was a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 poet and musician of the early Heian period

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...

. His name is recorded in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, but there are no historical accounts of his pedigree. Some accounts say he was a son of Uda Tennō, Prince Atsumi, or that he was the fourth son of Daigo Tennō. There are also claims that he lived during the reign of Ninmyō Tennō.

He is said to have built his hermitage in a cave at Afusaka no Seki. Supposedly, on seeing the traffic on the road to the capital, he composed the following
For this he became known as . For three years while Minamoto no Hiromasa

Minamoto no Hiromasa

was a nobleman and gagaku musician in the Heian period. He was the eldest son of Prince Katsuakira and the grandson of Emperor Daigo. His mother was the daughter of Fujiwara no Tokihira....

 travelled to the capital regularly, Semimaru is said to have tutored him on the secret techniques of and . Contradictory legends say that he was a blind master of the biwa, and that he was a sighted common beggar. The above waka was famous enough to be included not only in the Gosen Wakashū but also in the Imperial anthologies Shin Kokin Wakashū and Zoku Kokin Wakashū.

In nō

NO

NO, N.O., No, or No. may refer to:* One of a pair of English words, yes and no, which signal confirmation or a negative response respectively.- Geographical locations :* Norway, ISO 3166-1 country code* Lake No, Sudan...

there is a song called "Sekimaru" that depicts the life of a woman named , who came to Afusaka no Seki and initially got into fights with Semimaru, but eventually both fell in love and later had a painful separation. It is unclear if the Semimaru of this tale is the same Semimaru as the poet of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

Relevant historical landmarks

in , Ōtsu

Otsu

Ōtsu, or Otsu, may refer to:* Ōtsu, Shiga, Japan** Ōtsu Station, a railway station on the Tōkaidō Main Line ** Ōtsu incident, an assassination attempt on Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Russia...

, Shiga Prefecture

Shiga Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan, which forms part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island. The capital is the city of Ōtsu.- History :Shiga was known as Ōmi Province or Gōshū before the prefectural system was established...

.

• A stone grave bearing the name of Semimaru in Miyazaki Village, Fukui Prefecture
  Fukui Prefecture
  is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.- Prehistory :The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded the Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis as well as an unnamed...
  
  .

Literature

• Peter MacMillan: One Hundred Poets, one Poem each: A Translation of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, Columbia University Press
  Columbia University Press
  Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by James D. Jordan and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fields of literary and cultural studies, history, social work, sociology,...
  
  , New York, NY, 2008 ISBN 978-0-231-14398-1