Six best Waka poets

The six most well known Waka poets (六歌仙 Rokkasen) were selected poets of Waka in the early Heian period. They were:

• Henjo
• Ariwara no Narihira
• Hun'ya no Yasuhide
• Kisen
• Ono no komachi
• Otomo no Kuronushi

The six Waka poets derived from the anthology of poems Kokin Wakashu (905), where Ki no Tsurayuki, one of compilers, referred to them as "famous poets in the near past" in the preface. He did not give high acclaim or the title "immortals of waka" (kasen) to them, however. That title was given later.