The earliest collection of
kanshi was the
Kaifūsō, compiled in 751. The
Kaifūsō was also one of the earliest works of Japanese literature, and according to Judith Rabinovitch and Timothy Bradstock, it was a collection of
occasional verse spanning from 672 to 751. The compiler of the
Kaifūsō may have been Omi no Mifune,
Isonokami no Yakatsugu, or Prince Shirakabe and Fujiwara no Satsuo. Three imperial collections of
kanshi were compiled during the 9th century: the
Ryōunshū of 814, the
Bunka Shūreishū of 818, and the
Keikokushū of 827. Indeed,
kanshi was accorded a higher place than the native
waka form until the
Kokin Wakashū collection was published in 905. Even before the early
Heian period, the word
shi () meaning "poetry" was automatically understood to refer to
kanshi, while the character (
ka,
uta) of
waka referred to Japanese poetry proper. The
Shi Jing, great Chinese poets of the
Six Dynasties and
Tang dynasty, such as
Bai Juyi and others influenced the Japanese
kanshi poets of the time, and when the Japanese met foreign diplomats of the time, they
communicated in Chinese writing. Some went to China for study or diplomatic relations, and learned under
Chinese poets such as
Li Bai and
Du Fu. Important
kanshi poets of the Heian period included
Kūkai, who learned to speak Chinese fluently during his time studying in China,
Sugawara no Michizane, who did not study in China, but had a good understanding of Chinese, and Shimada no Tadaomi, among many others. Emperor Saga was a notable
kanshi poet, who even ordered the compilation of 3 anthologies of
kanshi, the first three imperial anthologies. Also noteworthy are private collections of Chinese poetry. One such collection combined both
kanshi and
waka: cf. the
Wakan rōeishū.
Kanshi composition is not limited to Medieval Japan. During the
Edo period and the early
Meiji period many or 'men of letters' schooled in the philosophy of
Neo-Confucianism composed
kanshi. Despite the fascination of the Japanese with the European literature in the early 20th century, many of the "new literary giants" of the time, (e.g.
Natsume Sōseki) composed
kanshi. Gen.
Maresuke Nogi was a noted poet of
kanshi poems. During World War II, Japanese militarist propaganda encouraged study and composition of
kanshi because it was considered to boost the "martial spirit". After 1945, study of
kanshi steadily declined as the school system was changed by the
American Occupation policies. Nowadays,
kanshi is usually studied in the upper-level
kanbun classes in high schools, albeit only in passing.
Shigin hobbyists maintain the chanting tradition, but they are few and far between. ==Forms==