In general, the history of the Kyogoku school is broken into two periods, with the school during the Kamakura period dubbed the early period and all its history from the Northern and Southern Court period onwards being called the late period; its principal active poets included Tamekane KYOGOKU, Emperor Fushimi, Imperial Prince Hisaaki, Shoshi SAIONJI, Tameshi FUJIWARA (also known as Tameshi of Junior Third Rank), and Tamesuke REIZEI (whose daughter married Imperial Prince Hisaaki of the Jimyoin lineage), and Tamekane was also chosen (by order of Emperor Fushimi) to compile the 13th Imperial waka anthology, "Gyokuyo wakashu" (the Jeweled Leaves Collection).
通常鎌倉期のそれを前期、南北朝期以降のそれを後期と呼んで区分しているが、前期京極派においては京極為兼、伏見院、久明親王、西園寺しょう子、藤原為子（従三位為子）、冷泉為相（娘が持明院統の久明親王に嫁す）らが主要な歌人として活躍し、十三番目の勅撰集『玉葉和歌集』（伏見院下命、為兼撰）が編まれた。