The Kaifūsō was also one of the earliest works of Japanese literature, and according to Judith Rabinovitch and Timothy Bradstock, it was a collection of occasional verse spanning from 672 to 751.
Some went to China for study or diplomatic relations, and learned under Chinese poets such as Li Bai and Du Fu.
Despite the fascination of the Japanese with the European literature in the early 20th century, many of the "new literary giants" of the time, (e.g. Natsume Sōseki[2]) composed kanshi.
During World War II, Japanese militarist propaganda encouraged study and composition of kanshi because it was considered to boost the "martial spirit".
The Japanese poets of kanshi were skilled in the strict rhyming rules of lüshi 律詩 and jueju 絕句, the two forms of the regulated verse that had gained most popularity during the Tang dynasty in China.