Fujiwara Teika’s "Hundred-Poem Sequence of the Shōji Era", 1200: A Complete Translation, with Introduction and Commentary

Description

In the summer of 1200, the youthful Ex-Emperor Go-Toba commissioned a score of outstanding poets to compose sets of a hundred poems, which have come to be known as the "Shōji hyakushu". To his dismay the 38-year-old Fujiwara Teika was not invited to participate, and it was only after much intercession had been made on his behalf that his name was added to the list. Ina frenzy of activity Teika spent two weeks composing his sequence of a hundred poems and finally submitted his work one day after the deadline. The result was Teika's "Hundred-Poem Sequence of the Shoji Era", a composition which contains some of the famous poet's best poems and won for him imperial favor. Professor Robert H. Brower is well known for his published work on medieval Japanese court poetry. In this monograph, he describes the political and poetic rivalries behind Teika's nomination, outlines the development of poetic sequences, and presents an annotated translation of Teika's set of a hundred poems. - Introduction - - I. Foreword - - II. The Development of Poetic Sequences - - III. The Shoji hyakushu - - IV. Teika and the Shdji hyakushu - - V. Teika’s Sequence - Translation: - - Preface - - Spring: Twenty Poems - - Summer: Fifteen Poems - - Autumn: Twenty Poems - - Winter: Fifteen Poems - - Love: Ten Poems - - Travel: Five Poems - - A Mountain Dwelling: Five Poems - - Birds: Five Poems - - Celebrations: Five Poems - Appendix: The Holograph Fragment - Works Cited or Quoted in the Text - Index of First Lines of Poems - General Index