Regarding these poems, captains of the Sakimori who were conscripted in 755 from each province were commanded to record and submit the poems composed by the Sakimori guards; among the originally collected poems, 82, or almost half of them, were not included as they were felt to be not skillful enough, and the selected poems were registered with the composers' names, and the provinces they came from (the counties they came from in some cases were also included).
これは天平勝宝7歳（755年）に徴集された防人の詠んだ歌を、防人を率いてきた各国の部領使（ことりづかい）に命じて記録、上進させたもので、拙劣歌として半数近く（82首）が棄てられてはいるものの、採用された歌については作者の名前から出身国（国によっては郡名まで）まで逐一記されている。