Most of them are considered to have been lost without being written down, but about 300 poems have survived in the books of "Kojiki (Records of Ancient Matters)," "Nihon shoki (Chronicles of Japan)," "Fudoki (notes on local legends and geography)," "Manyoshu," "Kogoshui (commentaries on ancient words and practices)," "Kinkafu (poetry collection)" and "Bussokusekika hi (stele)."
多くは文字に記されることなく失われてしまったとされるが、『古事記』『日本書紀』『風土記』『万葉集』『古語拾遺』『琴歌譜』『仏足石歌碑』などに約300首残っている。