Fujiwara no Akinaka

Fujiwara no Akinaka (藤原ふじわら顕あらわ仲なか; 1059–1129) was a Japanese nobleman and waka poet of the Heian period.

Life

Fujiwara no Akinaka was born in Kōhei 2 (1059 in the Gregorian calendar).^[1] He was the third son of Sukenaka (ja),^[1] a member of the Saneyori lineage (実じつ頼よりゆき流りゅう) of the Northern Branch of the Fujiwara clan.^[2] He was later adopted by Fujiwara no Motoie (died 1093) [ja],^[1] the governor of Mutsu Province.^[3] His mother was a daughter of Minamoto no Tsuneyori [ja].^[2]

He is known as Suke Akinaka (佐さ顕あらわ仲なか)^[1] to distinguish him from Minamoto no Akinaka [ja].^[2] He had various other names,^[1] such as Katsumata no Hyōe no Suke (勝間田かつまた兵衛ひょうえ佐さ),^[1] by which name the Fukuro-zōshi [ja] calls him.^[2] The latter name is a derived from a combination of his court position, Sahyōe-no-suke, and a famous poem he composed at the Shirakawa-den Gyokai (白河しらかわ殿御とのご会かい) on Katsumata Pond (勝間田かつまた池いけ Katsumata-no-ike):^[2]

Japanese text^[2]	Romanized Japanese	English translation
勝間田かつまたの池いけも緑みどりに見みゆるかな岸きしの柳やなぎの色いろにうつりて	Katsumata no ike mo midori ni miyuru kana kishi no yanagi no iro ni utsurite

He was close friends with Minamoto no Toshiyori and Fujiwara no Mototoshi,^[2] and in addition to being a respected poet he was also known for his skill as a calligrapher and musician,^[2] but was unable to attain success due to his relatively low birth.^[2] By the end of his career, he had risen to the Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade.^[1] He held the position of Assistant Head of Left Military Guards (左ひだり兵衛ひょうえ佐さ sahyōe-no-suke).^[1]

According to the Chūyūki [ja],^[2] Akinaka died on the third day of the first month of Daiji 4 (31 January 1129).^[1] He was 71 (by Japanese reckoning).^[2]

Poetry

The first uta-awase contest in which he took part was the Sakon no Gon-Chūjō Toshitada Ason-ke Uta-awase (左近さこん権けん中将ちゅうじょう俊しゅん忠ちゅう朝臣あそん家か歌合うたあわせ) in Chōji 1 (1104).^[2] He took part in the following poetic gatherings:

the Ungo-ji Kechien-kyō Goen Uta-awase (雲居くもい寺てら結縁けちえん経けい後ご宴えん歌合うたあわせ) in Eikyū 4 (1116);^[2]
the Hitomaro-eigu held by Fujiwara no Akisue in Gen'ei 1 (1118);^[2] and
the Naidaijin-ke Uta-awase (内大臣ないだいじん家か歌合うたあわせ) that was held over three sessions between Gen'ei 1 and Gen'ei 2 (1119).^[2]

He was one of the poets of the Horikawa-in Ontoki Hyakushu Waka (堀河ほりかわ院いん御ご時とき百ひゃく首しゅ和歌わか).^[1]

According to the Yakumo Mishō [ja],^[2] he was disappointed with the Kin'yōshū,^[1] and in Daiji 1 (1126)^[2] compiled his own anthology, the Ryōgyokushū (良りょう玉だま集しゅう),^[1] which is no longer extant.^[1]

18 of his poems were included in imperial anthologies from the Kin'yōshū on.^[1]

One famous poem of his, in which he laments his lack of success at court, is the following from the first book of miscellaneous poems in the Kin'yōshū:^[2]

Japanese text^[2]	Romanized Japanese	English translation
年としふれど春はるに知しられぬ埋木うめきは花はなの都とに住すむかひぞなき	toshi furedo haru ni shirarenu mumoregi wa hana no miyako ni sumu kai zo naki

References

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Furuya 1983, p. 266; Nihon Jinmei Daijiten Plus 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s Furuya 1983, p. 266.
^ Nihon Jinmei Daijiten Plus 2015.

Works cited

Furuya, Takako (1983). "Fujiwara no Akinaka" 藤原ふじわら顕あらわ仲なか. Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten 日本にっぽん古典こてん文学ぶんがく大だい辞典じてん (in Japanese). Vol. 5. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. p. 266. OCLC 11917421.
"Fujiwara no Akinaka" 藤原ふじわら顕あらわ仲なか. Nihon Jinmei Daijiten Plus (in Japanese). Kodansha. 2015. Retrieved 2018-09-02.

[FOOTNOTEFuruya1983266''Nihon_Jinmei_Daijiten_Plus''2015-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Furuya 1983, p. 266; Nihon Jinmei Daijiten Plus 2015.

[FOOTNOTEFuruya1983266-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s Furuya 1983, p. 266.

[FOOTNOTE''Nihon_Jinmei_Daijiten_Plus''2015-3] Nihon Jinmei Daijiten Plus 2015.

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