The "koten" (古点, "old glossing") refers to the readings of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber (Kiyohara no Motosuke, Ki no Tokibumi, Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu, Minamoto no Shitagō and Sakanoue no Mochiki) from when they were commanded, in 951, to prepare readings of the "Man'yōshū" poems during their compilation of the "Gosen Wakashū".