Kokin waka shû. Japanese collection of poems past and present

Kokin Wakashu was the first imperial anthology of waka poetry. Around 905, emperor Daigo entrusted its compilation to four famous poets: Ki no Tomonori, Ki no Tsurayuki, Oshikochi no Mitsune, and Mibu no Tadamine. Kokin Wakashu contains 1111 poems, which represent a century and a half of poetic creation. Most of the poems are in the form of 5-7-5-7-7 (31 characters), also known as waka or tanka. The names of 122 poets, 26 of whom are women, appear in this anthology. It also has both an introduction in kana (written by Ki no Tsurayuki) and an introduction in mana (i.e. kanji) (written by Ki no Yoshimochi). The kana preface is frequently quoted and is considered to be the first discussion and treatise on waka poetry.
One of the unique features of the Kokin Wakashu is the meticulous attention paid to the classification of the poems. Kokin Wakashu is not a simple anthology in which waka poems are arranged by poet or in chronological order of composition. The waka poems are arranged by subject, in such a way that they follow its development. That is, the first six volumes (volume 1 through volume 6) are poems about the four seasons, covering the year from the first day of spring to the last day of winter. Similarly, the poems on love (from volume 11 to volume 15) are arranged to describe the course of love, from the beginning of love, when one does not dare to reveal one's love to the person one longs for, up to weariness and separation. This arrangement of poems is a wonderful invention of the selectors and makes Kokin Wakashu an original work of brilliant composition.
I was very anxious about translating such an important work as Kokin Wakashu into French for the first time, because until then, only the prefaces and 80 waka poems had been translated and published by Georges Bonneau between 1933 and 1935. I thought, "Would it be a success? Wouldn't it be an impossible task?" The translation process took five years, from 2015 to 2020, so I finished the translation just as the COVID-19 epidemic was hitting the world and France. When the lockdown measures were taken, I was translating the last poems in the anthology. The beauty of the waka made this anxious time bearable. After finishing the translation, my friend and waka expert Sumie Terada checked my translation in its entirety, comparing it to the original text. Thanks to Sumie Terada's deep knowledge of the literary language, subtle nuances that I had overlooked were brought to my attention, and our discussion about the translation of waka poems improved the translation. I am deeply grateful to Sumie Terada.
When the translation of the Kokin Wakashu was published, I was a little worried about how it would be received by French readers. However, I soon received many congratulatory messages, and some readers were overwhelmed by the beauty of the waka poems. I had won the bet. My translation won two awards: the Giles Medal of the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles-Lettres (Médaille Herbert Giles de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres) and the Konishi Foundation Special Award. These two awards give me the courage to take on a new project. This new project is a complete translation of the 8th imperial anthology, Shinkokin Wakashu, compiled in 1210 by order of Emperor Go-Toba.