Hitomaro by Kikuchi Yosai

Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (from Ogura Hyakunin Isshu)

Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (柿本 人麻呂; c. 662 - 710) was a Japanese poet of the Nara period. He was the most prominent of the Man'yōshū poets, in particular its volumes 1 and 2. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (917x1123, 383 KB) Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (柿本 人麻呂; c. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (917x1123, 383 KB) Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (柿本 人麻呂; c. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Events The regent Grimuald usurps the kingship of the Lombards, driving Perctarit into exile and killing Godepert Births Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, Japanese poet (approximate date) Deaths Maximus the Confessor, Byzantine theologian Godepert, king of the Lombards Categories: 662 ... // Events End of the Asuka period, the second and last part of the Yamato period and beginning of the Nara period in Japan. ... The Nara period ) of the history of Japan covers the years from about AD 710 to 784. ... ManyōshÅ« , Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves) is the oldest existing, and most highly revered, collection of Japanese poetry, compiled sometime in the Nara or early Heian periods. ...

Works and Fame

Hitomaro's famed poems included "In the sea of ivy clothed Iwami"[1], "The Bay of Tsunu"[2], and "I loved her like the leaves" -(a very dramatic poem^{[citation needed]}). He has 19 chōka (or nagauta, 'long poems') in the Man'yōshū and 75 or so tanka (or mijikauta, 'short poems'). Many of his poems were written for public occasions, for instance, his "Lament for Prince Takechi". Other poems were written on occasions in his life when he was particularly moved: parting from his wife, mourning for his wife, or seeing a corpse. ManyōshÅ« , Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves) is the oldest existing, and most highly revered, collection of Japanese poetry, compiled sometime in the Nara or early Heian periods. ... See Waka (disambiguation) for other usages. ...

In the Preface of the Kokin Wakashū compilation, Ki no Tsurayuki called him Uta no Hijiri, a divine poet of equal to Yamato-era poet Yamabe no Akahito. Ikeda Munemasa wrote "Portrait of Hitomaro and His Waka Poem". The modern waka poets like Masaoka Shiki and Saito Mokichi considered him one of greatest poets in the history of Japanese literature. The Kokin Waka ShÅ« ), usually abbreviated as KokinshÅ« ), is an early Heian waka Imperial anthology, conceived by Emperor Uda (r. ... Ki no tsurayuki (From Ogura Hyakunin Isshu) Ki no Tsurayuki (ç´€ 貫之) 872-945) was a Japanese author, poet and courtier. ... Yamabe no Akahito (700 - 40) was a poet of Yamato period in Japan. ... Haiku by Shiki at Horyu-ji (temple): kaki kueba kane ga naru nari Hōryū-ji I bite into a persimmon and a bell resounds— Hōryūji —trans. ... A postal stamp portraying Saito Mokichi alongside tanka poem Saito Mokichi (斎藤茂吉 Saitō Mokichi; 1882 - 1953) was a Japanese poet of Taisho period, the member of Araragi school, and a psychiatrist. ...

In Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture there is Kakinomoto Jinja, a shrine devoted to Hitomaro. The shrine holds every year an utakai (waka party) devoted to him. Location of Akashi City Akashi (明石市; -shi) is a city located in southern Hyogo, Japan, on the Inland Sea west of Kobe. ... Waka (和歌) or Yamato uta is a genre of Japanese poetry. ...

In the Heian period, some anonymous waka in the Man'yōshū was attributed to Hitomaro. These include the waka attributed to Hitomaro in Fujiwara no Teika's compilation of the Hyakunin Isshu. The following text needs to be harmonized with text in the article History of Japan#Heian Period. ... Monument to Fujiwara no Teika, Ogura, Kyoto Fujiwara no Teika or Sadaie (藤原定家: 1162–September 26, 1241) was a Japanese waka poet, critic, carigrapher, scribe and scholar of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. ... Monument commemorating 700th anniversary of Teikas death The Hyakunin Isshu (百人一首) is an anthology of waka poems. ...

Life

His life is uncertain despite his prominence as a poet. His name doesn't appear in Nihon Shoki nor in Shoku Nihongi (History of Japan II), all data about him comes from Man'yōshū. His earliest waka with a fixed date was made in 680 under the reign of the Emperor Tenji. He served the Empress Jitō and her successor Emperor Mommu. He made waka in occasion for emperors. When he was aged around 50 years old, he was appointed a certain provincial office in Iwami Province, today the western part of Shimane Prefecture and died there. In 700 he made a waka mourning Princess Asuka. It was the last waka with a fixed date and some supposed Hitomaro died some years after this year. In 708 Zokunihongi reports Kakinomoto no Saru, another Kakinomoto clan man died and the Japanese thinker Umehara Takeshi supposed Saru (柿本佐留) and Hitomaro were identical (Saru is same to 猿, monkey at sound and it is supposed as an official blame to him). Nihonshoki (日本書紀) is the second oldest history book about the ancient history of Japan. ... The Shoku Nihongi（続日本紀）is an imperially commissioned history of Japan written in the early Heian period. ... Events October 10 - Battle of Kerbela November 12 - The Sixth Ecumenical Council opens in Constantinople The Bulgars subjugate the country of current-day Bulgaria Pippin of Herstal becomes Mayor of the Palace Umayyad caliph Muawiyah I succeeded by Yazid I ibn Muawiyah Erwig deposes Wamba to become king of the... Emperor Tenji (From Ogura Hyakunin Isshu) Tomb of Emperor Tenji, Kyoto Emperor Tenji (天智天皇 Tenji Tennō) (626-672), also known as Prince Naka no ÅŒe (中大兄皇子, Naka no ÅŒe no ÅŒji) and Emperor Tenchi, was the 38th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. ... Empress Jito (From Ogura Hyakunin Isshu) Tomb of Emperor Temmu and Empress Jitō Empress Jitō (持統天皇 Jitō Tennō) (645 – December 22, 702[1]) was the 41st imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. ... Emperor Mommu (文武天皇 Mommu Tennō) (683-707) was the 42nd imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. ... The article incorporates text from OpenHistory. ... Shimane Prefecture ) is located in the Chugoku region on Honshu island, Japan. ... // Events Saint Adamnan convinces 51 kings to adopt Cáin Adomnáin defining the relationship between women and priests. ... Events The Japanese court moved from Heian to Nara. ...

Family Background

The Kakinomoto clan from which he derived was a middle class noble clan and he was referred with Ason, the third highest title among eight. In earlier the clan served the court mainly with holding religious ceremony with singing and reciting poems. It had a deep relation to the Sarume clan whose legendary founder was Ama-no-Uzume, the dancer goddess. It supposed Hitomaro grew up in an artistic atmosphere. Categories: Stub | Japanese goddesses ...

External links

• [3] The 2001 Waka for Japan 2001 collection contains a large selection of translations of Hitomaro's poetry, mostly from the Man'yōshū
• Kenneth Rexroth's One Hundred Poems from the Japanese (New Directions, 1955, ISBN 0-8112-0181-3) contains several of Hitomaro's waka, as well as notable translations of 3 naga uta ("In the sea of ivy clothed Iwami", "The Bay of Tsyunu", and "When she was still alive")