was a Japanese poet and statesman. He was born the son of

Emperor Saga was the 52nd emperor of Japan, Emperor Saga, Saganoyamanoe Imperial Mausoleum, Imperial Household Agency according to the traditional order of succession. Saga's reign lasted from 809 to 823. Traditional narrative Saga was the second son of ...

and a member of the Saga Genji clan. He is sometimes mentioned as the model for

Hikaru Genji is the protagonist of Murasaki Shikibu's Heian-era Japanese novel ''The Tale of Genji''. "Hikaru" means "shining", deriving from his appearance, hence he is known as the "Shining Prince." He is portrayed as a superbly handsome man and a gen ...

in important Japanese literary classic ''

The Tale of Genji is a classic work of Japanese literature written by the noblewoman, poet, and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu around the peak of the Heian period, in the early 11th century. It is one of history's first novels, the first by a woman to have wo ...

''. Under his title , he is the author of poem 14 in the ''

Hyakunin Isshu is a classical Japanese anthology of one hundred Japanese ''waka'' by one hundred poets. ''Hyakunin isshu'' can be translated to "one hundred people, one poem ach; it can also refer to the card game of '' uta-garuta'', which uses a deck compo ...

'' poetry anthology: Here is another translation: : ''The dye with hare’s-foot-fern, of Michinoku—who else would have made me feel as disturbed?'' The poet is also famous for making a replica of the '' uta-makura'' Shiogama, a poetic place name, in his garden. His tomb resides at the Seiryō-ji, a Buddhist temple situated on what was once Saga Moor in

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

. We also see two of his poems included in the ''

Gosen Wakashū The , often abbreviated as ''Gosenshū'' ("Later Collection"), is the second imperial anthology of Japanese poetry, Japanese Waka (poetry), waka compiled in 951 in poetry, 951 at the behest of Emperor Murakami by the Five Men of the Pear Chamber ...

''.

References

822 births 895 deaths Minamoto clan Nobility from Kyoto {{Japan-writer-stub Imperial House of Japan Deified Japanese men Sons of Japanese emperors Hyakunin Isshu poets