Hyakunin Isshu (百人一首) is a classical Japanese anthology of one hundred Japanesewaka by one hundred poets.Hyakunin Isshu can be translated to "one hundred people, one poem [each]"; it can also refer to the card game ofuta-garuta, which uses a deck composed of cards based on theHyakunin Isshu.
The most famous and standard version was compiled byFujiwara no Teika (1162–1241) while he lived in theOgura district ofKyoto.[1] It is therefore also known asOgura Hyakunin Isshu (小倉百人一首).
One of Teika's diaries, theMeigetsuki, says that his sonTameie asked him to arrange one hundred poems for Tameie's father-in-law,Utsunomiya Yoritsuna, who was furnishing a residence nearMount Ogura;[2] hence the full name ofOgura Hyakunin Isshu. In order to decorate screens of the residence,Fujiwara no Teika produced the calligraphy poem sheets.[3]
In his own lifetime, Teika was better known for other work. For example, in 1200 (Shōji 2), he prepared another anthology of one hundred poems for ex-Emperor Go-Toba, called theShōji Hyakushu.[6]
秋の田のかりほの庵の苫をあらみ わが衣手は露にぬれつつ aki no ta no kariho no io no toma o arami waga koromode wa tsuyu ni nuretsutsu In autumn paddies under the temporary dwelling made of rushes, my sleeves are wet with the dew. (Gosen Wakashū 6:302)
春過ぎて夏来にけらし白妙の 衣干すてふ天の香具山 haru sugite natsu kinikerashi shirotae no koromo hosu chō Ama no Kaguyama Spring has passed, and the white robes of summer are being aired on fragrant Mount Kagu—beloved of the gods.[7] (Shin Kokin Wakashū 3:175)
The original was likely based from a poem of theMan'yōshū (book 1, poem 28) by the same poet.
Illustration of Poem 26, after an 18th-century Japanese print
A quite different poem is attributed toSadaijinFujiwara no Tadahira in the context of a very specific incident. After abdicating, formerEmperor Uda visited Mount Ogura inYamashiro Province. He was so greatly impressed by the beauty of autumn colours of the maples that he ordered Fujiwara no Tadahira to encourage Uda's son and heir,Emperor Daigo, to visit the same area.
Prince Tenshin or Teishin (貞信公,Teishin-kō) was Tadahira's posthumous name, and this is the name used in William Porter's translation of the poem which observes that "[t]he maples of Mount Ogura / If they could understand / Would keep their brilliant leaves / until [t]he Ruler of this land / Pass with his Royal band." The accompanying 18th century illustration shows a person of consequence riding an ox in a procession with attendants on foot. The group is passing through an area of maple leaves.[8]
Teika chose this poem from theShūi Wakashū for the hundred poems collection:
小倉山峰のもみぢ葉心あらば 今ひとたびの行幸またなむ Ogura-yama mine no momijiba kokoro araba ima hitotabi no miyuki matanan[9] Maple leaves on Ogura mountain: if you had a heart, I would have you wait for one more royal visit![10] (Shūi Wakashū 17:1128)
A poem bySaigyō about the pain of love. This poem was chosen from theSenzai Wakashū:
嘆けとて月やは物を思はする かこち顔なるわが涙かな nageke to te tsuki ya wa mono wo omowasuru kakochi-gao naru waga namida ka na How could the moon make me fall into thought by saying "Lament!"? Although it is attributed to me being in love, I attribute my tears falling down to the moon. (Senzai Wakashū 15:926)
Many other anthologies compiled along the same criteria—one hundred poems by one hundred poets—include the wordshyakunin isshu, notably theWorld War II-eraAikoku Hyakunin Isshu (愛国百人一首), orOne Hundred Patriotic Poems by One Hundred Poets. Also important isKyōka Hyakunin Isshu (狂歌百人一首), a series of parodies of the originalOgura collection.
^Carpenter, John T. (2008).Designed for Pleasure: The World of Edo Japan in Prints and Paintings, 1680-1860. Asia Society and Japanese Art Society of America. p. 106.
^Fujiwara, Teika (2018).One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse. Translated by MacMillan, Peter. Penguin UK.ISBN9780141395944.
^The modern romanization of the last line would bemiyukimatanamu (“await the emperor's pilgrimage”); by applying thehistorical kana orthography,matanamu would be pronouncedmatanan.
^Kamens, Edward; Kamens, Howard I. (1997).Utamakura, Allusion, and Intertextuality in Traditional Japanese Poetry (illustrated ed.). Yale University Press. p. 102.ISBN9780300068085.
One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Translation of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, Peter McMillan, foreword by Donald Keene. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008.ISBN978-0-231-14398-1
One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse, Peter McMillan. London: Penguin Classics, 2018.ISBN9780141395937
100 Poets: Passions of the Imperial Court, Emiko Miyashita and Michael Dylan Welch, translators. Tokyo: PIE Books, 2008.ISBN978-4-89444-757-8 This book is also available as an iPad/iPhone application.
Ogura Hyakunin Isshu public domain audiobook atLibriVox