Ki no Tomonori (c. 850 – c. 904) was an early Heian

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

 waka

Waka (poetry)

Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...

poet of the court, a member of the sanjūrokkasen or Thirty-six Poetry Immortals

Thirty-six Poetry Immortals

The Thirty-six Poetry Immortals are a group of Japanese poets of the Nara, Asuka and Heian periods selected by Fujiwara no Kintō as exemplars of Japanese poetic ability. There are five female poets among them...

. He was a compiler of the Kokin Wakashū, though he certainly did not see it to completion as the anthology includes a eulogy to him composed by Ki no Tsurayuki

Ki no Tsurayuki

was a Japanese author, poet and courtier of the Heian period.Tsurayuki was a son of Ki no Mochiyuki. He became a waka poet in the 890s. In 905, under the order of Emperor Daigo, he was one of four poets selected to compile the Kokin Wakashū, an anthology of poetry.After holding a few offices in...

, his colleague in the compilation effort. Ki no Tomonori is the author of several poems in the Kokin Wakashū, and a few of his poems appear in later official collections. A collection of his poems from various sources appeared as the tomonori shū.