Manyoshu contains about 4500 poems, the earliest of which was composed in the reign of Emperor Nintoku, but most of them were being made during the period of less than 100 years from the Asuka period to the middle of the Nara period.
約4500首が収められており、その最も古いものは仁徳天皇期のものであるが、大部分は飛鳥時代から奈良時代中期にかけての約百年弱のもので占められている。