First and foremost, Saigyo was the central figure in the world of tanka poets who appeared as a new and experimental type of poet in times of the cloistered government and, along with Toshinari, perfected a poetry style which was to become the key note of Senzaishu (Senzai Wakashu) creating a flow to lead into Shinkokin Wakashu.
あくまで西行は院政期の実験的な新風歌人として登場し、俊成とともに千載集の主調となるべき風を完成させ、そこからさらに新古今へとつながる流れを生み出した歌壇の中心人物であった。