Fujiwara no Akisuke

Eli — Sat, 07 Mar 2020 01:41:24 +0000

Fujiwara no Akisuke in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

Period: Heian Period
Occupation: Poet
Family: Fujiwara no Akisue (father) Fujiwara no Kiyosuke (son) Kenshō (adopted son)
Birth: 1090AD
Death: 1155AD

Fujiwara no Akisuke

Fujiwara no Akisuke (藤原顕輔) was a member of the Fujiwara Clan living from 1090-1155AD. He was the son of Fujiwara no Akisue, father of Fujiwara no Kiyosuke,¹ and adopted father of Kenshō ³ ⁴. He also went by the name of Rokujo Akisuke as he was a part of the Rokujo House of poetry³ ⁴. During his life he is said to have been close to Minamoto no Toshiyori.

He inherited from his his father, his personal collection of poems, as well as a portrait of Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, which his father had painted. His son Kiyosuke later inherited the painting.

In 1144 he was approached by the Emperor Sutoku who commisioned him to compile the poetry anthology known as the Shikashū. He finally completed this in 1151.

In total we can find 84 of his poems in Imperial Anthologies ¹, as well as another 145 by him from his private collection known as the Akisuke shū.³ One of his poems (No.79) can be found in the Ogura Hyakuni Isshu and goes as follows:¹

Japanese text²	Romanized Japanese¹	English translation¹
秋風にたなびく雲のたえまよりもれ出づる月のかげのさやけさ	Akikaze ni tanabiku kumo no taema yori more-izuru tsuki no kage no sayakesa	Autumn breezes blow long trailing clouds. Through a break, the moonlight- so clear, so bright.

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.

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Fujiwara no Akisue

Eli — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 04:21:11 +0000

Mon of the Fujiwara Clan.

Period: Heian Period
Occupation: Poet
Family: Fujiwara no Akisuke (son) Fujiwara no Kiyosuke (grandson)
Birth: 1054AD
Death: 1122AD

Fujiwara no Akisue

Fujiwara no Akisue (藤原顕季) was a member of the Fujiwara Clan and founder of the Rokujo House of Poetry¹ ², living in the Heian Period from 1054-1122AD.² He was raised by the wet nurse of Emperor Shirakawa, leading to them being rather close, helping Akisue to gain a considerable amount of power.¹ He was the father of Fujiwara no Akisuke ² and grandfather of Fujiwara no Kiyosuke ¹ .

During his life he held the positons of shuri-taiyū and Rokujo shuri-taiyū.²

Due to his close connection to Emperor Shirakawa he gained access to his private collections and made a copy of a portrait of Kakinomoto no Hitomaro. After this he began a ceremony known as the Hitomaro Eigu which acted to honor this poet. This ws undertaken inside of Akisue’s home.

He later would give this portrait, as well as his private collection of poetry to his son Akisuke; the portrait eventually being handed down to his grandson Kiyosuke.¹

Footnotes

1. MacMillan, P. (2018) ”One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse”. St. Ives: Penguin Classics.
2. Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth (2002) “Japan Encyclopedia”. London: Harvard University Press.

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Fujiwara no Akisuke