Hiyeda no Are

• Period: Nara Period
• Occupation: Katari Be?

Hiyeda no Are

Hiyeda no Are (稗田 阿礼) is known to have helped create the Kojiki which was completed in 712AD. Whether he was a man or woman it isn’t known. The whole document was written by Ō no Yasumaro, from the recitations of Hiyeda no Are.

Some think this person was a mummer woman (saru-me) who sang and danced at annual courts rites and banquets. Others think they were a male bard affilated with the storyteller Katari Be.¹

Footnotes

1. Yasumaro. O, translated by Gustav Heldt. (2014) “Kojiki. An Account of Ancient Matters”. New York: Columbia University Press.

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