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The Omoro Sōshi (おもろさうし) is a compilation of ancient poems and songs from Okinawa and the Amami Islands, collected into 22 volumes and written primarily in hiragana with some simple kanji. There are 1,553 poems in the collection, but many are repeated; the number of unique pieces is 1,144.〔Sakihara, Mitsugu. ''A Brief History of Early Okinawa Based on the Omoro Sōshi.'' Tokyo: Honpo Shoseki Press, 1987. p6.〕 The hiragana used, however, is a traditional orthography which associates different sounds to the characters than their normal Japanese readings. The characters used to write ''omoro'', for example (おもろ), would be written this same way, but pronounced as ''umuru'' in Okinawan. The poetry contained in the volumes extends from the 12th century, or possibly earlier, to some composed by the Queen of Shō Nei (1589-1619). Though formally composed and recorded at these times, most if not all are believed to derive from far earlier traditions, as a result of their language, style, and content. The poems contained in the compilation vary, but follow a general pattern of celebrating famous heroes of the past, from poets and warriors to kings and voyagers. A few are love poems. They range from two verses to forty, some making extensive use of rhyme and couplet structures. ==Etymology== ''Sōshi'' (草紙) means simply a written work, but the origins and meaning of the term "omoro" are more elusive. Iha Fuyū was among the scholars who traced it to various words associated with oracles and divine songs. He further derived the term as referring to ''omori'', a Ryukyuan word for sacred groves. Nakahara Zenchū, on the other hand, traced it back to the Ryukyuan ''umuru'', or ''umui'', meaning "to think".〔Sakihara. pp3-4.〕 Regardless of the true meaning or origins of the term, however, a basic cloud of meanings is nevertheless apparent. The ''omoro sōshi'', a "compilation of thoughts" or of collective memory, is also associated with sacred groves and with divine songs. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Omoro Sōshi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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