What is Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry?

The Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry are a group of Japanese poets of the Asuka, Nara, and Heian periods selected by Fujiwara no Kintō as exemplars of Japanese poetic ability. The oldest surviving collection of the 36 poets' works is Nishi Honganji Sanju-rokunin Kashu of 1113. Similar groups of Japanese poets include the Kamakura period Nyōbō Sanjūrokkasen , composed by court ladies exclusively, and the Chūko Sanjūrokkasen , or Thirty-Six Heian-era Immortals of Poetry, selected by Fujiwara no Norikane . This list superseded an older group called the Six Immortals of Poetry.

Sets of portraits of the group were popular in Japanese painting and later woodblock prints, and often hung in temples.