Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu

02/03/2020| Eli| 0 Comment| 12:17 pm

Period: Heian Period
Occupation: Waka Poet, Hereditary High Official, Nashitsubo no Gonin
Family: Ōnakatomi no Yorimoto
Birth: 921AD
Death: 991AD

Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu

Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu (大中臣能宣) was a Heian Period poet, as well as holding the position of Hereditary High Official of the Department of Religious Affairs.¹ Additionally, he was a Shinto Priest and was the head of the Priests of Ise.³ Living from 921-991AD he was the son of Ōnakatomi no Yorimoto. Yoshinobu was appointed a member of the Yoryūdo (Bureau of Poetry) in 951⁴ and as part of it he took part in transcribing the Man’yōshū,¹ and as one of the Nashitsubo no Gonin he helped in the compilation of the Gosenshū.³

Overall, we can find 126 poems of his in Imperial Waka Anthologies,¹ including the Shūishū and he has a large private collection of poetry known as the Yoshinobu-shū.³

He was listed as one of the Thirty-Six Poetic Geniuses and one of his poems (No.49) can be found in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu and goes as follows:¹

Japanese text²	Romanized Japanese¹	English translation¹
みかき守衛士のたく火の夜はもえ昼は消えつつ物をこそおもへ	Mikakimori eji no taku hi no yoru wa moe hiru wa kietsutsu mono o koso omoe	This troubled heart of mine Is like the watch fire of the guards Of the palace gate - It fades to embers by day, But blazes up again each night.

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.
4. Kodansha. (1993) ”Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia”. Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd.

Nashitsubo no Gonin
Ki no Tokibumi * Kiyohara no Motosuke * Minamoto no Shitagō * Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu * Sakanoue no Mochiki

Thirty Six Poetic Geniuses
Lady Ise * Yamabe no Akahito * Ariwara no Narihira * Ki no Tomonori * Sarumaru Taifu * Ono no Komachi * Fujiwara no Kanesuke * Fujiwara no Atsutada * Fujiwara no Toshiyuki * Minamoto no Muneyuki * Minamoto no Shitagō * Kiyohara no Motosuke * Sakanoue no Korenori * Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu * Fujiwara no Okikaze * Fujiwara no Asatada

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