Minamoto no Shitagō

• Period: Heian Period
• Occupation: Nashitsubo no Gonin, Poet
• Family: –
• Birth: 911AD
• Death: 983AD

Minamoto no Shitagō

Minamoto no Shitagō (源 順) also known as Minamoto no Shitagau was a Heian Period poet living from 911 to 983AD.¹² Later in life he became a Buddhist Monk and took the name of Ambō-hōshi.²

As well as being a poet, he was also a member of the Nashitsubo no Gonin and so worked on the Gosenshū. He was listed as one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Geniuses.¹² and was tasked to make a scholarly study of the Man’yōshū.¹

Growing up he graduated from the Court University (Daigakuryō) as a scholar in Japanese and Chinese.¹

He has many works attributed to him. Around 934 he published the Wamyō Ruijushō (Classified List of Japanese Reading)², a Japanese dictionary of Chinese Characters.¹

He also had a personal collection of poetry called the Minamoto no Shitagau shū.¹ He is also quoted, though it is not certain, as having written the Ochikubo Monogatari and Utsubo Monogatari.²

Poems of his were included in the Wakan rōeishū.¹

Footnotes

1. Kodansha. (1993) ”Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia”. Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd.
2. Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth (2002) “Japan Encyclopedia”. London: Harvard University Press.

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