1000 Poems from the Manyoshu

Dating from the eighth century and earlier, the "Manyoshu is the oldest Japanese poetry anthology--and it's widely considered to be the best. A committee of distinguished scholars chose 1,000 poems from more than 4,500 possibilities. Their criteria for inclusion demanded poetic excellence, insights into the Japanese national spirit and character, and cultural and historical significance. The acclaimed translations artfully preserve the simplicity and direct quality of the originals, encompassing an enormous range of human emotions and experiences while offering glimpses of a world authentically and uniquely Japanese.