was a Japanese military leader and poet, best known as the father of
Ōtomo no Yakamochi
was a Japanese statesman and '' waka'' poet in the Nara period. He was one of the ''Man'yō no Go-taika,'' the five great poets of his time, and was part of Fujiwara no Kintō's .
Ōtomo was a member of the prestigious Ōtomo clan. Like his g ...
, who contributed to the compilation the ''
Man'yōshū
The is the oldest extant collection of Japanese (poetry in Classical Japanese), compiled sometime after AD 759 during the Nara period. The anthology is one of the most revered of Japan's poetic compilations. The compiler, or the last in ...
'' alongside his father.
In the year 720, the
Hayato Rebellion erupted in
Kyushu
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...
. Otomo was ordered to lead Japanese forces to suppress the rebellion. The imperial forces were successful after little more than a year of fighting, and returned to
the capital
''The Capital'' (also known as ''Capital Gazette'' as its online nameplate and informally), the Sunday edition is called ''The Sunday Capital'', is a daily newspaper published by Capital Gazette Communications in Annapolis, Maryland, to serve ...
with prisoners of war. As a result, southern Kyushu was firmly brought under the control of the Imperial court under
Empress Genmei
, also known as Empress Genmyō, was the 43rd monarch of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 元明天皇 (43) retrieved August 22, 2013. according to the traditional order of succession. Genmei's reign spanned the years 707 throu ...
.
Tabito was a contemporary of
Hitomaro, but lacked his success in the Imperial Court. While serving as Governor-General of
Dazaifu, the military procuracy in northern
Kyūshū
is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...
from 728-730, Tabito hosted a
plum-blossom party, encouraging the composition of poetry among his subordinates in imitation of
Chinese style elegance. He also showed his Chinese education in his set of thirteen ''
tanka
is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature.
Etymology
Originally, in the time of the '' Man'yōshū'' (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to distinguish "short ...
'' in praise of
sake
Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and in ...
.
Japanese poets
662 births
731 deaths
Place of birth unknown
Date of death unknown
Place of death unknown
Date of birth unknown
Man'yō poets
{{Japan-writer-stub