Ki no Tsurayuki

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Tsurayuki by Kikuchi Yosai

Ki no Tsurayuki (From Ogura Hyakunin Isshu)

Ki no Tsurayuki (紀貫之) 872-945) was a Japanese author, poet and courtier.

Tsurayuki was a son of Ki no Mochiyuki. He became a waka poet in the 890s. In 905, under the imperial order of Emperor Daigo, he was one of four poets selected to compile the Kokin-wakashū, an anthology of poetry.

After holding a few offices in Kyoto, he was appointed the provincial governor of Tosa province and stayed there from 930 until 935. Later he was presumably appointed the privincial governor of Suo province, since it was recorded that he held a waka party (Utaai) at his home in Suo.

He is well-known for his waka, and is counted as one of the 36 Kasen (三十六歌仙 lit. poet masters) selected by Fujiwara no Kinto. He was also known as one of the editors of the Kokin-wakashū. Tsurayuki wrote one of two prefaces to Kokin-wakashu; the other is in Chinese. His preface was the first critical essay on waka. He wrote of its history from its mythological origin to his contemporary waka, which he grouped into genres, referred to some major poets and gave a bit of harsh criticism to his predecessors like Ariwara no Narihira.

His waka is included in one of the important Japanese poetry anthologies, the Hyakunin Isshu, which was compiled in the 13th century by Fujiwara no Teika, long after Tsurayuki's death.

[edit] Works

Besides the Kokin-Wakashū and its preface, Tsurayuki's major literary work was the Tosa nikki (Tosa diary), which was written anonymously, and in hiragana. At the beginning of this diary he pretended to be a woman but his writing suggested its real author was male. The text details a trip in 935 returning to Kyoto from Tosa province, where Tsurayuki had been appointed the provincial governor.

Tosa nikki was written using hiragana, at a time when a man usually did not use 'uneducated' and 'feminine' hiragana and preferred Kanji. But he chose this method of expression because the central theme of this diary was not his trip but his sorrow over the death of his daughter in Tosa. At the beginning of the text, her death is not mentioned and scenes of the trip are described in a comical but semi-serious way. Later in the text, the deceased girl and sorrow over her absence are introduced. Tosa nikki is the oldest remaining diary written in kana. It is an exceptionally well-written work and has had a heavy influence on later diary-style works.

There is an anthology of Tsurayuki's waka, called Tsurayuki-shū. Presumably, he compiled them himself. Some of his waka were also compiled in the major waka anthologies like Kokin-shū and other imperial ordered anthologies. In the three oldest imperial waka anthologies, he was one of the most favored waka poets.

His name is referred to in the Tale of Genji as a waka master. In this story, Emperor Uda ordered him and a number of female poets to make waka written on his panels as accessories.