The Man'yōshū was compiled between the end of the 7th century and the first half of the 8th century and contains 4,516 poems. Although the compiler of the Man'yōshū is unknown, one of the major compilers is believed to be Ōtomo no Yakamochi. The Kokinwakashū, or more commonly known as the Kokinshū, contains 1,111 poems and its compilation ended in ca. 905. The compilation of the Kokinshū was ordered by Emperor Daigo and the task was entrusted to Ki no Tsurayuki, Ki no Tomonori, Ōshikōchi no Mitsune and Mibu no Tadamine. At the time the Man'yōshū was compiled, Japan considered its imperial government unstable and weak against a country as powerful as China. On the other hand, when the Japanese government began to increase its imperial strength, the imperial government began to take over Japanese poetry. Since the Man'yōshū was not compiled by the imperial court and the Kokinshū was compiled in a period when the court was strengthening, both anthologies had different roles and meanings in the societies for which they were created, such as their role in history, content and styles of poetry. From 645 to 646, the Taika Reform occurred throughout Japan. During the Taika Reform, the leaders were eliminated and Japan's sole imperial power remained in the hands of the emperor. As imperial power weakened in Japan, the Japanese government began to model itself on the model of the Chinese government, which was the most powerful in Asia at that time. After the Taika Reform, the Japanese realized that political and social reforms were not enough to rival China and that they would have to “establish themselves in the eyes of the Chinese as a civilized country” (Keene 86). In 660, China invaded the Paekche kingdom in Korea at......middle of paper......nderson. Richmond: Japanese Library, 1997. Print.Keene, Donald. “The Man'yōshū and Kokinshū Collections.” Masterpieces of Asian literature in comparative perspective. Ed. Barbara Stoler Miller. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994. Print.Keene, Donald. Seeds in the Heart: Japanese Literature from the Early Times to the Late 16th Century. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. Print. Nature across cultures: Views of nature and the environment in non-Western cultures. Ed.Helaine Selin. Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003. Print.Okura, Yamanoue. “An elegy on the impermanence of human life.” Anthology of Japanese literature, from the early to the mid-19th century. Ed. Donald Keene. New York: Grove, 1955. Print.Varley, Paul H. Japanese Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2000. Print.