Everything about Ki No Tsurayuki totally explained
was a
Japanese author,
poet and courtier of the
Heian period.
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
Thirty-six Poetry Immortals 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 Wakashū; 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.
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 didn't use 'uneducated' and 'feminine' hiragana and preferred
Kanji. But he chose this method of expression because the central theme of this diary wasn't his trip but his sorrow over the death of his daughter in Tosa. At the beginning of the text, her death isn't 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
Kokinshū 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.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Ki No Tsurayuki'.
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