The anthology tried to follow tradition by naming itself the successor of "Kokin Wakashu" (A Collection of Ancient and Modern Poetry) and "Shin Kokin," and the reason why the number of anthologists was increased to five was probably because the Emperor wanted to make the anthology resemble "Shin Kokin," but because the anthologists were unable to agree with each other and couldn't organize the poems well it ended up being too diversified and inconsistent.
命名には『古今和歌集』『新古今』以来の正統を継承しようとする意気込みが見え、撰者の数を五人に増やしたのも、おそらく『新古今』のような勅撰集を目指した故であろうが、撰者が相容れぬ立場にあるため歌風の調和が取れず、多種多様で統一性に欠ける。