First poem card of the Hyakunin Isshu, featuring Emperor TenjiOgura shikishi by Teika
Hyakunin Isshu (百人一首) is a classical Japanese anthology of one hundred Japanese waka by one hundred poets. Hyakunin isshu can be translated to "one hundred people, one poem [each]"; it can also refer to the card game of uta-garuta, which uses a deck composed of cards based on the Hyakunin Isshu.
The most famous and standard version was compiled by Fujiwara no Teika (1162–1241) while he lived in the Ogura district of Kyoto.[1] It is therefore also known as Ogura Hyakunin Isshu (小倉百人一首).
Compilation
One of Teika's diaries, the Meigetsuki, says that his son Tameie asked him to arrange one hundred poems for Tameie's father-in-law, Utsunomiya Yoritsuna, who was furnishing a residence near Mount Ogura;[2] hence the full name of Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. In order to decorate screens of the residence, Fujiwara no Teika produced the calligraphy poem sheets.[3]
In his own lifetime, Teika was better known for other work. For example, in 1200 (Shōji 2), he prepared another anthology of one hundred poems for ex-Emperor Go-Toba, called the Shōji Hyakushu.[6]
秋の田のかりほの庵の苫をあらみ わが衣手は露にぬれつつ
aki no ta no kariho no io no toma o arami waga koromode wa tsuyu ni nuretsutsu In autumn paddies under the temporary dwelling made of rushes, my sleeves are wet with the dew. (Gosen Wakashū 6:302)
春過ぎて夏来にけらし白妙の 衣干すてふ天の香具山
haru sugite natsu kinikerashi shirotae no koromo hosu chō Ama no Kaguyama Spring has passed, and the white robes of summer are being aired on fragrant Mount Kagu—beloved of the gods.[7] (Shin Kokin Wakashū 3:175)
The original was likely based from a poem of the Man'yōshū (book 1, poem 28) by the same poet.
Poem number 26
Illustration of Poem 26, after an 18th-century Japanese print.
A quite different poem is attributed to SadaijinFujiwara no Tadahira in the context of a very specific incident. After abdicating, former Emperor Uda visited Mount Ogura in Yamashiro Province. He was so greatly impressed by the beauty of autumn colours of the maples that he ordered Fujiwara no Tadahira to encourage Uda's son and heir, Emperor Daigo, to visit the same area.
Prince Tenshin or Teishin (貞信公, Teishin-kō) was Tadahira's posthumous name, and this is the name used in William Porter's translation of the poem which observes that "[t]he maples of Mount Ogura / If they could understand / Would keep their brilliant leaves / until [t]he Ruler of this land / Pass with his Royal band." The accompanying 18th century illustration shows a person of consequence riding an ox in a procession with attendants on foot. The group is passing through an area of maple leaves.[8]
Teika chose this poem from the Shūi Wakashū for the hundred poems collection:
小倉山峰のもみぢ葉心あらば 今ひとたびの行幸またなむ Ogura-yama mine no momijiba kokoro araba ima hitotabi no miyuki matanan[9] Maple leaves on Ogura mountain: if you had a heart, I would have you wait for one more royal visit![10] (Shūi Wakashū 17:1128)
Poem number 86
A poem by Saigyō about the pain of love. This poem was chosen from the Senzai Wakashū:
嘆けとて月やは物を思はする かこち顔なるわが涙かな
nageke to te tsuki ya wa mono wo omowasuru kakochi-gao naru waga namida ka na How could the moon make me fall into thought by saying "Lament!"? Although it is attributed to me being in love, I attribute my tears falling down to the moon. (Senzai Wakashū 15:926)
Order of arrangement of the collection
1. Emperor Tenji 天智天皇
2. Empress Jitō 持統天皇
3. Kakinomoto no Hitomaro 柿本人麿
4. Yamabe no Akahito 山辺赤人
5. Sarumaru Dayū 猿丸大夫
6. Chūnagon Yakamochi 中納言家持
7. Abe no Nakamaro 安倍仲麿
8. Kisen Hōshi 喜撰法師
9. Ono no Komachi 小野小町
10. Semimaru 蝉丸
11. Sangi Takamura 参議篁
12. Sōjō Henjō 僧正遍昭
13. Retired Emperor Yōzei 陽成院
14. Minister of the Left of Kawara 河原左大臣
15. Emperor Kōkō 光孝天皇
16. Chūnagon Yukihira 中納言行平
17. Ariwara no Narihira Ason 在原業平朝臣
18. Fujiwara no Toshiyuki Ason 藤原敏行朝臣
19. Ise 伊勢
20. Prince Motoyoshi 元良親王
21. Sosei Hōshi 素性法師
22. Fun'ya no Yasuhide 文屋康秀
23. Ō'e no Chisato 大江千里
24. Kanke 菅家
25. Minister of the Right of Sanjō 三条右大臣
26. Teishin-kō 貞信公
27. Chūnagon Kanesuke 中納言兼輔
28. Minamoto no Muneyuki Ason 源宗于朝臣
29. Ōshikōchi no Mitsune 凡河内躬恒
30. Mibu no Tadamine 壬生忠岑
31. Sakanoue no Korenori 坂上是則
32. Harumichi no Tsuraki 春道列樹
33. Ki no Tomonori 紀友則
34. Fujiwara no Okikaze 藤原興風
35. Ki no Tsurayuki 紀貫之
36. Kiyohara no Fukayabu 清原深養父
37. Fun'ya no Asayasu 文屋朝康
38. Ukon 右近
39. Sangi Hitoshi 参議等
40. Taira no Kanemori 平兼盛
41. Mibu no Tadami 壬生忠見
42. Kiyohara no Motosuke 清原元輔
43. Acting Chūnagon Atsutada 権中納言敦忠
44. Chūnagon Asatada 中納言朝忠
45. Kentoku-kō 謙徳公
46. Sone no Yoshitada 曽禰好忠
47. Egyō Hōshi 恵慶法師
48. Minamoto no Shigeyuki 源重之
49. Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu Ason 大中臣能宣朝臣
50. Fujiwara no Yoshitaka 藤原義孝
51. Fujiwara no Sanekata Ason 藤原実方朝臣
52. Fujiwara no Michinobu Ason 藤原道信朝臣
53. Mother of the Right Captain Michitsuna 右大将道綱母
54. Mother of the Honorary Grand Minister 儀同三司母
55. Dainagon Kintō 大納言公任
56. Izumi Shikibu 和泉式部
57. Murasaki Shikibu 紫式部
58. Daini no San'mi 大弐三位
59. Akazome Emon 赤染衛門
60. Ko Shikibu no Naishi 小式部内侍
61. Ise no Taifu 伊勢大輔
62. Sei Shōnagon 清少納言
63. Sakyō no Daibu Michimasa 左京大夫道雅
64. Acting Chūnagon Sadayori 権中納言定頼
65. Sagami 相模
66. Dai Sōjō Gyōson 大僧正行尊
67. Suō no Naishi 周防内侍
68. Retired Emperor Sanjō 三条院
69. Nō'in Hōshi 能因法師
70. Ryōsen Hōshi 良暹法師
71. Dainagon Tsunenobu 大納言経信
72. Kii of Princess Yūshi's Household 祐子内親王家紀伊
73. Acting Chūnagon Masafusa 権中納言匡房
74. Minamoto no Toshiyori Ason 源俊頼朝臣
75. Fujiwara no Mototoshi 藤原基俊
76. Lay Novice of Hosshō-ji Temple, former Kampaku and Chancellor of the Realm 法性寺入道前関白太政大臣
77. Retired Emperor Sutoku 崇徳院
78. Minamoto no Kanemasa 源兼昌
79. Sakyō no Daibu Akisuke 左京大夫顕輔
80. Taikenmon In no Horikawa 待賢門院堀河
81. Go-Tokudaiji Sa-daijin 後徳大寺左大臣
82. Dōin Hōshi 道因法師
83. Master of the Empress Dowager's Household Toshinari 皇太后宮大夫俊成
84. Fujiwara no Kiyosuke Ason 藤原清輔朝臣
85. Shun'e Hōshi 俊恵法師
86. Saigyō Hōshi 西行法師
87. Jakuren Hōshi 寂蓮法師
88. Attendant to Empress Kōka 皇嘉門院別当
89. Princess Shokushi 式子内親王
90. Attendant to Empress Inpu 殷富門院大輔
91. Gokyōgoku Regent and former Chancellor of the Realm 後京極摂政前太政大臣
92. Nijō In no Sanuki 二条院讃岐
93. Kamakura U-daijin 鎌倉右大臣
94. Sangi Masatsune 参議雅経
95. Saki no Daisōjō Jien 前大僧正慈円
96. Lay Novice and former Chancellor of the Realm 入道前太政大臣
97. Acting Chūnagon Sadaie 権中納言定家
98. Ju-nii Ietaka 従二位家隆
99. Retired Emperor Go-Toba 後鳥羽院
100. Retired Emperor Juntoku 順徳院
English translations
The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu has been translated into many languages and into English many times.
English translations include:
F. V. Dickins, Hyaku-Nin-Isshu, or Stanzas by a Century of Poets (1866)
Clay MacCauley, Hyakunin-isshu (Single Songs of a Hundred Poets), TASJ, 27(4), 1–152 (1899)
Tom Galt, The Little Treasury of One Hundred People, One Poem Each (1982)
Joshua S. Mostow, Pictures of the Heart: The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image (1996)
Peter MacMillan, One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse (2008; Penguin Classics, revised edition 2018)
Emiko Miyashita and Michael Dylan Welch, 100 Poets: Passions of the Imperial Court (2008)
Hideaki Nakano, WAKA WAKA 100 - Hyakunin Isshu (2023)
Other Hyakunin Isshu anthologies
Many other anthologies compiled along the same criteria—one hundred poems by one hundred poets—include the words hyakunin isshu, notably the World War II-era Aikoku Hyakunin Isshu (愛国百人一首), or One Hundred Patriotic Poems by One Hundred Poets. Also important is Kyōka Hyakunin Isshu (狂歌百人一首), a series of parodies of the original Ogura collection.
Card game
Teika's anthology is the basis for the card game of karuta, which has been popular since the Edo period.[12]
Many forms of playing games with Hyakunin Isshu exist in Japan, such as Uta-garuta, the basis for competitive karuta (kyōgi karuta).[13]
^Carpenter, John T. (2008). Designed for Pleasure: The World of Edo Japan in Prints and Paintings, 1680-1860. Asia Society and Japanese Art Society of America. p. 106.
^Fujiwara, Teika (2018). One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse. Translated by MacMillan, Peter. Penguin UK. ISBN9780141395944.
^The modern romanization of the last line would be miyuki matanamu (“await the emperor's pilgrimage”); by applying the historical kana orthography, matanamu would be pronounced matanan.
^Kamens, Edward; Kamens, Howard I. (1997). Utamakura, Allusion, and Intertextuality in Traditional Japanese Poetry (illustrated ed.). Yale University Press. p. 102. ISBN9780300068085.
One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Translation of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, Peter McMillan, foreword by Donald Keene. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. ISBN978-0-231-14398-1
One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse, Peter McMillan. London: Penguin Classics, 2018. ISBN9780141395937
100 Poets: Passions of the Imperial Court, Emiko Miyashita and Michael Dylan Welch, translators. Tokyo: PIE Books, 2008. ISBN978-4-89444-757-8 This book is also available as an iPad/iPhone application.
