All Japanese and Chinese terms are italicized except for those that have entered the English lexicon. Characters for Japanese terms are generally given in their modernized form, while characters for Chinese terms are given in their traditional unsimplified form. Following East Asian custom, Japanese and Chinese names are given in conventional order with surname first. Romanization of Japanese follows the modified Hepburn system and generally reflects modern pronunciation rather than traditional orthography, with occasional exceptions when traditional orthography is required to understand puns and double-entendres. Such exceptions are noted. Romanization of Chinese follows Hanyu Pinyin.
In the interest of space and readability, the original Japanese and Sinitic text of quoted texts is provided only for the poems (in the body of the text) and for shorter texts (in the footnotes). References to editions of frequently cited primary texts are abbreviated as explained in the Abbreviations section. Commentary to the poems has deliberately been kept to a minimum to replicate mid-Heian reading practices. The scholarly way of reading via painstaking exegesis and extensive commentary did not emerge until the medieval period. In most situations, Heian-period readers and recipients of poetry adopted a more informal way of reading that prioritized meaning and communicative intent over philological detail.
All translations are mine unless otherwise noted.