Home > Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

His poems included "In the sea of ivy clothed Iwami", "The Bay of Tsunu", and "I loved her like the leaves". There is a "Portrait of Hitomaro and His Waka Poem" by Ikeda Munemasa . In Preface for Kokin Wakashu, Ki no Tsurayuki called him Uta no Hijiri, a divine poet as same as Yamabe no Akahito . In Akashi, Hyogo there is Kakinomoto Jinja, a shrine for him. The shrine holds every year an utakai, waka party to devote him. The modern waka poets like Masaoka Shiki and Saito Mokichi considered him one of greatest poets in the history of Japanese literature.

His life is uncertain inspite of his prominence as a poet. His name doesn't appear in Nihonshoki nor in Zokunihongi (History of Japan II), all data around him come from Manyoshu. His earliest waka with a fixed date was made in 680 under the reign of the Emperor Tenji. He served the Empress Jito and hier successor the Emperor Mommu. He made waka in occasion for emperors. When he was aged around 50 years old, he was appointed a certain provincial office in Iwami province, today the western part of Shimane prefecture and died there. In 700Alternate uses, see Number 700. Events Saint Adamnan convinces 51 kings to adopt Cain Adomnain defining the relationship between women and priests. Births Deaths Cunincpert, king of the Lombards Saint Osyth 700. he made a waka morning Princess Asuka. It was the last waka with a fixed date and some supposed Hitomaro died some years after this year. In 708Events The Japanese court moved from Heian to Nara. March 25 Constantine is consecrated Pope Births Deaths February 4 Pope Sisinnius Drogo, duke in Champagne 708. Zokunihongi reports Kakinomoto no Saru, another Kakinomoto clan man died and the Japanese thinker Umehara Takeshi supposed Saru (柿本佐留) and Hitomaro were identical (Saru is same to 猿, monkey at sound and it is supposed as an officiall blame to him).

The Kakinomoto clan from which he derived was a middle class noble clan and he was refered with Ason, the third highest title among eight. In earlier the clan served the court mainly with holding religious celemony with singing and reciting poems. It had a deep relation to the Sarume clan whose legendary founder was Ameno Uzume , the dancer goddess.　It supposed Hitomaro grew up in artistic atmosphere.

In Heian period some anonymous waka in Manyoshu was attributed to Hitomaro. The waka attributed to Hitomaro in Hyakunin IsshuThe Hyakunin Isshu is an anthology of waka poems. Another name for the collection is Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, because it was compiled by Fujiwara no Teika (or Sadaie, 1162 1241) while he lived in the Ogura district of Kyoto, Japan. The name translates as "on cumulated by Fujiwara no TeikaKyoto Fujiwara no Teika or Sadaie (: 1162 September 26, 1241) was a Japanese waka poet of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods. Teika also selected the works for the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, an anthology of a hundred poems by a hundred poets. Fujiwara 1 was one of them.