Rare antique vase of Kutani workshops, hyakunin isshu variety, porcelain, overglaze painting with 24k gilding, Japan, 20th century. Hyakunin isshu is a type of anthology of Japanese poetry - waka. (medieval poetic genre). An important basis for creating an anthology is 100 poems by 100 poets, that is, a verse is taken from each poet. The most famous anthology (ogura hyakunin isshu) belongs to the poet Fujiwara no Teika, an aristocrat, a master of composing poems, who lived in Kyoto (1162-1241). He compiled a collection of one hundred poets in 1235, and when hyakunin isshu is mentioned, it is his collection that is meant. The waka genre is a Japanese short song of thirty-one syllables, which was called "tanka".