Fujiwara no Ietaka

Hear about Fujiwara no Ietaka on Episode 12 of our Podcast, the Japan Archives.

Fujiwara no Ietaka
Fujiwara no Ietaka

Fujiwara no Ietaka

Fujiwara no Ietaka (藤原 家隆) was a member of the Fujiwara Clan who lived between 1158 and 1237.1 He was also known as Mibu-ni-i and Karyū.3

Family

He was the son-in-law of the Priest Jakuren1, and son of Fujiwara no Mitsutaka.3

Life

During his life he held the position of Junior of the Second Rank, and also served as Director of the Ministry of Palace Affairs.1

As he grew up he was taught by Fujiwara no Shunzei and was very close to the Emperor Gotoba. Even after the Emperor was exiled he continued to send letters to him.1

Literature

He was a waka poet who aided in compiling the Shin-kokinshū1 alongside Fujiwara no Sadaie of which 43 of his poems can be found inside.3

In addition to aiding in compiling the Shin-kokinshū, 280 of his poems can be found in various waka anthologies, and he also had his own private collection of poetry.1 This private collection was known as the Minishū and contains around 3200 poems.3

One of his poems can be found in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poems, One Poet Each). His poem is the 98th in the anthology and reads:1

Japanese text2
Romanized Japanese1
English translation1
風そよぐ
ならの小川の
夕ぐれは
みそぎぞ夏の
しるしなりける
Kaze soyogu
Nara no ogawa no
yugure wa
misogi zo natsu no
shirushi narikeru
A twilight breeze rustles
through the oak leaves
of the little Oak Brook
but the cleansing rites
tell us it is still summer.

Footnotes

1. MacMillan, P. (2018) ”One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse”. St. Ives: Penguin Classics.
2. Suzuki, H. et al. (1997) ”Genshoku: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu”. Tokyo: Bun’eidō.
3. Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth (2002) “Japan Encyclopedia”. London: Harvard University Press.

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