Unlike the poets of "Manyoshu," the poets of this period expressed much more delicate senses to make more elegant tanka, using sophisticated techniques such as hiyu (metaphor), engo (correlative words) and kakekotoba ('pivotword' or words having alternative meanings).
万葉集とは違い、比喩や縁語、掛詞などの技巧をこらした繊細で、優美な歌が多く作られた。