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Saigyō Hōshi
was a famous Japanese poet of the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Biography Born in Kyoto to a noble family, he lived during the traumatic transition of power between the old court nobles and the new samurai warriors. After the start of the age of Mappō, Buddhism was considered to be in decline and no longer as effective a means of salvation. These cultural shifts during his lifetime led to a sense of melancholy in his poetry. As a youth, he worked as a guard to retired Emperor Toba, but in 1140 at age 22, for reasons now unknown, he quit worldly life to become a monk, taking the religious name . He later took the pen name , meaning “Western Journey”, a reference to Amida Buddha and the Western paradise. He lived alone for long periods in his life in Saga, Mt. Koya, Mt. Yoshino, Ise, and many other places, but he is more known for the many long, poetic journeys he took to Northern Honshū that would later inspire Bashō in his '' Narrow Road to the Interior ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hyakunin Isshu
is a classical Japanese anthology of one hundred Japanese ''waka'' by one hundred poets. ''Hyakunin isshu'' can be translated to "one hundred people, one poem ach; it can also refer to the card game of ''uta-garuta'', which uses a deck composed of cards based on the ''Hyakunin Isshu''. The most famous and standard version was compiled by Fujiwara no Teika (1162–1241) while he lived in the Ogura district of Kyoto. It is therefore also known as . Compilation One of Teika's diaries, the ''Meigetsuki'' (明月記), says that his son Tameie asked him to arrange one hundred poems for Tameie's father-in-law, Utsunomiya Yoritsuna, who was furnishing a residence near Mount Ogura; hence the full name of ''Ogura Hyakunin Isshu''. In order to decorate screens of the residence, Fujiwara no Teika produced the calligraphy poem sheets. Hishikawa Moronobu (1618–1694) provided woodblock portraits for each of the poets included in the anthology. Katsukawa Shunshō (1726–1793) designed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matsuo Bashō
born then was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative '' haikai no renga'' form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest master of haiku (then called hokku). He is also well known for his travel essays beginning with '' Records of a Weather-Exposed Skeleton'' (1684), written after his journey west to Kyoto and Nara. Matsuo Bashō's poetry is internationally renowned, and, in Japan, many of his poems are reproduced on monuments and traditional sites. Although Bashō is famous in the West for his hokku, he himself believed his best work lay in leading and participating in renku. He is quoted as saying, "Many of my followers can write hokku as well as I can. Where I show who I really am is in linking haikai verses." Bashō was introduced to poetry at a young age, and after integrating himself into the intellectual scene of Edo (modern Tokyo) he quickly became we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wabi-sabi
In traditional Japanese aesthetics, is a world view centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. The aesthetic is sometimes described as one of appreciating beauty that is "imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete" in nature. It is prevalent throughout all forms of Japanese art. is a composite of two interrelated aesthetic concepts, and . According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, may be translated as "subdued, austere beauty," while means "rustic patina." is derived from the Buddhist teaching of the , specifically , and , however, originally the concepts were seen as two distinct concepts. Characteristics of aesthetics and principles include asymmetry, roughness, simplicity Simplicity is the state or quality of being simple. Something easy to understand or explain seems simple, in contrast to something complicated. Alternatively, as Herbert A. Simon suggests, something is simple or complex depending on the way we ..., economy, austerity ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mono No Aware
, literally "the pathos of things", and also translated as "an empathy toward things", or "a sensitivity to ephemera", is a Japanese idiom for the awareness of , or transience of things, and both a transient gentle sadness (or wistfulness) at their passing as well as a longer, deeper gentle sadness about this state being the reality of life. Origins and analysis The idiom comes from Heian period literature, but was picked up and used by 18th century Edo period Japanese cultural scholar Motoori Norinaga in his literary criticism of '' The Tale of Genji,'' and later to other germinal Japanese works including the . It became central to his philosophy of literature; he viewed it the main theme of ''The Tale of Genji''. His articulation was the result of well-established poetic readings of ''The Tale of Genji'' and the concept became central to his own; ''Genji'' was "instrumental" in the term's establishment. According to Norinaga, to "know" is to have a shrewd understanding and co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kokin Wakashū
The , commonly abbreviated as , is an early anthology of the ''waka'' form of Japanese poetry, dating from the Heian period. An imperial anthology, it was conceived by Emperor Uda () and published by order of his son Emperor Daigo () in about 905. Its finished form dates to 920, though according to several historical accounts the last poem was added to the collection in 914. The compilers of the anthology were four court poets, led by Ki no Tsurayuki and also including Ki no Tomonori (who died before its completion), Ōshikōchi no Mitsune, and Mibu no Tadamine. Significance The ''Kokinshū'' is the first of the , the 21 collections of Japanese poetry compiled at Imperial request. It was the most influential realization of the ideas of poetry at the time, dictating the form and format of Japanese poetry until the late nineteenth century; it was the first anthology to divide itself into seasonal and love poems. The primacy of poems about the seasons pioneered by the ''Kokinsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Waka (poetry)
is a type of poetry in classical Japanese literature. Although ''waka'' in modern Japanese is written as , in the past it was also written as (see Wa, an old name for Japan), and a variant name is . Etymology The word ''waka'' has two different but related meanings: the original meaning was "poetry in Japanese" and encompassed several genres such as ''chōka'' and ''sedōka'' (discussed below); the later, more common definition refers to poetry in a 5-7-5-7-7 metre. Up to and during the compilation of the ''Man'yōshū'' in the eighth century, the word ''waka'' was a general term for poetry composed in Japanese, and included several genres such as , , and . However, by the time of the '' Kokinshūs compilation at the beginning of the tenth century, all of these forms except for the ''tanka'' and ''chōka'' had effectively gone extinct, and ''chōka'' had significantly diminished in prominence. As a result, the word ''waka'' became effectively synonymous with ''tanka'', and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Man'yōshū
The is the oldest extant collection of Japanese (poetry in Classical Japanese), compiled sometime after AD 759 during the Nara period. The anthology is one of the most revered of Japan's poetic compilations. The compiler, or the last in a series of compilers, is today widely believed to be Ōtomo no Yakamochi, although numerous other theories have been proposed. The chronologically last datable poem in the collection is from AD 759 ( 4516). It contains many poems from a much earlier period, with the bulk of the collection representing the period between AD 600 and 759. The precise significance of the title is not known with certainty. The contains 20 volumes and more than 4,500 poems, and is divided into three genres: , songs at banquets and trips; , songs about love between men and women; and songs to mourn the death of people. These songs were written by people of various statuses, such as the Emperor, aristocrats, junior officials, soldiers ( songs), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Osaka Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara Prefecture to the southeast, and Wakayama Prefecture to the south. Osaka is the capital and largest city of Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-largest city in Japan, with other major cities including Sakai, Higashiōsaka, and Hirakata. Osaka Prefecture is the third-most-populous prefecture, but by geographic area the second-smallest; at it is the second-most densely populated, below only Tokyo. Osaka Prefecture is one of Japan's two "Fu (country subdivision), urban prefectures" using the designation ''fu'' (府) rather than the standard ''Prefectures of Japan#Types of prefecture, ken'' for prefectures, along with Kyoto Prefecture. Osaka Prefecture forms the center of the Keihanshin metropolitan ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kawachi Province
was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was also known as . Geography The area was radically different in the past, with Kawachi Bay and lake dominating the area over what is now land. ''Chiku'' Kawachi was divided into three : , , and . * The northern county comprised the modern Hirakata, Neyagawa, Kadoma, Moriguchi, Shijōnawate, Daitō, and Katano, Osaka areas. * The central county comprised the modern Higashiōsaka, Yao, and Kashiwara, Osaka areas. * The southern county comprised the modern Sakai's eastern part (all of Higashi-ku and Mihara-ku, and part of Kita-ku), Matsubara, Habikino, Fujiidera, Tondabayashi, Kawachinagano, Ōsakasayama, and Minamikawachi District areas. Development Kawachi province was established in the 7th century. On 11 May 716, the Ōtori, Izumi, and Hine districts were split off to form . In December 720, the and district ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shika Wakashū
, abbreviated as ''Shikashū'', is an imperial anthology of Japanese waka, compiled c.1151–1154 CE at the behest of the Emperor Sutoku who ordered it in 1144. It was compiled by Fujiwara no Akisuke (1090–1155; a member of the Rokujō). It consists of ten volumes containing 411 poems. The ''Shikashū'' is the shortest of the imperial anthologies. Despite Akisuke's ostensibly conservative nature, it is rather eclectic and has a wide variety of poems, including one by Saigyo.W R Lafleur, ''Awesome Nightfall'' (2003) p. 28 See also * Sankashū *Shin Kokin Wakashū References Further reading *pg. 483 of ''Japanese Court Poetry'', Earl Miner, Robert H. Brower. 1961, Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ... Press, LCCN 61-10925 Shikash ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shin Kokin Wakashū
The , also known in abbreviated form as the or even conversationally as the Shin Kokin, is the eighth imperial anthology of waka poetry compiled by the Japanese court, beginning with the ''Kokin Wakashū'' circa 905 and ending with the ''Shinshokukokin Wakashū'' circa 1439. The name can be literally translated as "New Collection of Ancient and Modern Poems" and bears an intentional resemblance to that of the first anthology. Together with the ''Man'yōshū'' and the '' Kokinshū'', the ''Shin Kokinshū'' is widely considered to be one of the three most influential poetic anthologies in Japanese literary history. It was commissioned in 1201 by the retired emperor Go-Toba (r. 1183–1198), who established a new Bureau of Poetry at his Nijō palace with eleven Fellows,Brower 8 headed by Fujiwara no Yoshitsune, for the purpose of conducting poetry contests and compiling the anthology. Despite its emphasis on contemporary poets, the ''Shin Kokinshū'' covered a broader range of poetic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
