Shinkei is recognized as one of the major poets and critical thinkers of the medieval period, even though his contemporary fame was brief, cut short by the outbreak of the nin War (1467-1477) and his subsequent death as a refugee in the Kant region. His view of poetic practice as a mode of being and a means of access to Buddhist enlightenment is considered the loftiest and most representative expression of medieval poetic philosophy. The acuity and concentration of his poetry in the mode of objective symbolism manifest the influence of Zen meditation in the Muromachi arts. As a waka poet he upheld the liberal principles of the Reizei school at a time when the conservative Nij school held undisputed sway, and his use of the laments mode to bear witness to the tragic history of his time is unique. In renga he was the most outstanding among...