Fujiwara no Nakazane (藤原仲実; 1057–1118) was a Japanese nobleman and

waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

poet of the late

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

Life

Fujiwara no Nakazane was born in 1057. His father was Yoshinari (能成), the

Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the state. ''Ikai'' as a system was originally used in the Ritsuryo system, which was the polit ...

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Echizen Province was a province of Japan in the area that is today the northern portion of Fukui Prefecture in the Hokuriku region of Japan. Echizen bordered on Kaga, Wakasa, Hida, and Ōmi Provinces. It was part of Hokurikudō Circuit. Its abbreviated form ...

, and his mother was a daughter of Minamoto no Norinari (源則成の女). His paternal grandfather was , the Controller of the Left (左大弁 ''sadaiben'') and

Tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in co ...

(侍読 ''jidoku'') to the emperor. In his late 20s, he served as

Emperor Shirakawa was the 72nd emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 白河天皇 (72)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Shirakawa's reign lasted from 1073 to 1087. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Th ...

's ', and was granted court rank (') in Ōtoku 2 (1085 in the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

) at the age of 29, by Japanese reckoning. At the height of his career, he held the positions of governor of Echizen, Palace Assistant (中宮亮 ''chūgū-no-suke'') and the

Senior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade The court ranks of Japan, also known in Japanese as ''ikai'' (位階), are indications of an individual's court rank in Japan based on the system of the state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', ...

. He left service in the palace to serve under Yōmeimon-in, becoming

of Ki Province and

Mikawa Province was an old province in the area that today forms the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Mikawa''" in . Its abbreviated form name was . Mikawa bordered on Owari, Mino, Shinano, and Tōtōmi Provinces. Mik ...

. According to the ', he died on the 26th day of the third month of Eikyū 6 (18 April 1118). He was 62 years old, by Japanese reckoning.

Poetry

Nakazane began his poetic career when, at 26, he took part in the '' Dewa-no-kami Tsunenaka-ke uta-awase'' (出羽守経仲家歌合, "''

Uta-awase , poetry contests or ''waka'' matches, are a distinctive feature of the Japanese literary landscape from the Heian period. Significant to the development of Japanese poetics, the origin of group composition such as ''renga'', and a stimulus to a ...

'' contest at the home of Tsunenaka, the

Dewa Province was a province of Japan comprising modern-day Yamagata Prefecture and Akita Prefecture, except for the city of Kazuno and the town of Kosaka. Dewa bordered on Mutsu and Echigō Provinces. Its abbreviated form name was . History Early peri ...

"). He served under Retired Emperor Horikawa, and took part in the latter's poetic circles, participating in both the '' Horikawa-in Hyakushu'' (堀河院百首) and '' Eikyū Hyakushu'' (永久百首) and frequently showing up in poetic gatherings such as '' utakai'' and ''uta-awase''. At the ''Horikawa-in Hyakushu'' he was second only to

Minamoto no Toshiyori was an important and innovative Japanese poet, who compiled the ''Gosen Wakashū''. He was the son of Minamoto no Tsunenobu (1016–1097); holder of the second rank in court and of the position of Grand Counsellor). Shunrai was favored by Empero ...

in his use of unusual language, and is considered to be second to Toshiyori among the "new-style" poets of the period. His poetry was included in imperial collections from the ''

Kin'yō Wakashū The , sometimes abbreviated as ''Kin'yōshū'', is a Japanese imperial anthology of waka whose two drafts were finished in 1124 and 1127. It was compiled at the behest of the Retired Emperor Shirakawa, by Minamoto no Shunrai (~1055–1129; someti ...

'' on, Nakazane wrote '' Kigoshō'' (綺語抄), a work of poetic theory, and the '' Kokin Wakashū Mokuroku'' (古今和歌集目録).

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Life

Poetry

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Further reading