The only collection in English of these works, Waiting for the Wind presents over four hundred poems by thirty-six poets of Japan's late medieval age (1250 --- 1500). The poems are all in the uta form (the thirty-one syllable lyric) that was the major genre of court poetry throughout the classical period in Japan. Waiting for the Wind introduces this much neglected, yet very significant period through works of poets beginning with the courtier Fujiwara No Teika, continuing through the Monk Tonna, and ending with Shotetsu. Most of the works are presented in English for the first time. In his historical introduction Steven Carter describes the period, especially the celebrated literary dispute lasting 250 years between the families of two sons of a court poet, which began over an inheritance and had a lasting impact upon the poetry of the period. Each poet in the collection is introduced by a short biographical sketch that places him or her in historical context and offers a short critical evaluation.