The last datable poem in the Man’yōshū is from 759.
Poem 4516, the anthology’s chronologically last datable poem, belongs to AD 759. It is associated with Ōtomo no Yakamochi, the poet generally believed to have been the final compiler, or one of the final compilers, of the collection.
The Man’yōshū is the oldest surviving anthology of Japanese waka. Its more than 4,500 poems were assembled in 20 books and preserve material composed over several centuries, with much of the collection dating from roughly AD 600 to 759. The final date therefore marks the end of the anthology’s documented poetic timeline, not necessarily the exact moment when the entire work was physically compiled.
The year 759 also helps distinguish the Man’yōshū from later imperial anthologies. By the tenth century, tanka had become the dominant meaning of waka, while older forms such as chōka and bussokusekika had largely disappeared from common use.