Leaves of Words: Japanese Poetry and Poetics

A historical study of various poetic forms of Japanese poetry ( waka ) from the 8th-century anthology, the Man'yoshu , to the advent of modern verse, including jiyushi or free verse, in the latter part of the 19th century into the 20th century. Focusses on the relationship of poetry to society, religion, the political implications of waka , and the dominant aesthetic modes governing poetic conventions in different periods.