Ōtomo no Tabito

• Period: Nara Period
• Occupation: Poet, , Chūnagon, Dainagon
• Family: Ōtomo no Yakamochi (son) Sakanoue no Iratsume (half-sister)
• Birth: 665
• Death: 731

Ōtomo no Tabito

Ōtomo no Tabito (大伴 旅人) was a member of the Ōtomo Clan, living from 665-731.

Family

He was father to Ōtomo no Yakamochi and half-brother to Sakanoue no Iratsume.¹²

Life

In 718 he was given the rank of chūnagon (Middle Counsellor) and by 727/728 had recieved the rank of Viceroy for the government headquarters at Dazaifu (he was sent into exile here⁴). Later in 730 he was promoted again to dainagon (Great Counsellor)¹ and returned to Nara where he then died the following year.¹⁴

Poetic Legacy

His poetry is well known and he is thought to have inspired his son and half-sister to also pursue poetry. His own poetic interests, as well as interest in chinese studies was fuelled by both Priest Manzei and his friend Yamanoue no Okura.¹

He became aquainted with Manzei after the priest had been exiled to Kyushu.⁴

Within the 5th book of the Man’yōshū there is a record of a plum blossom viewing that Tabito held as well as poems written by those who participated, additionally, the Man’yo-shū contains almost all of his surviving poems. Some of the more famous are a set of 13 poems which celebrate not just wine but also the pleasure of being drunk.¹

He is listed as one of the Man’yo no Go Taika (5 Great Poets of the Time),² and the poet Haji no Mimichi is known to have served under him.³

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.
3. Borgen, R. (1975) “The Origins of the Sugawara. A History of the Haji Family”. Monumenta Nipponica. Vol.30 No.4 pp.405-422
4. Miller, R. A.. (1981) “The Lost Poetic Sequence of the Priest Manzei”. Monumenta Nipponica. Vol.36 No.2 pp.133-172

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