沖縄集二編 上 / Okinawa Collection Part 2, Vol. 1

Two books (woodblock print); forty-seven pages in volume one; twenty-nine pages in volume two; 26 cm by 18.2 cm; completed in 1876.
These book are a collection of waka (classic Japanese poetry) edited by Chōho Giwan. Volume one contains a preface by Giwan and his poet friend Atsuko Saisho, and 967 verses about the four seasons. Volume two contains 187 verses on love, and 285 verses on miscellaneous themes, as well as an afterword by poet Tada’aki Watari who was Kageki Kagawa’s leading disciple. As “Part 2” in the title indicates, volumes one and two are a sequel to the 1870 book Okinawa shū (Okinawa Collection)—a compilation of works by thirty-six great Okinawan poets before Giwan’s time, as opposed to these books in part two which are a compilation of poetry written by Giwan and other poets of his time. The books together contain 1439 verses by 109 poets, serving as a testament to how waka flourished during this period.