was an important and innovative Japanese poet

Japanese poetry

Japanese poets first encountered Chinese poetry during the Tang Dynasty. It took them several hundred years to digest the foreign impact, make it a part of their culture and merge it with their literary tradition in their mother tongue, and begin to develop the diversity of their native poetry. For...

, who compiled the Gosen Wakashū. He was the son of Minamoto no Tsunenobu (1016–1097); holder of the second rank in court and of the position of Grand Counsellor). Shunrai was favored by Emperor Go-Sanjo

Emperor Go-Sanjo

was the 71st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Go-Sanjō's reign spanned the years from 1068 through 1073.This 11th century sovereign was named after Emperor Sanjō and go- , translates literally as "later;" and thus, he is sometimes called the "Later Emperor Sanjō"...

 and to a lesser degree Emperor Shirakawa

Emperor Shirakawa

was the 72nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Shirakawa's reign lasted from 1073 to 1087.-Genealogy:Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was Sadahito-shinnō ....

; in no small part for political reasons. At this time, the Fujiwara family

Fujiwara family

The Fujiwara clan , descending from the Nakatomi clan, was a powerful family of regents in Japan.The clan originated when the founder, Nakatomi no Kamatari , was rewarded by Emperor Tenji with the honorific "Fujiwara", which evolved as a surname for Kamatari and his descendants...

 dominated the country, and its branch, the Rokujō family

Rokujo family

The Rokujō family was a poetically conservative faction in the Japanese Imperial court, founded by Fujiwara no Akisue ; it was the first clan to specialize in attaining power and influence via success in poetry, and was originally opposed to their opposite numbers amongst the Minamoto clan ,...

, similarly dominated the court poetry scene; by favoring their rivals, the Emperors could thus strike back. Although Shunrai was passed over to compile the Goshūi Wakashū. Shunrai's angry polemical Nan Goshūi ("Errors in the Goshūishū") appears to have somehow convinced Shirakawa to have Shunrai compile the next imperial anthology, the Kin'yō Wakashū. This anthology

Anthology

An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...

, when completed, embroiled Shunrai in dispute, and his Gosen Wakashū was especially criticized with various uncomplimentary nicknames; Brower and Miner mention that one critic, Fujiwara no Akinaka (fl.

Floruit

Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...

 1100-1125) wrote a now-lost ten-part work called the Ryōgyokushū ("Collection of Genuine Jewels") which did nothing but mock and criticize the Kin'yō Wakashū.

In 1113, Toshiyori wrote the poetic treatise known as "Toshiyori zuinō (俊頼髄脳)." Zuinō, which is also seen in the title of Fujiwara no Kintō's poetic treatise the "Shinsen zuinō," can be translated literally as myelencephalon

Myelencephalon

The myelencephalon is categorized as a secondary vesicle in the development of the central nervous system. The prefix "myelen" is derived from Greek for medulla...

, but this term was used to refer to books that contained essays on poetry and figuratively means that it knows the "mind" of poetry.