What is the literal English meaning of Man'yōshū?

The literal English meaning of Man’yōshū is “Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves.” Its Japanese title is written with characters meaning, literally, “ten thousand,” “leaves,” and “collection.”

The translation is accurate at the character-by-character level, but the title’s deeper meaning is debated. “Leaves” may function as a metaphor for poems or words, producing interpretations such as “collection of ten thousand poems.” Other scholars understand the title as suggesting a collection meant to endure for ten thousand ages, or for all generations.

The Man’yōshū is Japan’s oldest extant collection of poetry in Classical Japanese. Compiled in the Nara period, it contains more than 4,500 poems in 20 books and includes works attributed to emperors, aristocrats, soldiers, peasants, and anonymous poets.

A common mistake is treating “Ten Thousand Leaves” as the only possible interpretation of the title. It is the literal translation expected by this question, while “ten thousand poems” and “ten thousand ages” are interpretive readings.