, also known as the , was a Japanese

Tendai , 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 m ...

monk and '' waka'' 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. ...

. He became chief prelate of the Enryaku-ji temple in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

, and one of his poems was included in the '' Ogura Hyakunin Isshu''. Almost fifty of his poems were included in

imperial anthologies Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

, and he produced a

private collection A private collection is a privately owned collection of works (usually artworks) or valuable items. In a museum or art gallery context, the term signifies that a certain work is not owned by that institution, but is on loan from an individual ...

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 is a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, comics (manga), non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hit ...

.''Daijirin'' entry
Gyōson
.

Sanseidō is a Japanese publishing company known for publishing dictionaries and textbooks. Notable publications Dictionary * ''Daijirin'' : Japanese dictionary * ''Sanseido Kokugo Jiten'' : Japanese dictionary * ''Shin Meikai kokugo jiten The , com ...

. the son of . At age twelve, he entered Mii-dera, eventually becoming , and practiced the

Shugendō is a highly syncretic religion, a body of ascetic practices that originated in the Nara Period of Japan having evolved during the 7th century from an amalgamation of beliefs, philosophies, doctrines and ritual systems drawn from local fol ...

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

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. The following poem by him was included as No. 66 in

Fujiwara no Teika , better-known as Fujiwara no Teika"Sadaie" and "Teika" are both possible readings of ; "...there is the further problem, the rendition of the name in romanized form. Teika probably referred to himself as Sadaie, and his father probably called ...

'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 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 ...

. He also left a

, 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 The , or Nichibunken (日文研), is an inter-university research institute in Kyoto. Along with the National Institute of Japanese Literature, the National Museum of Japanese History, and the National Museum of Ethnology, it is one of the Natio ...

'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