[2] The genre was elevated to a literary art by Nijō Yoshimoto (二条良基, 1320–1388), who compiled the first imperial renga anthology Tsukubashū (菟玖波集) in 1356.
The "origin" of renga is traditionally associated with a passage in the Kojiki, wherein Prince Yamato Takeru speaks to an old man and inquires, by way of a katauta poem, how many nights he had slept since passing Nabari and Tsukuba, to which the old man responds by way of another kata-uta poem, which combined form a single sedōka.
[4] The earliest extant renga appears in the Manyoshu (万葉集), with its 5-7-5 mora jōku (上句 first stanza) written by Ōtomo no Yakamochi (大伴家持, 718-785) and its 7-7 mora geku (下句 last stanza) written by a Buddhist nun (尼 ama) in an exchange of poems.
The tanrenga form was popular from the beginning of the Heian Period until the end of cloistered rule (院政 insei) and would sometimes appear in imperial anthologies of waka, which it closely resembled at a glance.
The vocabulary of hyakuin renga was largely limited to the standard poetic diction (歌言葉, utakotoba) that had been established in the Kokinshū.
A comparable, though less evolved, tradition of 'linked verse' (lián jù 連句—the same characters as 'renku')—evolved in Qin dynasty China,[6] and this Chinese form may have influenced Japanese renga during its formative period.
[8] Around the time of the Shin Kokin Wakashū (新古今和歌集, 1205) during the rule of Emperor Go-Tōba, hyakuin renga developed enough to gain its first real independence from waka.
[9] At the time, one of the most important rules was fushimono (賦物), titular prompts that had to be followed by every stanza in the entire sequence.
Gusai, a commoner priest, was a leading jige renga poet and key collaborator in the compilation of the Tsukubashū.
Yoshimoto was the first to write extensively on renga theory, creating many works laying out the genre’s structure, aesthetic standards, shikimoku, and more.
Through his theoretical work and compilation of the Tsukubashū, Yoshimoto elevated renga to the status of an independent literary genre, setting a crucial foundation for its golden age.
The era is epitomized by the poet Sōgi (宗祇, 1421–1502) and his compilation of the renga anthology Shintsukubashū (新菟玖波集, lit.
Prior to Sōgi, Ichijō Kaneyoshi (一条兼良, also Kanera; 1402–1481) aimed to succeed his grandfather Nijō Yoshimoto with his compilation of the Aratamashū (新玉集), which he worked on with the priest Sōzei (宗砌).
He spent much time travelling the country as a professional renga poet despite the tumultuous political context of his era.
The former was created as an offering for Emperor Go-Toba, the compiler of the Shinkokinshū, making it a formal piece with ceremonial grandeur.
Jōha was heavily involved with major political figures of his time, establishing connections with important people from various factions.
Yet by the end of this era, the shikimoku had become so complicated and systematic that they stifled the active imagination that had been a part of the renga's appeal.
The stand-alone hokku was renamed haiku in the Meiji period by the great Japanese poet and critic Masaoka Shiki.
[citation needed] The hyakuin renga sequence begins with the hokku (発句), a 5-7-5 mora verse which was the origin of the late haiku genre.
For instance, ikkumono (一句物) was a category of specific phrases could only be used once in the entire sequence due to their particularly strong impression, or because they were considered unrefined.
Love originally followed the same rule, but by Sōgi’s era the minimum had dropped to two, and a single verse was allowed by the Edo Period.
Summer, winter, travel, and Buddhism, among many others, could repeat for a maximum of three verses and no minimum, as could reminiscence—here, the subtopic of transiency fell under reminiscence, although it did not for other rules.
The term for the proper flow of rhythm, which was also used in other art forms such as Noh theatre, was jōhakyū (序破急), or "prelude, development, presto" in the manner of music.
Another convention regarding the flow of the sequence was the alternation of mon (紋 "pattern") and ji (地 "background") verses.
[17] Renga was typically composed in sessions attended by a group of poets known as the renju (連衆, also renjū)—usually 7-8, though the number could range widely—, a scribe (執筆 shuhitsu), and a master (宗匠 sōshō).
The setting of the session was called the ba (場), and was an integral part of the poetic sequence, providing aesthetic inspiration and often serving as the basis for the hokku.
These sessions could take the form of more literary pedagogical events or more informal competitions that drew crowds of spectators.
Unlike the scribe, the master was mainly in charge of the aesthetic progression of the sequence, maintaining the jōhakyū tempo, ji and mon pattern, the yukiyō, and other aspects of the flow by both judging verses and offering his own.
Professional renga poets (連歌師 rengashi) such as Sōgi and his disciples would often be in high demand as masters during their travels.
Many treatises and handbooks delineated the proper etiquette and conventions for renga sessions, covering everything from behavior and preparation of individual poets to the setup and dynamic of the ba.