''Sankashū'' (山家集, , “Collection of a Mountain Home”) is a collection of poems by

Saigyō was a famous Japanese people, Japanese Japanese poetry, poet of the late Heian period, 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 a ...

, most probably made by the poet himself, and issued c.1180.

Dating

Because the collection contains no poems from the last decade of Saigyō's life, 1180-90, he is thought to have closed it c.1180, and circulated it thereafter.

Divisions

The collection contains 1552 poems, and falls into three parts. The first (1-572) is divided into four sections containing poems of the four seasons; the second (573-1041) into two sections - Love and Miscellaneous; and the third (1042-1152) again into two sections - Miscellaneous Songs and One Hundred Songs.

Quality

Where much court poetry of the time was convoluted, the ''Sankashū'' is known for its directness of utterance. His early translator, Hei-Hachuro Honda, valorised Saigyō's poems of solitude over those that were involved in more communal activities. Later critics, however, have paid more attention to how his poetry was rooted both in his private life ''and'' the public life of his society.

References

External links

The monk Saigyo

Classical Japanese Database
- has some poems by Saigyō in translations and in the original Japanese

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or highest quality, class, or rank – something that exemplifies its class. The word can be an adjective (a '' ...

Late Old Japanese texts Heian period in literature 12th-century poetry {{Japan-lit-stub

Dating

Divisions

Quality

See also

References

Further reading

External links