Hyakunin Isshu No.76 of Yoga Promenade
The poet is Hosshoji-no Nyudo Saki-no Kanpaku Dajo Daijin. Hossho-ji is the name of a temple. Nyudo means he was a priest. Kanpaku and Dajo-daijin are positions in the imperial court. Kanpaku helps the emperor, and Dajo-daijin is the prime minister. That means he controlled the government at that time, as the boss of Fujiwara’s clan. His name is Fujiwara-no Tadamichi. Well, it was not so simple. He lost his position as head of the Fujiwara clan to his younger brother, and after that, conflicts within the Fujiwara clan combined with conflicts within the imperial family, leading to a civil war. Tadamichi won the war and regained the position. However, the civil war strengthened the position of warlords. It was the beginning of the end of aristocratic politics.
The poem was created in a meeting with Emperor Sutoku (he is the poet No.77) under theme of “distant view of the sea.” The poem begins with a boat being rowed out to ocean, then depicts clouds floating in the distant sky. Finally, white waves that cannot be distinguished from clouds are added to complete the scene.
It is said that he composed this poem with the poem No.11 in mind (the two poems have the same beginning). It is true that the poem No.11 is about a ship rowing out to sea, but the atmosphere of the poem is quite different because the poet No.11 (Ono-no Takamura) composed the poem when he was exiled to an island.
Speaking of exile, there is an interesting story. Tadamichi created the poem in 1135 in front of Emperor Sutoku. In the civil war (Hogen rebellion) that occurred in 1156, Tadamichi fought against the Retired Emperor Sutoku, then exiled Retired Emperor Sutoku to an island. Did he remember Tadamichi’s poem on the way to the island?
Hyakunin Isshu No.76 of Yoga Promenade
The poet is Hosshoji-no Nyudo Saki-no Kanpaku Dajo Daijin. Hossho-ji is the name of a temple. Nyudo means he was a priest. Kanpaku and Dajo-daijin are positions in the imperial court. Kanpaku helps the emperor, and Dajo-daijin is the prime minister. That means he controlled the government at that time, as the boss of Fujiwara’s clan. His name is Fujiwara-no Tadamichi. Well, it was not so simple. He lost his position as head of the Fujiwara clan to his younger brother, and after that, conflicts within the Fujiwara clan combined with conflicts within the imperial family, leading to a civil war. Tadamichi won the war and regained the position. However, the civil war strengthened the position of warlords. It was the beginning of the end of aristocratic politics.
The poem was created in a meeting with Emperor Sutoku (he is the poet No.77) under theme of “distant view of the sea.” The poem begins with a boat being rowed out to ocean, then depicts clouds floating in the distant sky. Finally, white waves that cannot be distinguished from clouds are added to complete the scene.
It is said that he composed this poem with the poem No.11 in mind (the two poems have the same beginning). It is true that the poem No.11 is about a ship rowing out to sea, but the atmosphere of the poem is quite different because the poet No.11 (Ono-no Takamura) composed the poem when he was exiled to an island.
Speaking of exile, there is an interesting story. Tadamichi created the poem in 1135 in front of Emperor Sutoku. In the civil war (Hogen rebellion) that occurred in 1156, Tadamichi fought against the Retired Emperor Sutoku, then exiled Retired Emperor Sutoku to an island. Did he remember Tadamichi’s poem on the way to the island?