Nijō Tameakira (二条為明, 1295–1364), also known as Fujiwara no Tameakira (藤原為定), was a Japanese courtier and ''

waka WAKA (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Selma, Alabama, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for the Montgomery area. It is owned by Bahakel Communications alongside Tuskegee-licensed CW+ affiliate WBMM (channel 22); B ...

'' poet of the late

Kamakura period The is a period of History of Japan, Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa, Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the G ...

and Nanbokuchō period. He was tied to

Emperor Go-Daigo Emperor Go-Daigo (後醍醐天皇 ''Go-Daigo-tennō'') (26 November 1288 – 19 September 1339) was the 96th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'')後醍醐天皇 (96) retrieved 2013-8-28. according to the traditional order o ...

early in the latter's conflict with the

Kamakura shogunate The was the feudal military government of Japan during the Kamakura period from 1185 to 1333. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Kamakura-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 459. The Kamakura shogunate was established by Minamoto no Yori ...

and was exiled to

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

, but returned to the capital during the

Kenmu Restoration The was a three-year period of Imperial rule in Japanese history between the Kamakura period and the Muromachi period from 1333 to 1336. The Kenmu Restoration was an effort made by Emperor Go-Daigo to overthrow the ruling Kamakura Shogunate ...

. Later in his life, he was closely linked with the second Muromachi ''shōgun'',

Ashikaga Yoshiakira was the second ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate who reigned from 1358 to 1367 during the Muromachi period of Japan. Yoshiakira was the son of the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Muromachi shogunate, Ashikaga Takauji. His mother was Ak ...

, and was assigned to the compilation of the ''

Shinshūi Wakashū , occasionally abbreviated as ''Shinshūishū'', a title which recollects the ''Shūi Wakashū'', is the 19th imperial anthology of Japanese waka poetry. It was finished late in 1364 CE, a year after Emperor Go-Kōgon first ordered it in 1363 a ...

'', the nineteenth

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

of ''waka'' poetry, but died before it could be completed.

Biography

Birth and ancestry

Nijō Tameakira was born in 1295. His father was Nijō Tamefuji. Tamefuji was a son of Nijō Tameyo, Tameyo himself being a son of

Nijō Tameuji Nijō Tameuji (二条為氏, 1222–1286), also known as Fujiwara no Tameuji (藤原為氏), was a Japanese courtier and '' waka'' poet of the mid-Kamakura period. His Dharma name was Kakua (覚阿). Biography Ancestry, birth and early life Ni ...

, a grandson of

Fujiwara no Tameie was a Japanese poet and compiler of Imperial anthologies of poems. Tameie was the second son of poet Fujiwara no Teika, Teika and married Abutsu-ni. He was the central figure in a circle of Japanese poets after the Jōkyū War in 1221. His three ...

, and a great-grandson of

Fujiwara no Teika was a Japanese anthologist, calligrapher, literary critic,"The high quality of poetic theory (''karon'') in this age depends chiefly upon the poetic writings of Fujiwara Shunzei and his son Teika. The other theorists of ''tanka'' writing, st ...

Political career

He was closely associated with

, and throughout the 1320s, until around 1332, he participated in many poetry gatherings at both court and the residences of various nobles. He rose to the positions of Middle Captain of the Left (左中将) and 右兵衛督. He was implicated in the plot to overthrow the Hōjō regents, captured in Rokuhara, and exiled to

Tosa Province was a province of Japan in the area of southern Shikoku. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "''Tosa''" in . Tosa bordered on Awa to the northeast, and Iyo to the northwest. Its abbreviated form name was . In terms of the Gokishichidō syst ...

. Book 2 of the ''

Taiheiki The (Chronicle of Great Peace) is a medieval Japanese historical epic (see '' gunki monogatari'') written in the late 14th century and covers the period from 1319 to 1367. It deals primarily with the Nanboku-chō, the period of war between the ...

'' reports that it was at the time of his Rokuhara capture that he composed his poem ''omoi-ki ya / wa ga shikishima no / michi nara-de / ukiyo no koto o / towaru-beshi to wa'' (思ひきやわが敷島の道ならでうき世のことを問はるべしとは). He returned to the capital during the

. In 1359, he was awarded the position of Acting Middle Counselor (''gon-

chūnagon was a counselor of the second rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. The role was eliminated from the Imperial hierarchy in 701, but it was re-established in 705. This advisory position remained a part of the I ...

''). The following year, he attained the

Senior Third Rank 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 the indication of the rank of bureaucrats and officials in co ...

Death

He died on the 27th day of the tenth month of Jōji 3 (1364).

Name

He was a member of the Nijō branch of the

Fujiwara clan The was a powerful family of imperial regents in Japan, descending from the Nakatomi clan and, as legend held, through them their ancestral god Ame-no-Koyane. The Fujiwara prospered since ancient times and dominated the imperial court until th ...

, so is known as both Nijō Tameakira and Fujiwara no Tameakira.

Poetry

In 1344, he took part in the ''Kōya-san Kongō-zanmai-in Tanzaku'' (高野山金剛三昧院短冊), and also presented his ''Jōwa Hyakushu'' (貞和百首) and ''Enbun Hyakushu'' (延文百首) to the court. With the death of his cousin

Nijō Tamesada Nijō Tamesada (二条為定, 1293–1360), also known as Fujiwara no Tamesada (藤原為定), was a Japanese courtier and ''waka (poetry), waka'' poet of the late Kamakura period and Nanbokuchō period. Biography Nijō Tamesada was born in 1293 ...

in 1360, he became the central figure of the ''

'' circle surrounding the ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

. In 1363, on Yoshiakira's request he was assigned to the compilation of the ''

'', but died the following year before his work was completed.

References

Works cited

* * * * {{authority control 1295 births 1364 deaths Tameakira 14th-century Japanese poets