The Hyakunin Isshu — Fujiwara no Teika's 100 Poems, 800 Years of Education and New Year Play

The Position of the Hyakunin Isshu

The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu is a poetry collection compiled by Fujiwara no Teika (1162-1241) around 1235 (Bunreki 2). Teika at around 74, 30 years after the Shinkokin Wakashū (1205), and around the same time as the Shinchokusen Wakashū (1235).

It selects representative poets from the 7th to the 13th century, 100 people and takes only one poem from each — the form of “one person, one poem.” 79 men + 21 women. 100 poems in total.

“Ogura” comes from Teika’s villa Ogura Sansō (near Arashiyama, present-day Kyoto). At the request of his son-in-law Utsunomiya Yoritsuna (in religion, Rensei), Teika selected 100 poems to be affixed to the shikishi-shaped (“colored paper”) panels of the sliding-door paintings of Yoritsuna’s villa. These spread as “colored-paper waka” (shikishi waka) and were later called the Hyakunin Isshu.

Criteria of Selection — Teika’s Perspective

There is a clear design to Teika’s selection:

1. Coverage of the Ages

The 100 poets span about 600 years from the 7th to the 13th century:

• The Man’yō era (7-8th c.): Emperors Tenji, Jitō, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, Yamabe no Akahito, Ōtomo no Yakamochi
• Early to mid Heian (9-11th c.): Ariwara no Narihira, Ono no Komachi, Ki no Tsurayuki, Izumi Shikibu, Murasaki Shikibu
• Late Heian to early Kamakura (12-13th c.): Saigyō, Princess Shokushi, Retired Emperor Go-Toba, Retired Emperor Juntoku, Teika himself

2. Diversity of Positions

• Emperors and Retired Emperors: Tenji, Jitō, Kōkō, Yōzei, Sutoku, Go-Toba, Juntoku (7)
• Aristocrats: men of the Fujiwara, Ariwara, and Minamoto clans
• Monks: Henjō, Kisen, Sosei, Dōin, Jakuren (5)
• Women: 21 (empresses, court ladies, nuns, etc.)
• A warrior: Minamoto no Yorimasa (No. 77) — a rare warrior-poet

3. Balance of Themes

• Love poems dominate (about 43) — the technique-rich love poems of the Heian
• Four seasons (about 32) — spring and autumn scenes
• Miscellaneous (about 20) — travel, elegy, current affairs
• Congratulatory (a few)

Love 40%, four seasons 30%, miscellaneous 30% — an arrangement condensing the structure of the imperial anthologies (Kokinshū, Shinkokinshū).

4. Teika Himself and His Father’s House

Teika places his father Fujiwara no Shunzei (No. 83) and himself Teika (No. 97), and his son Tameie’s grandson Fujiwara no Koretada’s lineage. There is also a side of celebrating the family lineage.

Representative Poems from the 100 — By Era

Introducing all 100 poems is too much, so representative poems by era are chosen.

Man’yō Era (Nos. 1-10)

No. 1 Emperor Tenji: “Aki no ta no / kariho no io no / toma wo arami / waga koromode wa / tsuyu ni nuretsutsu” A make-shift hut guarding the autumn-field harvest — the dew leaks through the rough-woven mats of the roof and soaks his sleeves. The emperor sings (by tradition) of the labor of the farmers. In fact this poem is not in the Man’yōshū and is presumed to be a later attribution.

No. 2 Empress Jitō: “Haru sugite / natsu kinikerashi / shirotae no / koromo hosu chō / Ame no Kaguyama” Spring is past, and summer must have come. Amenokaguyama (Nara), where they say the white robes are drying. Overlays a bright, healthy summer arrival on the landscape of Mount Kaguyama.

No. 3 Kakinomoto no Hitomaro: “Ashibiki no / yamadori no o no / shidario no / naganagashi yo wo / hitori kamo nemu” Like the long, drooping tail of the mountain-pheasant hanging so long, might I sleep alone through such a long night? A long jokotoba stands out.

No. 4 Yamabe no Akahito: “Tago no ura ni / uchi idete mireba / shirotae no / Fuji no takane ni / yuki wa furitsutsu” (A variant of Man’yōshū No. 318.) Coming out to Tago Bay, snow was falling on the high peak of Fuji. Akahito’s signature poem depicting great nature grandly.

The Six Poetry Immortals Era (Nos. 10-20)

No. 9 Ono no Komachi: “Hana no iro wa / utsurini keri na / itazura ni / waga mi yo ni furu / nagame seshi ma ni” The cherry’s color has faded, while my body has lingered (“furu” = “pass”/“fall”) in the world. A kakekotoba textbook example.

No. 17 Ariwara no Narihira: “Chihayaburu / kamiyo mo kikazu / Tatsutagawa / karakurenai ni / mizu kukuru to wa” Composes the autumn leaves of the Tatsuta River with the exaggeration “not even heard of in the age of the gods.”

No. 21 Sosei the Priest: “Ima kon to / iishibakari ni / nagatsuki no / ariake no tsuki wo / machi idetsuru kana” Because he said “I’ll come now,” I waited for the dawn moon of the ninth month. Waiting for a lover until dawn breaks.

Middle Heian (Nos. 25-45)

No. 36 Kiyowara no Fukayabu: “Natsu no yo wa / mada yoi nagara / akenuru wo / kumo no izuko ni / tsuki yadoruran” The short summer night — I thought it was still evening but it dawned. Where among the clouds does the moon lodge? The feel of the short night around the summer solstice.

No. 56 Izumi Shikibu: “Arazaramu / kono yo no hoka no / omoide ni / ima hitotabi no / au koto mogana” With the premonition of death, wanting to meet her lover once more. (The representative poem from the previous article.)

No. 57 Murasaki Shikibu: “Meguriaite / mishi ya sore to mo / wakanu ma ni / kumogakure ni shi / yowa no tsuki kana” Meeting again, before I could tell whether it was really her, she hid behind clouds — the moon of midnight. Overlays a moment’s reunion with a childhood friend on the moon hidden by clouds.

No. 62 Sei Shōnagon: “Yo wo komete / tori no sorane wa / hakaru to mo / yo ni Ōsaka no / seki wa yurusaji” Even if you cheat me by imitating the cock’s crow at night, the barrier of Ōsaka (a barrier that means “not meeting”) will never permit it. Alluding to the Chinese classic “cock crow and dog thief,” a witty court lady’s declining verse.

Late Heian to Shinkokin (Nos. 77-100)

No. 77 Emperor Sutoku: “Se wo hayami / iwa ni sekaruru / takigawa no / warete mo sue ni / awamu to zo omou” Like the water of a fast waterfall dammed by rocks, “though torn (=parted for a while), we will meet at last” — so we too, though parted, will finally meet. Emperor Sutoku was defeated in the Hōgen Disturbance and exiled to Sanuki. A poem said to have been composed in Sanuki, of tragic love.

No. 86 Priest Saigyō: “Nageke tote / tsuki ya wa mono wo / omowasuru / kakochi-gao naru / waga namida kana” Does the moon make me brood, saying “Grieve”? (No — but) I blame the moon for my tears.

No. 89 Princess Shokushi: “Tama no o yo / taenaba taene / nagara-eba / shinoburu koto no / yowari mozo suru” “O life, if you must break, break; if I live on, my hidden thing will weaken.”

No. 97 Kōn Chūnagon Teika (Teika himself): “Konu hito wo / Matsuho no ura no / yūnagi ni / yaku ya moshio no / mi mo kogare tsutsu” Waiting for the one who does not come, like the seaweed-salt burnt in the evening calm at Matsuho Bay — my body burns too.

No. 99 Retired Emperor Go-Toba: “Hito mo oshi / hito mo urameshi / ajikinaku / yo wo omou yue ni / mono omou mi wa” People are dear, and people are hateful. Because I think tastelessly of this world, I am one who broods. The complex feeling toward the world of Retired Emperor Go-Toba, defeated in the Jōkyū War (1221) and exiled to Oki.

No. 100 Retired Emperor Juntoku: “Momoshiki ya / furuki nokiba no / shinobu ni mo / nao amari aru / mukashi narikeri” Even looking at the ferns growing on the old eaves of the palace, the past still lingers overflowing. Retired Emperor Juntoku was Retired Emperor Go-Toba’s son, exiled to Sado after the Jōkyū War. That the yearning toward “momoshiki (=the palace)” is placed at the end of the 100 poems is suggestive.

The Intent of Selection — Why These 100?

1. Loyalty to and Elegy for the Imperial Line

The 100 poems begin with Emperors Tenji and Jitō and end with Retired Emperors Go-Toba and Juntoku. This is not chance — placing the defeated emperors (Go-Toba and Juntoku of the Jōkyū War) at the end intimates an elegy for the imperial line.

Teika had clashed with Retired Emperor Go-Toba, and yet still placed the retired emperor’s poem at No. 99 and his son Retired Emperor Juntoku’s poem at No. 100. A selection reconciling political antagonism and poetic respect.

2. Summary of the Shinkokin

About 25 poems in the 100 come from the Shinkokinshū (the largest of any imperial anthology). Teika condensed the peak of the Shinkokinshū he had edited into the 100.

3. Emphasis on Women Poets

21 women poets are included (20%). A high ratio for an anthology of the time. Teika consciously placed the importance of women poets (possibly the influence of Shunzei’s teaching).

4. Teika’s Household

• No. 17 Ariwara no Narihira — distant ancestor (the Ariwara are a distant relation to the Fujiwara-Teika household)
• No. 83 Fujiwara no Shunzei — father
• No. 97 Teika — himself
• No. 98 Fujiwara no Ietaka — Teika’s close friend

Celebration of the household is structurally embedded.

The Edo-Era Hyakunin Isshu — Karuta and Popularization

The Rise of Karuta (17th Century)

The Hyakunin Isshu came to be played as modern karuta (poem-karuta) in the early Edo period (early 17th century). Combined the game “karuta” (from Portuguese “carta”) introduced from the continent with the Japanese Hyakunin Isshu.

• Reading cards: the upper verse and author name of each of the 100 poems
• Grabbing cards: only the lower verse
• Play: the reader reads the upper verse; grabbers quickly take the lower verse

This expanded the Hyakunin Isshu from the accomplishment of the upper class to the game of the common people. Established during the Edo period as a New Year family game.

Edo-Era Commentaries

Many commentaries on the Hyakunin Isshu were published in the Edo era:

• Hyakunin Isshu Saijishō (Keichū, late 17th century) — scholarly annotation of a kokugaku scholar
• Hyakunin Isshu Kaikanshō (Kamo no Mabuchi, 18th century) — reinterpretation from the Man’yō style
• Hatsumanabi (Motoori Norinaga, late 18th century) — a plain beginner’s edition

After Meiji

School Education (Meiji to Shōwa)

In the school-education system after the Meiji Restoration, the Hyakunin Isshu became a required teaching material in the national-language textbook. That modern Japanese people can recite the Hyakunin Isshu is the influence of this school education.

Competitive Karuta (From the Taishō Era)

In the Taishō era (1912-1926), Hyakunin Isshu karuta was turned into a competition. The All-Japan Karuta Association (founded 1957) organized rules, and modern competitive karuta was established.

Competitive karuta:

• Memorizing 100 poems
• Two opponents lay out 50 chosen cards, 25 each
• On hearing the first sound of the upper verse, identifying the lower verse and grabbing quickly
• The All-Japan Championship is held every year at Ōmi Jingū (Ōtsu)

The “Chihayafuru” Phenomenon (from 2007)

Yuki Suetsugu’s manga Chihayafuru (2007-2022), themed on competitive karuta, was a huge hit. Live-action film adaptations (2016-2018) and animation (2011-2020) rapidly increased the population of competitive karuta players. Renewed interest of the young generation in the Hyakunin Isshu.

“Decisive Characters” and Memorization

In competitive karuta, “how many initial sounds identify the upper verse uniquely” is called the “kimariji” (decisive character):

• 1-character decisive (7 poems): “mu, su, me, fu, sa, ho, se” — uniquely identified by the first sound
• 2-character (42 poems)
• 3-character (37 poems)
• 4-character (6 poems)
• 5-character (2 poems)
• 6-character (6 poems)

Example: The only poem beginning with “mu” is “Murasame no / tsuyu mo mada hinu / maki no ha ni / kiri tachinoboru / aki no yūgure” (Jakuren, No. 87). As soon as “mu” is read, the opponent can grab the lower verse “kiri tachinoboru.”

Scholarly Evaluation of the Hyakunin Isshu

The Question of Teika’s Selection

In fact, “the Hyakunin Isshu = Teika’s selection” is tradition and not fully accepted scholarly consensus. Doubts:

• Teika’s own book (Meigetsuki) has no record of “Hyakunin Isshu”
• There is only the record of Yoritsuna’s sliding-door paintings (colored-paper form)
• Whether Teika completed the final form, or whether his descendants (Tameie, etc.) continued the editing after his death

Modern scholarship largely accepts: Teika drafted, and his son Tameie and others continued editing until it settled in the late 13th century.

“Ogura Hyakunin Isshu” and “Hyakunin Shūka”

In fact, there are two versions of Teika’s 100 selection:

• Hyakunin Shūka (Teika’s selection, c. 1235) — a variant containing 101 poems
• Ogura Hyakunin Isshu — with slight changes from the above (replacing Sutoku with Juntoku, etc.)

The modern Hyakunin Isshu is the latter. The variants are minute, but scholarly they are treated as separate anthologies.

The Cultural Significance of the Hyakunin Isshu

1. Foundation of Japanese Education

Most modern Japanese have memorized at least a few of the Hyakunin Isshu. This is a popular penetration of poetry rare even in world terms. The two layers of school education + New Year game have transmitted an 800-year education.

2. Survival of Women Poets

Because 21 women poets are included in the 100, the names of Izumi Shikibu, Murasaki Shikibu, Sei Shōnagon, Komachi, Princess Shokushi and others reach modern Japanese. In a male-centered history, this is important.

3. The Form “One Person, One Poem”

The number 100 and the constraint “one poem per person” demand the intellectual work of selecting the representative work of each poet. The high quality of Teika’s selection endures 800 years later.

4. Internalization of the Japanese Rhythm

Children who memorize the Hyakunin Isshu embody the 5-7-5-7-7 rhythm of 31 sounds. This becomes the transmission device of Japanese poetic rhythm.

Toward the Next Article

After Teika (died 1241) who compiled the Hyakunin Isshu, medieval waka gradually became conservative and stagnant. Meanwhile, the rhythm of waka (5-7-5-7-7) was split, and renga (linked poetry, composed by several people) developed, reaching an artistic peak with the 15th-century Sōgi. The hokku cut from the lower verse of renga becomes the independent haikai with Bashō in the 17th century. The next article traces the history of renga and haikai renga.