 As is made clear from the title, the work was composed by the courtier, poet and scholar Fujiwara no Shunzei.Shunzei wrote it between the 26th day of the seventh month and the eighth day of the eighth month of Shōji 2 (or, between 6 September and 17 September 1200 according to the Julian calendar).This date is established from references in the "Maigetsushō", the diary kept by Shunzei's son Teika, which recounts that on the 15th day of the seventh month he heard tell from his brother-in-law, Saionji Kintsune, of a poetry competition to be hosted by Retired Emperor Go-Toba.