Into how many parts is the Kokin Wakashū divided? The Kokin Wakashū is divided into 20 parts.
The Kokin Wakashū, or Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern, is organized into twenty books or thematic sections. Emperor Daigo ordered the anthology, and its completed form dates to the early tenth century, usually around 905–920. Its principal compilers included Ki no Tsurayuki, Ki no Tomonori, Ōshikōchi no Mitsune, and Mibu no Tadamine.
The opening six sections cover the four seasons: two books of spring, one of summer, two of autumn, and one of winter. These are followed by congratulations, partings, travel, and acrostic poems. Books 11–15 are devoted to love, while the final sections cover laments, miscellaneous poetry, miscellaneous forms, and traditional songs from the Bureau of Song.
The twenty-part structure became a powerful model for later imperial anthologies. The Kokin Wakashū also helped shape Japanese literary taste through its seasonal ordering, linked sequences of love poems, and influential Japanese and Chinese prefaces. The number of sections is therefore a structural feature, not a count of poets or poems.