Nijō Tameyo (二条為世, 1250–1338), also known as Fujiwara no Tameyo (藤原為世), was a Japanese courtier 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

Kamakura period The is a period of Japanese history that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura by the first ''shōgun'' Minamoto no Yoritomo after the conclusion of the Genpei War, which saw the struggle bet ...

and the early

Nanboku-chō period The Nanboku-chō period (南北朝時代, ''Nanboku-chō jidai'', "North and South court period", also known as the Northern and Southern Courts period), spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Mur ...

. His

Dharma name A Dharma name or Dhamma name is a new name acquired during both lay and monastic Buddhist initiation rituals in Mahayana Buddhism and monastic ordination in Theravada Buddhism (where it is more proper to call it Dhamma or Sangha name). The nam ...

was Myōshaku (明釈).

Biography

Ancestry, birth and early life

Nijō Tameyo was born in 1250. His father was

Fujiwara no Tameuji Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include: ; Families * The Fujiwara clan and its members ** Fujiwara no Kamatari ...

, and his mother was a daughter of . He was Tameuji's eldest son, a grandson of

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

, and a great-grandson of

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 ...

Political career

He was a supporter of the , descendants of

Emperor Kameyama was the 90th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1260 through 1274. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his ''imina'') was . He was t ...

, in the succession disputes of the late

. At the height of his political career, he had attained the

Senior Second 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 originally used in the Ritsuryo system, which was the polit ...

, and held the position of Provisional Major Counselor (''gon-

dainagon was a counselor of the first rank in the Imperial court of Japan. The role dates from the 7th century. This advisory position remained a part of the Imperial court from the 8th century until the Meiji period in the 19th century.Nussbaum, "Dainag ...

'').

Later life and death

He entered

Buddhist orders Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

in 1329, acquiring the

''Myōshaku''. He died on 18 September 1338, or the fifth day of the eighth month of Engen 3 by

Southern Court The were a set of four emperors (Emperor Go-Daigo and his line) whose claims to sovereignty during the Nanboku-chō period spanning from 1336 through 1392 were usurped by the Northern Court. This period ended with the Southern Court definitively ...

reckoning, Ryakuō 1 by

Northern Court The , also known as the Ashikaga Pretenders or Northern Pretenders, were a set of six pretenders to the throne of Japan during the Nanboku-chō period from 1336 through 1392. The present Imperial House of Japan is descended from the Northern Cour ...

reckoning.

Poetry

Tameyo learned ''

'' composition from his father Tameuji and his grandfather Tameie, who between them had compiled four of the

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 ...

. In 1303, on the command of Retired Emperor Go-Uda, Tameyo compiled the '' Shin Gosen Wakashū''. In 1320, also under the direction of Retired Emperor Go-Uda, he compiled the '' Shoku Senzai Wakashū''. As a result of the accession of

Emperor Hanazono was the 95th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1308 through 1318. Genealogy Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name (his ''imina'') was Tomihito''-s ...

, a member of the rival , to the throne in 1308, he had a bitter dispute with his cousin Kyōgoku Tamekane over the compilation of the next

imperial anthology 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 ...

, a dispute he lost. He attacked Tamekane in his '. He was also known as a teacher of ''

'' composition, and his students included the so-called "

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the a ...

of ''Waka''": Jōben (浄弁), Kenkō,

Ton'a , also read as Tonna; lay name – Nikaidō Sadamune (二階堂貞宗), was a Japanese Buddhist poet who was a student of Nijō Tameyo. Ton'a took a tonsure at Enryaku-ji Temple, but was later associated with the ''Ji'' sect (founded by Ipp ...

and

Keiun , also known as Kyōun, was a following '' Taihō'' and preceding '' Wadō''. The period spanned the years from May 704 through January 708. The reigning emperors were and . Change of era * 704 : The new era name was created to mark an event or ...

(慶運). He produced a privately-compiled anthology, the '' Shoku Gen'yō-shū'' (続現葉集), and produced the poetic theory book '' Waka Teikin'' (和歌庭訓). He left a personal anthology, the '' Tameyo-shū''. 177 of his poems are included in imperial collections from the '' Shoku Shūi Wakashū'' on. He was also a composer of ''

renga ''Renga'' (, ''linked verse'') is a genre of Japanese collaborative poetry in which alternating stanzas, or ''ku (''句), of 5-7-5 and 7-7 mora (sound units, not to be confused with syllables) per line are linked in succession by multiple poets. ...

'', and some of his work was included in the '' Tsukuba-shū''.

References

Works cited

* * * * * * {{authority control 1250 births 1338 deaths Fujiwara clan Nijō family 13th-century Japanese poets 14th-century Japanese poets