[t]he only new poet of importance" of the early part of this period,{{sfn|Keene|1999|p=119}} when [[Fujiwara no Fuhito]] promoted the composition of {{Transliteration|ja|kanshi}} (poetry in [[classical Chinese]]).{{sfn|Keene|1999|pp=118–119}} Other "third period" poets include: [[Yamabe no Akahito]], a poet who was once paired with Hitomaro but whose reputation has suffered in modern times;{{sfn|Keene|1999|pp=123–127}} [[Takahashi no Mushimaro]], one of the last great {{Transliteration|ja|chōka}} poets, who recorded a number of Japanese legends such as that of [[Urashima Tarō|Ura no Shimako]];{{sfn|Keene|1999|pp=127–128}} and [[Kasa no Kanamura]], a high-ranking courtier who also composed {{Transliteration|ja|chōka}} but not as well as Hitomaro or Mushimaro.{{sfn|Keene|1999|pp=128–130}} But the most prominent and important poets of the third period were [[Ōtomo no Tabito]], Yakamochi's father and the head of a poetic circle in the [[Dazaifu (government)|Dazaifu]],{{sfn|Keene|1999|pp=130–138}} and Tabito's friend [[Yamanoue no Okura]], possibly an immigrant from the Korean kingdom of [[Paekche]], whose poetry is highly idiosyncratic in both its language and subject matter and has been highly praised in modern times.{{sfn|Keene|1999|pp=138–146}} Yakamochi himself was a poet of the fourth period (730–759),{{sfn|Keene|1999|pp=146–157}} and according to Keene he "dominated" this period.{{sfn|Keene|1999|p=146}} He composed the last dated poem of the anthology in 759.{{sfn|Keene|1999|p=89}}