Hyakunin isshu　百人一首

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

Lit. Single poems by 100 poets. A collection of waka 和歌 compiled by Fujiwara no Teika 藤原定家 (also known as Sadaie, 1162-1241) between 1235-41. Because Teika reportedly copied out the poems on the sliding doors *fusuma 襖 at his Kyoto retreat near *Ogurayama 小倉山 the anthology gained the alternate title Ogura Hyakunin isshu 小倉百人一首. The poems are in rough chronological order beginning in the era of Emperor Tenji 天智 (626-71) and ending in the era of Emperor Juntoku 順徳 (1197-1242). The compilation reflects Teika's taste in its preponderance of autumn and love poems. Hyakunin isshu was the basis for a popular card game or utakaruta 歌カルタ played at New Year since the early Edo period. As such, the 100 poets and their poems have been familiar to most literate Japanese. Numerous Edo period anthologies copy Teika's 100 poets/100 poems format, anthologizing all manner of serious and comic poets and poems. Illustrations were also popular and varied , appearing often within printed books. Representations of the theme range from conservative portraits in the style of *kasen-e 歌仙絵, to illustrations of episodes associated with each poem, and even to *mitate-e 見立絵 transpositions featuring actors or beautiful women by *ukiyo-e 浮世絵 artists. Hishikawa Moronobu's 菱川師宣 (?-1694) Hyakunin isshuzou sanshou 百人一首像讃抄 of 1683 exemplifies the kasen-e type, while his Sugata-e hyakunin isshu 姿絵百人一首 of 1695 typifies the episodic variety.

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