The author, known as Suō no Naishi (周防内侍, dates unknown), the “Suō Handmaid”, was so named because her father was governor Suō Province. As mentioned before, this was a common method used by female authors (cf. poem 65), so unfortunately, their real names are rarely known. This is another poem that speaks to the importance of a woman’s reputation in the ancient Court of Japan, just like poem 65. However, this one is much more playful and shows a lot of wit.
According to the back-story, there was a social gathering at the Nijō-In (二条院), the woman’s quarters at the palace. The woman there were relaxing, and the author of this poem said, “I wish I had a pillow”. At that moment, one Fujiwara no Tada’ie happen to walk by, and hearing this stuck his arm through the bamboo screen (御簾, misu) and said, “Here, takes this as your pillow!”.
In reply, the author composed this poem. As Professor Mostow points out, the word for arm here (kaina) is a pun for pointless (kainaku).
People flirted pretty clever back in those days. 😏
The author is Sagami (相模, 998? – 1068?) also known as “Lady Sagami”. Her name is taken from her father who served the governor of Sagami Province at one point, hence this became her sobriquet.
The poem is somewhat typical of the era, a woman is jilted and because of the public scrutiny her reputation is ruined. Because the Court society was so closed and small, rumors and reputation were a big part of the social life there. This is expressed in other poems in the Hyakunin Isshu, such as poem 18 or in the Gossamer Years. A woman who’s reputation was marred by an embarrassing incident, bad fashion choice or an unfaithful spouse would lose her standing in the court, and may not recover. She couldn’t really go pick up and start a new life either.
The motif tear-soaked sleeves was a popular poetic device, and you can find it in other poems in the Hyakunin Isshu, poem 42 for example. Sleeves (袖, sodé) in general are featured in a surprising number of poems from the Hyakunin Isshu:
Sleeves covered in dew from the overnight watch (poem 1)
Sleeves of a Buddhist monk, shielding the world (poem 95)
Further, fashion in this time was somewhat different than the kimono we are familiar with from the medieval Japanese era. The photo above, taken by ロリ (CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons) is an example of the jū-ni-hitoé (十二単) robes worn by ladies of the court during formal occasions. This multi-layered garment was difficult to put on as it comprised of up to 12 layers of garments. It was also difficult to walk in. And yet the junihitoé is an iconic fashion for the time, and as we can see in the Diary of Lady Murasaki, women of the Court would be heavily scrutinized for their sense of taste during such occasions.
It’s not hard to imagine a broken-hearted woman with tear-soaked sleeves nevertheless, and how it became an important expression of Japanese sentiment at the time.
The poem was composed by Sakyō Daibu Michimasa (左京大夫道雅, 993 – 1054) who title means “Master of the Western Capital Michimasa”. He also known by his personal name as Fujiwara no Michimasa.
Michimasa was the son of Fujiwara no Korechika, and Michimasa’s grandmother wrote poem 54. Despite their power and influence, Michimasa’s family was on the losing side of a struggle with a rival clan faction, led by his great-uncle Fujiwara no Michinaga. Michimasa. According to Mostow, Michimasa spent the remainder of his life in “elegant retirement” after their family lost the power struggle.
According to Mostow, the story behind this poem was a famous affair involving Michimasa and the former High Priestess of the Ise Shrine, Masako Naishinnō (当子内親王, “Princess Masako”). My new book explains that Michimasa was 24 at the time and she was 15, and had just returned to the capitol after fulfilling her duties as the high priestess. More on that below.
This affair is described in the Eiga Monogatari, an important historical source at the time, possibly composed by Akazome Emon (poem 55).
In any case, news of the affair angered her father, the Retired Emperor Sanjo (poem 68) and the retired emperor subsequently assigned bodyguards to her to prevent Michimasa from seeing her again. As you can see, Michimasa is lamenting that he can’t even say a proper goodbye to her in person anymore. Princess Masako eventually took tonsure as a Buddhist nun, and soon after died due to illness. They never met again.
But there is a bit more to the story. Michimasa, like his father Korechika, had a bad reputation that dogged him throughout his life, and kept him shut of out any official posts in the government. With the loss of Masako, and no hope of success in society, Michimasa took a dramatic turn for the worse. My new book explains that Michimasa fell headlong into gambling, and violence, so much so that he earned the nicknames such as Arasanmi (荒三位, “Wild third rank”) and Akusanmi (悪三位, “evil third rank”). The “third rank” was his aristocratic rank in the Imperial court.
Worse still, Michimasa was implicated in the murder of Emperor Kazan’s daughter in 1024 in the dread Jotomon-in Incident (上東門院女房殺害事件, jōtōmon-in nyōbō satsugai jiken). The murderer confessed to killing her on Michimasa’s orders. Yikes.
Michimasa was finally demoted and in his final years took tonsure as a Buddhist monk, and faded from history.
Let’s talk about Princess Masako’s role of High Priestess, though.
The Ise Grand Shrine is probably one of the most sacred, if not the most sacred, in all of Japanese Shinto religion. The featured photo above shows the inner sanctum (photo by Yanajin33, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
Due to shrine’s connection with the Imperial Family, who were said to be descended from its primary deity, Amaterasu Omi-no-Kami, the Imperial Family always had one member serving as the High Priestess or saiin (斎院). Usually this was the reigning Emperor’s daughter, and when that Emperor stepped down, she would return to the capitol. This tradition still continues to this day, even with the modern Imperial family. Another example within the Hyakunin Isshu is Shokushi Naishinnō (poem 89).
In those days, the High Priestess was a vestal virgin, similar to the ancient priestesses of Rome, and was supposed to remain so during her tenure. However, as other writings of the time showed, such women still corresponded with men from time to time and kept a social circle of women around them. Lady Murasaki (poem 57) lamented in her diary about the rival social circle around the High Priestess at the time outshining the Court itself.
Nevertheless, the life of High Priestess was very demanding and required strict ritual purity, part of Shinto religion. One could not come into the presence of the gods, particularly at more sacred sites, without it. Thus, Princess Masako’s affair with the dubious Michimasa apparently went too far and Emperor Sanjo’s reaction was quite harsh.
The tragic story of Fujiwara no Michimasa and Princess Masako, encapsulated in this short poem, is a complex and dark tale. Michimasa was in a sense doomed from the start due to his family’s loss of grace and dubious reputation. Princess Masako, being a teen and cloistered in the Imperial family duties probably didn’t know better. Their romance was doomed from the start, but the evil turn by Michimasa only makes the story sadder. What if Michimasa had been able to continue his romance with Masako, or maybe wasn’t shunned by society in his youth? What might the two have become? What if they had simply never met?
The author, Dainagon Kintō (大納言公任, 966 – 1041), better known as Major Counselor Fujiwara no Kintō, was one of the top poets of the Heian Period, and the grandson of Tadahira (poem 26) and father of Sadayori (poem 64).
Kinto was more than just a good poet, he was something of a genius renaissance man for his era. There is a famous anecdote taken from a historical text of the time called the Ō-kagami (大鏡, “great mirror”). In this anecdote his kinsman, the statesman Fujiwara no Michinaga, had three boats docked for a party, and invited the literati of the time to board one of three boats: one for Japanese poetry (waka, 和歌), one for Chinese poetry (kanshi, 漢詩), and one for wind and string music (kangen, 管弦) according to their skill. Michinaga then realized that Kinto was so multi-talented he could board any of the three boats so he let Kinto decide. Thus, Kinto earned the nickname Sanshū-no-sai (三船の才, “three boat genius”).
As a side note, when he considered the “waka” boat, he recited the following verses:
My own translation, apologies for any mistakes or clumsy translations
This was recorded in the aforementioned Ō-kagami as an example of his cleverness.
Among other accomplishments, Kintō was a respected critic who compiled the Thirty Six Immortals of Poetry list. Kinto compiled imperialanthologies that still represent Japanese Waka poetry of that era. In short, Kinto was the ultimate cultural authority of his time. He is also credited by Lady Murasaki (poem 57, め) or “Lady Purple” for giving her that nickname according to her diary. This was a playful allusion to her Tales of Genji that was circulating at the time and a major nod by Kinto.
Finally, Kinto also served in the Imperial court under the aforementioned Michinaga, and proved to be an able administrator. While he mostly stayed out of the power struggle at the time, he benefitted nonetheless.
But I digress.
According to Mostow, the poem itself was composed after a number of people visited a famous Buddhist temple called Daikakuji, which is in the western part of the capitol of Kyoto. Interestingly, Mostow also points out that this poem is found nowhere else despite the fact that Kinto was a famous poet and had an extensive collection for Fujiwara no Teika to draw from. One suggestion is that Daikakuji is in the same area as Mount Ogura, which is where Teika’s villa resided. The full name of the Hyakunin Isshu anthology is actually the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu by the way.
In any case, this poem is pretty interesting because of the sense of change over time. The waterfall that existed long ago still exists, but in name only. In the same way, life as we know it know will become a dim memory or a misplaced name for future generations. Although Japanese culture has been influenced by Buddhism and its notion of transience since early history, I think this is a point that anyone, anywhere can appreciate.
Also, Kinto’s ability to express this sense of change and impermanence to life seems to me to demonstrate his poetic talent all too well. 🙂
This poem was composed by the Kamakura no Udaijin (鎌倉右大臣, 1192-1219), or “Kamakura Minister of the Right”. He is also known as Minamoto no Sanetomo. Sanetomo was the third shogun of the new Kamamura Shogunate, the same military government opposed by Emperor Gotoba (poem 99) and Emperor Juntoku (poem 100).
Sanetomo was a more gentler ruler than some of his predecessors, and even studied poetry under Fujiwara no Teika (poem 97), the compiler of the Hyakunin Isshu anthology and contributed to other Imperial anthologies as well.
However, he lived at a time when the old Heian court (which included most of the authors in this anthology) had been reduced to a shadow of its former self (see poem 100 above). The power had shifted away from the Imperial Court to the eastern city of Kamakura, and the country was still rebuilding itself after war. Sadly, this new center of power was unstable, and as the third Shogun, he was surrounded by ambitious family members and retainers who either plotted to replace him with their chosen candidate, or ruled “on his behalf”. Sanetomo was a tragic, powerless figure who was given to drink and poetry because he had little else to look forward to.
After escaping other assassination attempts, Sanetomo was killed at age 28 at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine (English site here). His nephew, Kugyo, was hiding behind a ginkgo tree which can be seen to the left of the stairs in the photo above. As Sanetomo descended the stairs, Kugyo leapt out and cut him down with a sword. The ginkgo tree still stood for another 800+ years, but finally fell over in March of 2010 due to age and disease. Efforts to resuscitate the tree are underway. The photos in this post were both taken by me in the winter of 2023: the stump of the dead tree is on the left, while the restored sapling is fenced off in the middle. The grand stairs leading up to the shrine is where Sanetomo was assassinated.
This poem reflects his melancholy as he views the shores of Kamakura, and wishing this peaceful scene would always remain, in contrast to the turbulent life he lived.
The author, Minamoto no Shigeyuki (源重之, ? – 1001) was a well-associated poet who knew Kanemori (poem 40) and Sanekata (poem 51) according to Mostow. He is the last of the Thirty Six Immortals of Poetry featured in the blog (not all 36 are in the Hyakunin Isshu).
The poem, like poem 45 and poem 19, features the popular theme of a cold lover. For some reason, I had a difficult time understanding the analogy of this poem the first time, but Shigeyuki is comparing himself to the waves that crash on the shore. His lover is like the rocks that are unmoved by the waves.
It turns out though that this poem was actually composed for a poetry game involving a hundred-poem sequence “when Retired Emperor Reizei was still called the crown prince” according to Mostow. Such poetry games were popular in the late Heian Period, and influenced people like Fujiwara no Teika and the Hyakunin Isshu anthology.
The author of the poem, Fujiwara no Michinobu Ason (藤原道信朝臣, 972-994), was the adopted son of the powerful Fujiwara no Kane’ie, husband of the mother of Michitsuna (poem 53) and subject of the Gossamer Years. His birth mother was the daughter of Fujiwara no Koretada (poem 45). Michinobu for his part, benefitted from his adoptive father’s influence, and rose to the Court rank of 4th-upper, and a position as part of the Imperial Guard (sakon no chūjō, 左近中将).
However, Michinobu seemed more interested in Waka poetry than in politics. He was close with Fujiwara no Sanekata (poem 51) and Fujiwara no Kinto (poem 55), and would often gather with them for poetry sessions. Further, Michinobu had a secret relationship with one of the court ladies under Emperor Kazan, named Enshi Jo-ō (婉子女王), but eventually he lost her to a political marriage with the powerful Fujiwara no Sanesuke. Sadly, Michinobu later died from due smallpox, which took his life at the age of 23.
This is another classic “Morning After” poem, which we’ve featured here, here and here.
Lord Michinobu dreads the rising sun because it means he has to sneak back to his own residence, away from his lover. Judging by his reaction, it must have been a night well-spent together. 😏
The author, Sone no Yoshitada (曾禰好忠, dates unknown), lived toward the end of the 11th century, but as Mostow writes, very little else is known about him. Apparently he was a prolific poet and had his own collection, which was common among the aristocracy of day, but his style was considered unconventional and unappreciated until the time of Fujiwara no Teika (poem 97), who compiled the Hyakunin Isshu.
The poem is somewhat confusing, Mostow explains, for two reasons. The first is that the location of “Yura” isn’t know, but exists in both Kii and Tango provinces. Since Yoshitada was a secretary in the province Tango, perhaps he meant that Yura, but it’s only speculation on my part. The second is the phrase kaji wo tae (かぢをたえ), the third line. It can either be read as kaji wo tae (to lose an oar), or kaji-o tae (the oar cord snaps). Mostow makes a convincing argument for the latter.
But in any case, I think we all know that feeling when we were young and experienced love for the first time how happy, yet lost we were. Things haven’t changed in 900 years it seems. 🥰
This poem was composed by Kentokukō (謙徳公, 924-972) also known as “Lord Kentoku”, or simply Fujiwara no Koremasa. Koremasa served as regent to the Emperor from 970 onward, and was frequently involved in compiling (and writing poems for) the second Imperial anthology of the time, the Gosenshō.
The poem, simply put, is Koremasa’s efforts to gain a girl’s attention, even after she spurned him previously. Mostow explains that according to the original sources, this poem was composed by Koremasa thinking “I will not be defeated!” and sent this poem as a last-ditch effort.
Nowadays, we might call such people stalkers, but at the time, this kind of persistent, dramatic effort wasn’t unusual. Men of the Court might try months if not years to gain a girl’s attention, and if she spurned him a few times, he might have chosen to persist, or possibly find a new lover.
P.S. Featured photo is a scene of the Chapter “TAKEKAWA “(Bamboo River) of Illustrated handscroll of Tale of Genji (written by MURASAKI SHIKIBU(11th cent.)., Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
I can’t believe it’s been a year since my lastseriesoflovepoemsfor Valentine’s Day. But, here we are again! This poem is the first in a series I’ll be posting before Valentine’s Day:
The poet, Supernumerary Middle Counselor Atsutada (権中納言敦忠, 906-943), also known as Fujiwara no Atsutada, was among the sons of the power minister Fujiwara no Tokihira (the same man who had Sugawara no Michizane exiled, poem 24), and was one of the Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry, as well as an accomplished poet all-around. Sadly, like his father Tokihira, Atsutada, according to my new book, died young in his 30’s and rumors swirled at the time that this was Michizane’s vengeful ghost. Such rumors help provide the impetus for Michizane’s later deification as a means of pacifying him.
The book also states that Atsutada was quite a playboy in his time. No sooner had he got into a relationship with Ukon (poem 38), then he dumped her, prompting her to write a bitter poem about it. On the other hand, Atsutada kept up a long, passionate correspondence with the daughter of Emperor Daigo, Masako, until she was sent away to be the high priestess of Ise Shrine. It was a heartbreaking separation we are told.
This is a classic “morning-after” poem (kinuginu no uta, 後朝の歌) which we’ve talked about in Poem 50 and Poem 30. The author’s love and longing have only increased, not decreased since their first meeting together.
As written before, meeting one’s lover was a huge ordeal among the aristocrats of the Heian Court in Japan. It wasn’t like meeting someone online today, or just going to have coffee together. Men and women were constantly separated from one another, and one would be lucky to catch sight of a woman’s sleeve back then, let alone her face. So, a first meeting required a long, drawn out courtship of exchanging poetry, and somehow arranging a way to meet that wouldn’t catch the public eye. Worse, if the meeting didn’t go well, then it was kind of a wasted effort and breaking up would be awkward as well. Or, if word got out, it could cause a scandal. Discretion was essential.
But, when things hit it off so well like this, it’s a cause to celebrate. 🙂
P.S. Featured photo is a scene (AZUMA YA: East Wing) from the Illustrated scroll of the Tale of Genji (written by MURASAKI SHIKIBU (11th cent.) Courtesy of Wikipedia
The Hyakunin Isshu 
