The Six Poetry Immortals — Ariwara no Narihira and Ono no Komachi, Six Figures Who Became Symbols of Heian Love

What the “Six Poetry Immortals” Are

The Six Poetry Immortals (rokkasen) are the six poets named by Ki no Tsurayuki in the Kana Preface of the Kokin Wakashū:

1. Bishop Henjō (816-890)
2. Ariwara no Narihira (825-880)
3. Fun’ya no Yasuhide (dates unknown)
4. Kisen the priest (dates unknown)
5. Ono no Komachi (dates unknown)
6. Ōtomo no Kuronushi (dates unknown)

All active in the late 9th century, one generation before the compilation of the Kokinshū. From Tsurayuki’s viewpoint they are “the elder generation,” and though the Kana Preface passes somewhat sharp judgments, their existence itself was valued as the prehistory of the Kokinshū.

The word “kasen” (poetry immortals) means “sages of poetry”; in later Heian, paintings and hanging scrolls bearing the names of the Six Poetry Immortals were made — they were deified to that degree.

Ariwara no Narihira — the Poet of Love, and the Hero of the Tales of Ise

Background and Career

Ariwara no Narihira was born in 825 (Tenchō 2) and died in 880 (Gangyō 4). Grandson of Emperor Heizei, the fifth son of Prince Abo. Though of imperial lineage, he was demoted to subject status for political reasons and given the surname “Ariwara.”

His noble status was middling, but he was beautiful and gifted in poetry, and many traditions about affairs with women remain. It can also be interpreted that in fact he lived an unfortunate life amid the political rise of the Fujiwara clan.

Representative Poem 1: The Autumn Leaves of the Tatsuta River (Kokinshū vol. 5, 294)

“Chihayaburu / kamiyo mo kikazu / Tatsutagawa / karakurenai ni / mizu kukuru to wa”

• chihayaburu — pillow-word for “kami” (gods)
• kamiyo mo kikazu — not even heard of in the age of the gods
• Tatsutagawa — Tatsuta River, famous for autumn leaves in Nara
• karakurenai — the deep crimson brought from Kara (=China)
• mizu kukuru to wa — to tie-dye the water in red

A scene where autumn leaves cover the surface of the river, exaggerated as “not even heard of in the age of the gods, that the water of a river would be tie-dyed in red.” Representative of the brilliance of color, the technique of exaggeration, Narihira’s showy style.

The Tales of Ise, section 106, says this was composed and set to a screen painting in the presence of Fujiwara no Kōshi (empress of Emperor Seiwa, said to be Narihira’s love).

Representative Poem 2: The Moon and Cherry Blossoms (Kokinshū vol. 1, 53)

“Yo no naka ni / taete sakura no / nakariseba / haru no kokoro wa / nodokekaramashi”

If in this world there were no cherry blossoms at all, the heart of spring would be tranquil. A paradox: because there are cherries, the heart of spring is restless. A representative paradoxical poem of Narihira.

Modern gloss: “If there were no cherries, spring would be spent more calmly (but there are cherries, so the heart is not calm)” — a delicate way to express love of cherry through negation.

Representative Poem 3: The Morning of Parting (Kokinshū vol. 15, 747)

“Tsuki ya aranu / haru ya mukashi no / haru naranu / waga mi hitotsu wa / moto no mi ni shite”

• tsuki ya aranu — is the moon not (the moon of before)?
• haru ya mukashi no haru naranu — is the spring not the spring of old?
• waga mi hitotsu wa moto no mi ni shite — only my body is the same as before

Alone under the same moon after his beloved (said to be Empress Kōshi) has gone. Of the “moon, spring, self,” only he has not changed, and yet the whole world has changed — this famous poem condenses the loss of love to the utmost.

It is also the central poem of Tales of Ise, section 4.

Relation to the Tales of Ise

The Tales of Ise (compiled in the early 10th century) is a poem-tale in 125 sections summarizing the romantic career of the protagonist “the man” (=modeled on Narihira). It is made of Narihira’s actual poems + tale-style headnotes.

The Tales of Ise did much to make the legend of Narihira:

• Each section begins “Once, there was a man…”
• Legends of his romances with women — Empress Kōshi, the Ise Priestess, the journey east, and so on
• The poem near death “Tsui ni yuku / michi to wa kanete / kikishikado / kinō kyō to wa / omowazarishi wo” — “I had heard that this is the road we finally take, but I did not think it would be yesterday-today” — Narihira’s death-verse

Narihira is at once a historical person and, as the hero of the Tales of Ise, deified. Later Hikaru Genji of The Tale of Genji also has a side modeled on Narihira.

Ono no Komachi — the Woman Poet of Legendary Beauty

Career — a Poet Wrapped in Mystery

Ono no Komachi was a woman poet active in the late 9th century. Her dates, background, even her existence are all uncertain. Beyond “a woman of the Ono clan,” there is no firm historical source.

By tradition:

• Perhaps a kōi (a lower-rank consort) of Emperor Ninmyō (833-850)
• Praised as a peerless beauty
• In old age fell into ruin and became an aged beggar (this is a later legend)

Eighteen of her poems are collected in the Kokinshū. Tsurayuki in the Kana Preface said: “Aware naru yō ni te, tsuyokarazu. Iwaba, yoki onna no nayameru tokoro aru ni nitari” (Moving in a sad way, but not strong. As if, one might say, resembling a beautiful woman in distress)

This is a sharp critique, but at the same time it recognizes that Komachi’s poems express “a beautiful woman’s distress.”

Representative Poem 1: Cherry and Time (Kokinshū vol. 2, 113)

“Hana no iro wa / utsurini keri na / itazura ni / waga mi yo ni furu / nagame seshi ma ni”

• hana no iro wa utsurini keri na — the flowers’ color has faded
• itazura ni — in vain
• waga mi yo ni furu — my body lingers in the world (kakekotoba: “furu” = “to pass (time)” + “to fall (rain)”)
• nagame seshi ma ni — while gazing (kakekotoba: “nagame” = “gaze” + “long rain”)

The scene of cherry color fading and her own aging are overlaid through the kakekotoba of “furu (pass/fall)” and “nagame (gaze/long rain).” The feeling of a woman who ages while in the anguish of love is condensed — one of the peaks of Heian waka.

Also selected as Hyakunin Isshu No. 9, one of the Kokinshū poems best known to modern Japanese.

Representative Poem 2: Dream and Reality (Kokinshū vol. 12, 552)

“Omoitsutsu / nureba ya hito no / mietsuran / yume to shiriseba / samezaramashi wo”

(Note: There is confusion in the Kokinshū attributing this poem also to Tsurayuki, but it is generally known as one of Komachi’s representative poems.)

Was it because I fell asleep still thinking that he appeared (in my dream)? If I had known it was a dream, I would not have awakened. Delicately inscribes the lingering feeling after a dream of love.

Representative Poem 3: The Autumn Moon and Grief (Kokinshū vol. 4, 187)

“Wabinureba / mi wo ukikusa no / ne wo taete / sasou mizu araba / inamu to zo omou”

Since I have grown weary, I shall let my body loose like a floating weed with severed roots — if water invites me, I will go with it. A fatalistic state of mind — worn out by love, willing to be swept away — the destined feeling of a Heian woman.

The Komachi Legend

The real Komachi is almost unknown, but from the middle Heian period onward, the legend of a peerless beauty grew:

• The hundred-night visits of Major Fukakusa — a legend that Major Fukakusa loved Komachi, made a promise of a hundred nights of visits, and died frozen on the 99th (Tamatsukuri Komachi Sōsuisho)
• The aged Komachi — paintings depicting Komachi as ugly in old age after her beauty (as in the Nine Aspects picture)
• The nō plays Kayoi Komachi and Sotoba Komachi — Zeami and others treat the theme of Komachi’s old age

These legends became, through the medieval and early modern eras, an important subject of Japanese culture as embodiments of impermanence, “the splendor and ruin of a beauty.”

Bishop Henjō (816-890)

Henjō was a grandson of Emperor Kanmu and the son of Yoshimine no Yasuyo. His lay name was Yoshimine no Munesada. He served Emperor Ninmyō as a close attendant, and when the emperor died (850) he took the tonsure, later becoming Tendai zasu (highest office).

Tsurayuki’s Kana Preface is sharp: “In form well done, but little sincerity.”

Representative Poem (Kokinshū vol. 4, 226)

“Amatsukaze / kumo no kayoiji / fukitojiyo / otome no sugata / shibashi todomen”

• Heavenly wind, close the pathway of clouds
• Let me hold the figure of the maidens (=the Gosechi dancers) a little longer

Composed at the sight of the Gosechi dance (a court rite in November), grandly praying “close the paths of the clouds in heaven.” Hyakunin Isshu No. 12.

Kisen the Priest

Kisen is a hermit-monk said to have lived at Mount Uji. Details of his existence are unknown. Only one poem of his survives in the Kokinshū.

“Waga io wa / miyako no tatsumi / shika zo sumu / yo wo ujiyama to / hito wa iu nari” (Kokinshū vol. 18, 983)

• My hermitage lies southeast of the capital
• I live where deer inhabit; people call this mountain “the mountain of ushi (misery, kake to Uji)”

The kakekotoba of “uji (=melancholy / Uji)” overlays Mount Uji and the mountain of misery. Hyakunin Isshu No. 8. A hermit’s plain state of mind inscribed through kakekotoba.

Fun’ya no Yasuhide

Fun’ya no Yasuhide was a low-rank official, roughly of sixth rank. Served as governor of Mikawa and other posts. Six poems remain in the Kokinshū.

Representative Poem (Kokinshū vol. 5, 249)

“Fuku kara ni / aki no kusaki no / shiorureba / mube yamakaze wo / arashi to iuran”

• As it blows, the autumn grass and trees wither
• No wonder they call the mountain wind “storm” (rough wind)

A Chinese-character decomposition game: “mountain wind” = “storm” (山 + 風 = 嵐). Hyakunin Isshu No. 22. A show of clever wordplay (close to the mononoka poem style).

Tsurayuki’s critique “words skilled, form not equal to substance” points to this technique-over-substance quality.

Ōtomo no Kuronushi

Ōtomo no Kuronushi is said to be a magnate of Ōmi (present-day Shiga). His dates and background are unknown. Three poems remain in the Kokinshū.

Representative Poem (Kokinshū vol. 8, 899)

“Omoi idete / koishiki toki wa / hatsu-kari no / nakite wataru to / hito wa shirazu ya”

When I recall you and grow full of longing, do you not know that I cross the sky crying, like a first goose (which comes from the north)?

Tsurayuki’s critique “the form is low” is sharp, but from a modern view it looks a plain, warm poem.

Significance of the Six Poetry Immortals

1. Establishment of the Concept of “Poet”

Before the Six Poetry Immortals, the poets of the Man’yōshū (Hitomaro, Akahito, Okura) were known as “poets,” but the sense was rather “the author of the collected poems.” The Six Poetry Immortals were the first generation with the consciousness of “having devoted their lives to poetry.”

2. Contrast of Individuality

The six styles clearly differ:

• Narihira — passion, paradox, gorgeousness
• Komachi — introspection, kakekotoba, femininity
• Henjō — ordination, ritual, grandeur
• Kisen — hermit, plain, technique
• Yasuhide — wordplay, cleverness
• Kuronushi — plain, familiar

This foreshadows the “coexistence of multiple aesthetics” of the Kokinshū.

3. Centering of Love Poetry

Especially with Narihira and Komachi, “love” was established as a central theme of waka. This differs from the Man’yōshū’s “broad themes including love,” and supports one of the two pillars — the four seasons and love — of the Heian.

4. Deification and Storyfication

Narihira through the Tales of Ise, Komachi through Tamatsukuri Komachi Sōsuisho and nō plays, were transformed from historical persons to protagonists of stories. This is the beginning of the deification of poets in Japanese culture. Later Saigyō and Bashō share the same fate.

Toward the Next Article

After the Kokinshū, imperial anthologies — Gosen (951), Shūi (1005-07), Goshūi (1086), Kin’yō (1127), Shika (1151), Senzai (1188) — were compiled between the 10th and 13th centuries, and new poets are added to each. In particular, Fujiwara no Kintō’s forerunner of the Hyakunin Isshu, Sanjūrokunin-sen, Izumi Shikibu’s passionate love poems, and Priest Nōin’s travel poems — the next article traces the 300 years from after the Six Poetry Immortals to the Shinkokin Wakashū (1205).