Ise shu (Collection of Ise) (伊勢集)
Ise shu is a personal collection of poems by Ise (a poet), who lived during the Heian period.
It is a collection of poetry by Ise, who served FUJIWARA no Onshi, the second consort of Emperor Uda. Ise was a representative poet in the time when "Kokin Wakashu" (A Collection of Ancient and Modern Japanese Poetry) was compiled, and twenty-two poems written by her were collected in it, which is the most among poems written by female poets. She was also one of the Thirty-six Immortal Poets, and one of her poems was selected for "Hyakunin Isshu" (one hundred waka poems by one hundred poets).
There are three different lines of the manuscript of Ise shu. The oldest is the one owned by Nishi Hongan-ji Temple, and other two are Kasen Kashu lineage (Poetry Collection of Kasen - superior poets) and Gunsho Ruiju version. The opening lines of the collection is a narrative description with strong autobiographical elements, and it was a pioneer of the female diary literature represented by the "Izumi Shikibu Diary," written in later years. The poems in this collection were also selected for "Shin Kokin Wakashu" (New Collection of Ancient and Modern Japanese Poetry) and "Ogura Hyakunin isshu" (the Ogura Anthology of One Hundred Tanka-poems by One Hundred Poets).