One Hundred People, One Poem Each

By Smashwords

Around 1235, Japanese poet and scholar Fujiwara no Teika compiled for his son’s father-in-law a collection of one hundred poems by one hundred poets. Within its summary of six centuries of literature, Teika arranged a poetic conversation that ebbs and flows through various subjects. The collection became the exemplar of the genre—a mini-manual of classical poetry, taught in the standard school curriculum and used in a memory card game still played during New Years.

One Hundred People, One Poem Each contains the best that classical Japanese poetry has to offer—here presented in a revised verse translation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Smashwords
• Release date: Apr 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370583133

Book preview

One Hundred People, One Poem Each

a collection of classical Japanese poetry

edited by Fujiwara no Teika

translated by Larry Hammer

Cholla Bear Press, Tucson

ChollaBearLogo

Copyright © 2011, 2019 Larry Hammer

First edition October 2011

Revised edition March 2019

ISBNs:

978-1790497690 (print)

978-1370583133 (ebook)

Cover painting: The Dragon of Smoke Escaping from Mt. Fuji, Katsushika Hokusai (1760–1849), courtesy WikiMedia Commons.

For Janni

everything, always

ALSO BY LARRY HAMMER:

as translator

Ice Melts in the Wind

These Things Called Dreams

as editor

Important Beyond All This

Story Lines

First League Out

CONTENTS

Introduction

1. Emperor Tenji

2. Empress Jitō

3. Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

4. Yamabe no Akahito

5. Sarumaru

6. Ōtomo no Yakamochi

7. Abe no Nakamaro

8. Kisen

9. Ono no Komachi

10. Semimaru

11. Ono no Takamura

12. Henjō

13. Emperor Yōzei

14. Minamoto no Tōru

15. Emperor Kōkō

16. Ariwara no Yukihira

17. Ariwara no Narihira

18. Fujiwara no Toshiyuki

19. Ise

20. Prince Motoyoshi

21. Sosei

22. Fun’ya no Yasuhide

23. Ōe no Chisato

24. Sugawara no Michizane

25. Fujiwara no Sadakata

26. Fujiwara no Tadahira

27. Fujiwara no Kanesuke

28. Minamoto no Muneyuki

29. Ōshikōchi no Mitsune

30. Mibu no Tadamine

31. Sakanoue no Korenori

32. Harumichi no Tsuraki

33. Ki no Tomonori

34. Fujiwara no Okikaze

35. Ki no Tsurayuki

36. Kiyowara no Fukayabu

37. Fun’ya no Asayasu

38. Ukon

39. Minamoto no Hitoshi

40. Taira no Kanemori

41. Mibu no Tadami

42. Kiyowara no Motosuke

43. Fujiwara no Atsutada

44. Fujiwara no Asatada

45. Fujiwara no Koretada

46. Sone no Yoshitada

47. Egyō

48. Minamoto no Shigeyuki

49. Onakatomi no Yoshinobu

50. Fujiwara no Yoshitaka

51. Fujiwara no Sanekata

52. Fujiwara no Michinobu

53. Mother of Michitsuna

54. Mother of Korechika

55. Fujiwara no Kintō

56. Izumi Shikibu

57. Murasaki Shikibu

58. Daini no Sanmi

59. Akazome Emon

60. Koshikibu no Naishi

61. Ise no Tayū

62. Sei Shōnagon

63. Fujiwara no Michimasa

64. Fujiwara no Sadayori

65. Sagami

66. Gyōson

67. Suō no Naishi

68. Emperor Sanjō

69. Nōin

70. Ryōzen

71. Minamoto no Tsunenobu

72. Kii

73. Ōe no Masafusa

74. Minamoto no Toshiyori

75. Fujiwara no Mototoshi

76. Fujiwara no Tadamichi

77. Emperor Sutoku

78. Minamoto no Kanemasa

79. Fujiwara no Akisuke

80. Empress Taiken’s Horikawa

81. Fujiwara no Sanesada

82. Dōin

83. Fujiwara no Toshinari

84. Fujiwara no Kiyosuke

85. Shun’e

86. Saigyō

87. Jakuren

88. Attendant to Empress Kōka

89. Princess Shokushi

90. Attendant to Empress Inpu

91. Fujiwara no Yoshitsune

92. Sanuki

93. Minamoto no Sanetomo

94. Fujiwara no Masatsune

95. Jien

96. Fujiwara no Kintsune

97. Fujiwara no Teika

98. Fujiwara no Ietaka

99. Emperor Go-Toba

100. Emperor Juntoku

Also by the Translator

INTRODUCTION

AROUND 1235, Fujiwara no Teika compiled for his son’s father-in-law a collection of one hundred poems by one hundred poets, a common type of anthology at the time. Partly because of Teika’s stature as Japan’s last great classical poet and partly because, within its roughly chronological history of Japanese poetry to date, he selected a variety of subjects and styles, it became the exemplar of the genre—to the point that referring to just the Hyakunin Isshu without modifier means this 100 People, 1 Poem (Each). It was treated a mini-manual of classical poetry, taught in the standard school curriculum, and used as the basis of a memory card game still sometimes played at