This article will discuss and compare the anthologies of Man'yōshū and Kokinshū, which were the first poetry collections of the classical period in Japan. Manʻyōshū was the first anthology of poems and included both long and short forms. It was compiled in the 7th century. Kokinshū was a collection of short poems known as tanka, consisting of 31 syllables. It was compiled in the 8th-10th centuries. Kokinshū became the standard of poetry for the next 1,000 years in Japan. (Manyōshū and Kokinshū Poetry Collections) The Manʻyōshū, also known as the Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves, is the first collection of Japanese poetry compiled in 759 AD and was divided into 20 volumes, containing 4,516 Japanese poems. There are 4,200 tanka (short poems), 265 chōka (long poems), and 60 sedōka (head-repeated poems), which was a repeated verse form of 5-7-5, 5-7-5. The Manʻyōshū is also the largest collection of poems ever made and was compiled not only by aristocrats but also by emperors, peasants, and soldiers. The last four volumes are said to have been compiled by Ōtomo no Yakamochi who wrote 473 poems. Other important contributors were Takechi Kurohito, Yamanoue Okura, and Kakinomoto Hitomar, who supposedly wrote some 367 poems and was one of Japan's greatest poets. The poems were recorded by oral tradition and are considered great literature of the Nara period. Manʻyōshū was written in manyogana and did not have a preface. Manʻyōshū's early poems have Confucian or Taoist themes, and later poems reflect Buddhist teachings. The Manʻyōshū was written to show national identity and prove oneself as China was larger. (Ten Thousand Leaves) The first poem of the Manʻyōshū is about a man trying to woo a girl... center of the card... This format made it much easier for people to understand the poems. Even the Chinese could understand Kokinshū since the second preface was written in Manajo. (Murdoch 471)Works CitedKato, Shuichi. A history of Japanese literature from Manʻyōshū to modern times. England: Japan Library, 1977. Print.Keene, Donald. Anthology of Japanese literature. New York: Grove Press, 1955. Print.Murdoch, James. A History of Japan Vol. III. London: Broadway House, 1926. Print. "Ten thousand leaves". York St. John University. 2009. PDF file. “The Kokinwakashū”. 2001 Waka for Japan 2001. np nd Web. 26 January 2011..“The Manyōshu and Kokinshū poetry collections”. Contemporary Japan. npndWeb. January 26th. 2011. .