Shinsen Inu Tsukuba Shu (新撰犬筑波集)
Shinsen Inu Tsukuba shu is a collection of haikairenga (a type of linked verse) that was made during the second half of the Muromachi period. It was compiled by Sokan YAMAZAKI. It consists of one volume.
The collection was completed after 1524. It is thought that the personal collection of Sokan YAMAZAKI was enlarged periodically in later years, and there are many variants of the collection and the contents differ among them. This is the earliest collection of haikairenga after "Chikuba Kyogin shu" (Comic Song Collection), and it became famous as a pioneering collection of haikairenga in modern times. The collection is said to have had an influence on the haikai of the Danrin school in the early Edo period.
Printed copies published during the Keicho and Genna eras were called "Inu Tsukuba shu." However, they were called "Haikairenga" or "Selections from Haikairenga," therefore "Inu Tsukuba shu" was not a title which was used from the beginning. Inu' (literally, a dog) is a derogatory expression for Haikairenga among those favoring Renga, and "Inu Tsukuba shu" is a title which was used in contrast with a collection of renga, "Shinsen Tsukubashu" (New Selection of Renga Poetry of Tsukuba).
Haikairenga consist of 'a follow-up line' and 'the first line.'
Follow-up lines' are classified into Four Seasons, while 'the first lines' are classified into Four Seasons, Love, and Miscellaneous. It is said that haikairenga is poetry aiming at vulgar comedy written in obscene and explicit language with the intention of criticism on renga.