Fujiwara no Kanesuke was a middle Heian

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

 waka

Waka (poetry)

Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...

poet and Japanese nobleman. He is designated as a member of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals

Thirty-six Poetry Immortals

The Thirty-six Poetry Immortals are a group of Japanese poets of the Nara, Asuka and Heian periods selected by Fujiwara no Kintō as exemplars of Japanese poetic ability. There are five female poets among them...

 and one of his poems is included in the famous anthology Hyakunin Isshu

Hyakunin Isshu

is a traditional anthology style of compiling Japanese waka poetry where each contributor writes one poem for the anthology. Literally, it translates to "one hundred people, one poem [each]"...

. Kanesuke's poems are included in several imperial poetry anthologies, including Kokin Wakashū and Gosen Wakashū. A personal poetry collection known as the Kanesukeshū also remains.

His great-granddaughter was Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu

Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court during the Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Tale of Genji, written in Japanese between about 1000 and 1012...

, author of the well-known monogatari

Monogatari

is a literary form in traditional Japanese literature, an extended prose narrative tale comparable to the epic. Monogatari is closely tied to aspects of the oral tradition, and almost always relates a fictional or fictionalized story, even when retelling a historical event...

 the Tale of Genji.

External links

• E-text of his poems in Japanese