詠よみ人びと知しらず

よ

み

び

と

し

ら

ず

Meanings

1

expression

author unknown; anonymous

Used in classical Japanese poetry collections (e.g., Kokinshū) to indicate that the composer of a poem is unknown. The phrase itself is a set expression, not a productive grammatical pattern.

古こ今きん和わ歌か集しゅうには「詠よみ人びと知しら

ず

」

の

歌うた

が

多おお

く

収おさ

め

られ

て

いる

。

The Kokin Wakashū contains many poems marked 'author unknown'.

この句くは詠よみ人びと知しらずとされている。

This verse is considered to be by an unknown poet.

Kanji

詠recitation, poem, song
人person
知know, wisdom
読read

Related words

作さく者しゃ不ふ詳しょう
A more formal, modern term for 'author unknown', used in bibliographic contexts, not limited to classical poetry.

Built from

詠よみ人びと+知しらず

Written forms

詠よみ人びと知しらず
Standard kanji spelling; the 詠 character explicitly conveys 'compose poetry', fitting the classical poetry context.
読よみ人びと知しらず
Variant using 読 (read); less specific to poetry but still encountered.
よみ人びとしらず
Mixed kana-kanji spelling; common in modern contexts when the phrase is used outside strict classical references.
読よみ人びと知しらず
Abbreviated kanji form; rarely used.
詠よみ人びと知しらず

Etymology

A fixed phrase from classical Japanese poetry anthologies, literally 'the person who composed (it) is unknown'. The reading よみびとしらず reflects historical kana usage.

Abbreviated kanji form; rarely used.