Utaawase
Encyclopedia
, poetry contests or waka
matches, are a distinctive feature of the Japanese literary landscape
from the Heian period
. Significant to the development of Japanese poetics
, the origin of group composition such as renga
, and a stimulus to approaching waka as a unified sequence and not only as individual units, the lasting importance of the poetic output of these occasions may be measured also from their contribution to the imperial anthologies: 92 poems of the Kokinshū and 373 of the Shin Kokinshū
were drawn from utaawase.
court. The items matched might be , , sweet flag
or iris
roots, flowers, or poems
. The last took on new seriousness at the end of the ninth century with the , the source of over fifty poems in the Kokinshū.
The twenty-eight line diary
of the devotes two of its lines to the musical accompaniments, gagaku
and saibara
, and four to the costumes
worn by the former Emperor
, other participants and the attendants who carried in the , the trays with low miniature "sand-bar beach" coastal landscapes used in mono-awase. At the end of the contest, the poems were arranged around the suhama, those about mist being placed in the hills, those on the bush-warbler upon a blossoming bough, those on the cuckoo
upon sprigs of unohana
, and the remainder onto braziers hanging from miniature cormorant-fishing
boats.
'First Geese' could provoke much hilarity. The number of rounds varied by the occasion; of 1201 was the longest of all recorded utaawase.
served as judge, and when one of his own offerings was matched against a superior poem by Ki no Tsurayuki
, commented 'how can an imperial poem lose?', awarding himself a draw. Fujiwara Shunzei served as judge some twenty-one times. During the of 1192, he awarded victory to a poem with the line 'fields of grass', observing its reference to a previous work
and commenting 'it is shocking for anyone to write poetry without knowing Genji
. Judging another contest he wrote how, upon recital, there must be 'allure (en) and profundity (yūgen) ... an aura of its own
that hovers about the poem much as a veil of haze among cherry blossoms
, the belling of a stag before the autumn moon, the scent of springtime in the plum blossom, or the autumn rain in the crimson leaves upon the peak'.
are illustrated records of actual poetry contests or depictions of imaginary contests such as between the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals
. The fourteenth-century depicts a group of craftsmen
who held a poetry contest in emulation of those of the nobility. With a sutra
transcriber as judge, a physician, blacksmith, sword polisher
, shrine maiden
and fisherman competed against a master of Yin and Yang
, court carpenter
, founder, gambler and merchant, each composing two poems on the themes of the moon
and love
.
, was a development in which the contestant 'played a kind of poetic chess with himself', selecting the topics, writing all the poems, and submitting the results to a judge for comment. is a satirical work of the early fifteenth century in which the Twelve Animals of the Zodiac hold a poetry competition on the themes of the moon and love; other animals headed by a stag and a badger gate-crash the gathering and the badger causes so much outrage that he barely escapes alive; disgraced, he retreats to a cave where he writes poems with a brush made of his own hair.
Waka (poetry)
Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...
matches, are a distinctive feature of the Japanese literary landscape
Japanese literature
Early works of Japanese literature were heavily influenced by cultural contact with China and Chinese literature, often written in Classical Chinese. Indian literature also had an influence through the diffusion of Buddhism in Japan...
from the 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...
. Significant to the development of Japanese poetics
Poetics
Aristotle's Poetics is the earliest-surviving work of dramatic theory and the first extant philosophical treatise to focus on literary theory...
, the origin of group composition such as renga
Renga
' is a genre of Japanese collaborative poetry. A renga consists of at least two or stanzas, usually many more. The opening stanza of the renga, called the , became the basis for the modern haiku form of poetry....
, and a stimulus to approaching waka as a unified sequence and not only as individual units, the lasting importance of the poetic output of these occasions may be measured also from their contribution to the imperial anthologies: 92 poems of the Kokinshū and 373 of the Shin Kokinshū
Shin Kokinshu
The , also known in abbreviated form as the or even simply the Shin Kokin, is the eighth in a series of 21 imperial anthologies of waka poetry compiled by the Japanese court, beginning with the Kokin Wakashū circa 905 CE and ending with the Shinshokukokin Wakashū circa 1439 CE...
were drawn from utaawase.
Social context
, the matching of pairs of things by two sides, was one of the pastimes of the HeianHeian 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...
court. The items matched might be , , sweet flag
Sweet Flag
Acorus calamus, commonly known as Sweet Flag or Calamus and erroneously as "rush" or "sedges", is a plant from the Acoraceae family, in the genus Acorus. It is a tall perennial wetland monocot with scented leaves and more strongly scented rhizomes...
or iris
Iris (plant)
Iris is a genus of 260-300species of flowering plants with showy flowers. It takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species...
roots, flowers, or poems
Waka
Waka may refer to:* Waka , canoes of the Māori of New Zealand**Waka taua, a Maori war canoe* Waka , a genre of Japanese poetry* Waka , a proposed replacement for HTTP* Waka music, a musical genre from Yorubaland of Nigeria...
. The last took on new seriousness at the end of the ninth century with the , the source of over fifty poems in the Kokinshū.
The twenty-eight line diary
Poetic diary
Poetic diary, or Japanese poetic diary, is an English term coined by the Princeton University scholar/translator Earl Miner in his book, Japanese Poetic Diaries. In Japan, poetic diaries date back to Ki no Tsurayuki's Tosa Nikki compiled in roughly 935...
of the devotes two of its lines to the musical accompaniments, gagaku
Gagaku
Gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto for several centuries. It consists of three primary repertoires:#Native Shinto religious music and folk songs and dance, called kuniburi no utamai...
and saibara
Saibara
Saibara is a genre of accompanied vocal Japanese court music that existed during the Heian period in the Nara and Kyoto regions. It draws from traditional folk music of the Nara period...
, and four to the costumes
Japanese clothing
The various traditional ethnic garments worn in Japan are still in use, they are mainly worn for ceremonies and special occasions- like weddings or festivals. Both men and women favor "western-style" clothing in their daily lives- due to the comparative convenience and the influx of global...
worn by the former Emperor
Emperor Uda
was the 59th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Uda's reign spanned the years from 887 through 897.-Name and legacy:Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was or Chōjiin-tei....
, other participants and the attendants who carried in the , the trays with low miniature "sand-bar beach" coastal landscapes used in mono-awase. At the end of the contest, the poems were arranged around the suhama, those about mist being placed in the hills, those on the bush-warbler upon a blossoming bough, those on the cuckoo
Lesser Cuckoo
The Lesser Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kenya, North Korea, South Korea, Laos, Malawi, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka,...
upon sprigs of unohana
Deutzia
Deutzia is a genus of about 60 species of shrubs in the family Hydrangeaceae, native to eastern and central Asia , and Central America and also Europe. By far the highest species diversity is in China, where 50 species occur.The species are shrubs ranging from 1–4 m in height...
, and the remainder onto braziers hanging from miniature cormorant-fishing
Cormorant Fishing on the Nagara River
has played a vital role in the history of the city of Gifu, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Throughout its long history, it evolved from a means to live, to a profitable industry, to a major tourist draw...
boats.
Format
Elements common to utaawase were a sponsor; two sides of , the Left and the Right, the former having precedence, and usually the poets; a series of in which a poem from each side was matched; a who declared or , and might add ; and the provision of , whether handed out at the beginning or distributed in advance. In general, anything that might introduce a discordant tone was avoided, while the evolving rules were 'largely prohibitive rather than prescriptive', admissible vocabulary largely limited to that of the Kokinshū, with words from the Man'yōshū liable to be judged archaism. Use of a phrase such as harugasumi, 'in the spring haze', when the topic was the autumnalKigo
is a word or phrase associated with a particular season, used in Japanese poetry. Kigo are used in the collaborative linked-verse forms renga and renku, as well as in haiku, to indicate the season referred to in the stanza...
'First Geese' could provoke much hilarity. The number of rounds varied by the occasion; of 1201 was the longest of all recorded utaawase.
Judgement
The judge was usually a poet of renown. During the Teijiin Poetry Contest the former EmperorEmperor Uda
was the 59th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Uda's reign spanned the years from 887 through 897.-Name and legacy:Before his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was or Chōjiin-tei....
served as judge, and when one of his own offerings was matched against a superior poem by Ki no Tsurayuki
Ki no Tsurayuki
was a Japanese author, poet and courtier of the Heian period.Tsurayuki was a son of Ki no Mochiyuki. He became a waka poet in the 890s. In 905, under the order of Emperor Daigo, he was one of four poets selected to compile the Kokin Wakashū, an anthology of poetry.After holding a few offices in...
, commented 'how can an imperial poem lose?', awarding himself a draw. Fujiwara Shunzei served as judge some twenty-one times. During the of 1192, he awarded victory to a poem with the line 'fields of grass', observing its reference to a previous work
Honkadori
In Japanese poetry, is an allusion within a poem, to an older poem which would be generally recognized by its potential readers. Honkadori possesses qualities of yūgen and in Japanese art. The concept emerged in the 12th century during the Kamakura period...
and commenting 'it is shocking for anyone to write poetry without knowing Genji
The Tale of Genji
is a classic work of Japanese literature attributed to the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu in the early 11th century, around the peak of the Heian period. It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be...
. Judging another contest he wrote how, upon recital, there must be 'allure (en) and profundity (yūgen) ... an aura of its own
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
"The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" is a 1936 essay by German cultural critic Walter Benjamin, which has been influential across the humanities, and especially in the fields of cultural studies, media theory, architectural theory and art history...
that hovers about the poem much as a veil of haze among cherry blossoms
Cherry Blossoms
Cherry Blossoms is one of the oldest and largest international marriage agencies still in operation today. It was established in 1974 as a picture catalog, but has now switched entirely to a web-based format...
, the belling of a stag before the autumn moon, the scent of springtime in the plum blossom, or the autumn rain in the crimson leaves upon the peak'.
Utaawase-e
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...
. The fourteenth-century depicts a group of craftsmen
Japanese handicrafts
The many and varied traditional handicrafts of Japan are officially recognised and protected and, owing to the folk art movement, are much in demand. Some enjoy status as a meibutsu or regional specialty. Each craft demands a set of specialized skills...
who held a poetry contest in emulation of those of the nobility. With a sutra
Sutra
Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...
transcriber as judge, a physician, blacksmith, sword polisher
Japanese sword polishing
Sword polishing is part of Japanese swordsmithing where a blade is polished after forging. It gives the shining appearance and beauty to the sword.-Polishing:...
, shrine maiden
Miko
is a Japanese term that anciently meant a "female shaman, spirit medium" who conveyed oracles from kami , and currently means a "shrine maiden; virgin consecrated to a deity" who serves at Shinto shrines.-Word:...
and fisherman competed against a master of Yin and Yang
Yin and yang
In Asian philosophy, the concept of yin yang , which is often referred to in the West as "yin and yang", is used to describe how polar opposites or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Opposites thus only...
, court carpenter
Japanese carpentry
Japanese carpentry is distinguished by its advanced joinery and its finely-planed wood surfaces.-Schools of Carpentry:Though there is a core practice shared by all Japanese carpenters, defined by a vocabulary of tools and joints and a methodology of working, a carpenter will typically identify with...
, founder, gambler and merchant, each composing two poems on the themes of the moon
Tsukimi
or Otsukimi, literally moon-viewing, refers to Japanese festivals honoring the autumn moon. The celebration of the full moon typically takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month of the traditional Japanese lunisolar calendar; the waxing moon is celebrated on the 13th day of the ninth month...
and love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
.
Other offshoots
, practised by the likes of poet-priest SaigyōSaigyo
was a famous Japanese poet of the late Heian and early Kamakura period.-Biography:Born Satō Norikiyo in Kyoto to a noble family, he lived during the traumatic transition of power between the old court nobles and the new samurai warriors. After the start of the Age of Mappō , Buddhism was...
, was a development in which the contestant 'played a kind of poetic chess with himself', selecting the topics, writing all the poems, and submitting the results to a judge for comment. is a satirical work of the early fifteenth century in which the Twelve Animals of the Zodiac hold a poetry competition on the themes of the moon and love; other animals headed by a stag and a badger gate-crash the gathering and the badger causes so much outrage that he barely escapes alive; disgraced, he retreats to a cave where he writes poems with a brush made of his own hair.
See also
- WakaWakaWaka may refer to:* Waka , canoes of the Māori of New Zealand**Waka taua, a Maori war canoe* Waka , a genre of Japanese poetry* Waka , a proposed replacement for HTTP* Waka music, a musical genre from Yorubaland of Nigeria...
- RengaRenga' is a genre of Japanese collaborative poetry. A renga consists of at least two or stanzas, usually many more. The opening stanza of the renga, called the , became the basis for the modern haiku form of poetry....
- KigoKigois a word or phrase associated with a particular season, used in Japanese poetry. Kigo are used in the collaborative linked-verse forms renga and renku, as well as in haiku, to indicate the season referred to in the stanza...
- List of National Treasures of Japan (writings: Japanese books)
- Japanese aestheticsJapanese aestheticsThe modern study of a Japanese aesthetics in the Western sense only started a little over two hundred years ago. But, by the term Japanese aesthetic, we tend to mean not this modern study, but a set of ancient ideals that include wabi , sabi , and yûgen...