The Manyoshu is said to be the starting point of Japanese literature. This anthology of poems includes works on the subjects of love and nature that utilize the beautiful Japanese rhythmic pattern of seven/five syllables. For instance, a poem by NUKATA no Ookimi starts with “Akanesasu murasakinoyuki…” It goes like this: “My sweetheart walking on the purple field under madder-colored sky, don’t wave your kimono sleeve so much, the guard might be watching.” Waving a sleeve was an expression of love. It is said that she was a beautiful and talented woman. This poem was for Prince Ooama (later the Emperor Tenmu) who was her former husband. At this time she was a wife of Emperor Tenji, who was his older brother. Their complicated relationship is discussed to this day. In reply to her poem Prince Ooama wrote the following poem that began with “Murasakino nioeruimowo…” “If I am hateful to you, a married woman who is as beautiful as a purple field, why do I miss you this much?” MURASAKI Shikibu’s “Tale of Genji,” the world’s oldest and longest love story, features scenes in which love poems are exchanged. In ancient aristocratic society, poems were used to seduce members of the opposite sex. The script in the Manyoshu is distinctive. At that time, Japan had no phonetic characters, so they used the kanji that sounded closest to Japanese sounds instead. Kanji that sound similar to Japanese were also used in Japan’s oldest history book the “Kojiki.” Later, a revolution occurred in Japanese script when hiragana and katakana were created from kanji. The Tale of Genji was mostly written in hiragana. The “Iroha Uta” (the author of which is unknown) was written using each of the 47 hiragana characters only once. Hiragana is currently ordered as “a, i, u, e, o,” however, the “i, ro, ha” order was used for a long time. Iroha Uta tells in seven/five rhythm how nothing that exists in this world is eternal. In Japan, there are many masterpieces dealing with the ever-changing nature of the world, these include the “Tale of Heike” that recounts the fall of the once prosperous Heike family. In the beginning of the “Hojoki” written by KAMO no Chomei this is described thus: “The river’s current flows endlessly, but the water is constantly changing.”