The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, selected by the Kamakura-period poet Fujiwara no Teika, gathers one poem each from 100 poets. Originally chosen to decorate the sliding doors of a mountain villa, it later became 'karuta' cards beloved across Japan and still enjoyed at New Year.

Over the compilation of the Shin Kokin Wakashu, Fujiwara no Teika clashed with retired Emperor Go-Toba, who altered Teika's selections and demanded obedience. Teika refused to bend his aesthetics, writing in his diary Meigetsuki that in the way of poetry he would not submit even to the emperor.