The art of singing

During the Heian period, it was called "Uta no Michi," but since the Kamakura period, it has often been read aloud. From around the mid-Heian period, families of professional poets were born, but especially in the late Heian period, waka poetry as an art form in court society came to be valued, centering on the 100-poem poem based on a theme, and criticism of poetry contests (utaawase) also became more precise, with a strong awareness of what waka should be like in terms of both technique and ideals. Thus, the knowledge of waka studies based on this awareness and the system of study of it became the norm in each waka family, and came to be called wakado.Specifically, the Rokujo Genke family, which continued from Minamoto no Tsunenobu to Toshiyori to Shun'e, followed by the Rokujo Toke family, which continued from Fujiwara no Akisue to Akisuke to Kiyosuke, and the Mikohidari family, which continued from Fujiwara no Shunzei to Teika to Tameie and continues to the present day, appeared at the end of the Heian period (the Insei period).Among them, Fujiwara no Shunzei had a clear awareness of and respect for the "path of waka," and the Nijo family (whose lineage died out during the Nanboku-cho period) and Reizei family, which arose in the generation of Tameie's son, had a great influence on the waka world even into the Edo period. This is because Shunzei and Teika had a strong sense of classicism or traditionalism, but later their subjective awareness gradually disappeared, and peripheral knowledge of waka poetry and its standardization became prominent. This consciousness of waka poetry was to disintegrate in the Meiji era, when the trend of placing importance on the ego and individuality came into being.

[Haruo Fujihira]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

平安時代には「うたのみち」といわれたが、鎌倉時代以降は音読されることが多い。平安中期ごろから専門歌人としての家系が生じたが、とくに平安末期に入ると、題詠による百首歌を中心として宮廷社会における技芸としての和歌が重んじられるようになり、歌合(うたあわせ)批評も精細になって、技術と理念との両面にわたって、和歌はいかにあるべきかが強く意識されるようになる。そこで、その意識に基づく歌学の知識とその学習体系がそれぞれの和歌の家で規範化され、歌道とよばれるようになるのであるが、具体的には、源経信(つねのぶ)―俊頼(としより)―俊恵(しゅんえ)と続く六条源家(ろくじょうげんけ)、続いて藤原顕季(あきすえ)―顕輔(あきすけ)―清輔(きよすけ)およびそれ以後に及ぶ六条藤家(とうけ)、さらに藤原俊成(しゅんぜい)―定家(ていか)―為家(ためいえ)以下現代にまで続いた御子左(みこひだり)家が平安末期（院政期）に現れている。なかでも藤原俊成において「うたのみち」の意識とその尊重とは明確で、為家の子の代に生じた二条家（血統は南北朝期に絶える）と冷泉(れいぜい)家とは江戸時代にも及んで歌界に大きな影響を与えた。俊成、定家には強い古典主義ないし伝統主義の自覚があったからであるが、のちにはしだいに主体的な自覚が消滅し、末梢(まっしょう)的な歌学知識とその規範化が顕著になった。この歌道意識は明治時代に入って自我や個性を重視する風潮のなかで解体することになる。

［藤平春男］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例