, also known as the , was a Japanese Tendai monk and '' waka'' poet of the late- Heian period. He became chief prelate of the Enryaku-ji temple in Kyoto, and one of his poems was included in the '' Ogura Hyakunin Isshu''. Almost fifty of his poems were included in imperial anthologies, and he produced a private collection of poetry.

Biography

Gyōson was born in 1055McMillan 2010 : 143-144 (note 66).Suzuki et al. 2009 : 85. Tokurō Yamamoto. ''Asahi Nihon Rekishi Jinbutsu Jiten'' article
Gyōson
.

Asahi Shinbun-sha is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition a ...

. or 1057,''Digital Daijisen'' entry
Gyōson
. Shogakukan.''Daijirin'' entry
Gyōson
. Sanseidō. the son of . At age twelve, he entered Mii-dera, eventually becoming , and practiced the Shugendō austerities of the '' yamabushi'' for many years and made pilgrimages to various provinces. At age 25, he received the from . Later, in 1123, he rose to become Superior General of Enryaku-ji — the highest prelate of

Tendai Buddhism , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese ...

. He also served as Grand Almoner to emperors Shirakawa and Toba. He was known as the ''Abbot of Byōdō-in''. He died on 21 March 1135.

Poetry

Forty-eight of his poems were included in imperial anthologies from the '' Kin'yō Wakashū'' on. The following poem by him was included as No. 66 in Fujiwara no Teika's '' Ogura Hyakunin Isshu'': His poetry records his experiences on pilgrimage, and was in later ages celebrated as a spiritual precursor to the works of Saigyō. He also left a private collection, the .

Other arts

In addition to his poetry, he was also known as a skilled ''

biwa The is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. The is a plucked string instrument that first gained popularity in China before spreading throughout East Asia, eventually reaching Japan sometime duri ...

'' performer and calligrapher.

In later literature

As a high-ranking monk of noble birth, he appeared in many later ''setsuwa'' tales of the genre.

References

Bibliography

*McMillan, Peter. 2010 (1st ed. 2008). ''One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each''. New York: Columbia University Press. *Suzuki Hideo, Yamaguchi Shin'ichi, Yoda Yasushi. 2009 (1st ed. 1997). ''Genshoku: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu''. Tokyo: Bun'eidō.

External links

List of Gyōson's poems
in the International Research Center for Japanese Studies's online ''waka'' database.
Gyōson
on Kotobank. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gyoson 11th century in Japan 11th-century Japanese poets 12th century in Japan 12th-century Japanese poets 1135 deaths People of Heian-period Japan Japanese Buddhist clergy Tendai Japanese male poets Articles containing Japanese poems Hyakunin Isshu poets Heian period Buddhist clergy