• • Period: Heian Period
  • Occupation: Waka Poet
  • Family: Mibu no Tadami (son)
  • Birth: fl.893-920
  • Death: –

Mibu no Tadamine

Mibu no Tadamine (壬生忠岑) was a Heian poet who flourished between 893 and 920AD. He was the father of Mibu no Tadami and acted as one of the four compilers of the Kokinshū.

We can find 82 of his poems in the Imperial Anthologies, 35 of them coming from the Kokinshū. He also had a personal collection of poems.

Even after his death his poetry was held in high regard, with Kintō placing one of his poems in the highest level of his waka kuhon (Nine Levels of waka) alongside Kakinomoto no Hitomaro.

One of his poems (No.30) can be found in the ogura hyakunin isshu and goes as follows:¹

Japanese text2	Romanized Japanese1	English translation1
有明の つれなくみえし 別れより 暁ばかり うきものはなし	Ariake no tsurenaku mieshi wakare yori akatsuki bakari uki mono wa nashi	How cold the face of the morning moon! Since we parted nothing is so miserable as the approaching dawn.

Gallery

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.

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• • Period: Heian Period
  • Occupation: Poet, Caligrapher, Statesman.
  • Family: Fujiwara no Yoritada (father) Fujiwara no Sadayori (son) Fujiwara no Teishi (sister) Fujiwara no Junshi (sister)
  • Birth: 966AD
  • Death: 1041AD

Fujiwara no Kintō

Fujiwara no Kintō (藤原 公任) was a renowned member of the Fujiwara Clan living from 966-1041AD.¹² He was the son of Fujiwara no Yoritada¹² and had a son by the name of Sadayori.³ He was also known in his lifetime as Shijō Dainagon.¹

During his life his was a stateman and poet¹ and also held the position of Office of Major Counsellor.³ He was also renowned for his calligraphy and as a musician.¹

Later in his life, after the death of his daughter, he enters religion and left Kyoto to the north to live in a valley. His home then became a ‘mecca’ for the best poets and minds of the time and they defered to him in poetic matters.³

His life is connected with many forms of literature. He is seen mentioned in the books of Murasaki Shikibu and Sei Shonagon, as well as the Eiga Monogatari, Konjaku Monogatari and Ōkagami. Additionally more than 100 of his poems can be found in Imperial Anthologies.¹²

One his most famous compilations was his list of the Thirty Six Poetic Geniuses,¹²³ with other publications fully, or partly by him being entitled:

• Kintōshū, his personal poetry collection containing 385 poems.¹²
• Nyoihōshū, ‘Collection of Buddhist Teasures,’ containing 775 poems.¹
• Waka kuhon, ‘Levels of Excellence in Waka,’ a poetry treatise classifying poems in order of preference.¹
• Shinsen zuinō, ‘The Essence of Poetry, Newly Selected,’ anthology setting forth his ideals of ‘deep feelings, beauty of effect, and an engaging touch of novelty in conception.’²
• Shūi waka-shū, 20 scrolls poetry expansion of the earlier Shuishō.¹²
• Wakan rōeishū, ‘Collection of Japanese and Chinese Songs for Singing.’ which includes 216 Japanese poems and 587 Chinese couplets.¹² He was the sole editor of this.³

One of his poems was included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (No. 55) and goes as follows:

It is said it was written when a group of courtiers visited an old waterfall.

The first line of the version from the Shuishū reads: taki no ito wa ‘the waterfall’s thread.’⁴

Footnotes

1. Louis Frederic, translated by Kathe Roth (2002) “Japan Encyclopedia”. London: Harvard University Press.
2. Kodansha. (1993) ”Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia”. Tokyo: Kodansha Ltd.
3. MacMillan, P. (2018) ”One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse”. St. Ives: Penguin Classics.
4. Carter, S.D. (1991) “Traditional Japanese Poetry: An Anthology.” California, Stanford University Press.
5. Suzuki, H. et al. (1997) ”Genshoku: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu”. Tokyo: Bun’eidō.

	Check out the Japan Archives, our Japanese History Podcast. Instagram (Japan): @japan_archives
	Check out our Gaming Channel on Youtube. Instagram (Minecraft): @mycenria
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