Paper short abstract:

The talk deals with the ur-selection of the Man’yōshū, which is assumed in the first 53 poems. On the basis of the annotations added later as well as the possible connections to the Kojiki, the talk will clarify that the ur-selection consisted of only 50 poems and that 3 poems were added later

Paper long abstract:

The Man’yōshū 萬葉集 is the oldest anthology of Japanese literature still in existence today. The over 4500 poems and short prose texts are contained in twenty volumes, but it is still unclear when the compilation was completed. There are two theories concerning the original layout, which will be the subject of my talk. One is about the anthology as a continuation of the Kojiki 古事記, and the other is about the so-called primal or ur-selection, which is assumed to be in the first fifty-three poems of the first Book. While the Kojiki was submitted in 712, the composition of the original selection is assumed to be around the mid-690s.

Both theories are closely related to each other. However, the Man’yōshū as a continuation of the Kojiki cannot refer to the extant anthology consisting of twenty volumes, but only to the ur-selection. Thus, the reasons that speak in favor of the primal selection as a connection to the Kojiki should be stated more clearly than is the case in previous research. On the other hand, it has to be shown that this first selection consisted not of fifty-three poems, but of fifty presenting a unique form of historiography. Three poems were added later to pursue specific ideological goals.

The key to a deeper understanding of the ur-selection lies in the annotations. These were added many years later when the thoughts and intentions of the old selection were no longer comprehensible. Nevertheless, the annotations still guide academic understanding today, but it is necessary to show what a reading of the ur-selection might be like without them.