Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
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Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (柿本 人麻呂; c. 662 - 710) was a Japanese poet and aristocrat of the late Asuka period. He was the most prominent of the poets included in the Man'yōshū, and was particularly represented in volumes 1 and 2.
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[edit] Works and fame
Hitomaro was famed for his long poems, such as "In the sea of ivy clothed Iwami"[1], "The Bay of Tsunu"[2], and "I loved her like the leaves." 19 of his chōka (or nagauta, "long poems") were included in the Man'yōshū and 75 or so tanka (or mijikauta, "short poems") were likewise selected. Many of his poems were written on the topics of public occasions; such as his "Lament for Prince Takechi", written as part of the mourning ceremonies for Takechi. Other poems were written on occasions in his life when he was particularly moved: parting from his wife, mourning for his wife, or on seeing a corpse.
In the prefatory essay to the Kokin Wakashū compilation of poetry, Ki no Tsurayuki called him Uta no Hijiri — a divine poet equal to the Nara period poet Yamabe no Akahito, a high regard echoed by later poets such as Fujiwara no Teika. Ikeda Munemasa wrote Portrait of Hitomaro and His Waka Poem. Modern waka poets like Masaoka Shiki and Saito Mokichi considered him one of greatest poets in the history of Japanese literature.
In Masuda, Iwami Province in Shimane Prefecture, there are two Kakinomoto shrines, Takatsu Kakinomoto Shrine and Toda Kakinomoto Shrine. It is said that Kamoshima in Masuda is Hitomaro's death place and Toda is Hitomaro's birth place. The priest of Toda Kakinomoto Shrine is Ayabe, and he is the 49th of Hitomaro's mother's line.
In Akashi, Hyōgo Prefecture there is Kakinomoto Jinja, a shrine devoted to Hitomaro. The shrine holds an annual utakai (waka party) devoted to him.
In the Heian period, some anonymous waka in the Man'yōshū were attributed to Hitomaro. These include the waka attributed to Hitomaro in Fujiwara no Teika's compilation of the Hyakunin Isshu. The high regard for Hitomaro can also be gauged by his usual inclusion as one of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals.
[edit] Life
Details of his life are few and uncertain despite his prominence as a poet. His name doesn't appear in chronicles like the Nihon Shoki nor in Shoku Nihongi ("History of Japan" II). All biographical data about him comes from Man'yōshū.
His earliest waka with a fixed date was made in 680 under the reign of the Emperor Temmu. He served the Empress Jitō and her successor Emperor Mommu. He wrote waka on occasion for emperors. In 700 he wrote a waka mourning Princess Asuka. It was the last waka with a fixed date and some supposed Hitomaro died a few years after this.
When he was around 50 years old, he was appointed to a provincial office in Iwami Province — today the western part of Shimane Prefecture. In 708, Zokunihongi reports that a "Kakinomoto no Saru" (another member of the Kakinomoto clan) died; the Japanese thinker Umehara Takeshi has suggested that this Saru (柿本佐留) and Hitomaro were the same person.
[edit] Family background
The Kakinomoto clan into which Hitomaro was born was an aristocratic court clan of middling prestige and rank. In the clan, he was referred to as Ason, signifying that he held the third highest title of eight. In earlier years, the clan served the court mainly by holding religious ceremonies with singing and reciting of poems. It had a deep relation to the Sarume clan whose legendary founder was Ame-no-Uzume, the dancer goddess. It can be supposed Hitomaro grew up in an artistic atmosphere.
[edit] 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")
- [4] Takatsu Kakinomoto Shrine.
