Chososhi Kinoshita - Chososhi Kinoshita

Japanese: 木下長嘯子 - きのした・ちょうしょうし

Year of death: 15th June 1649 (24th July 1649)
Year of birth: Eiroku 12 (1569)
A poet of the early Edo period. His given name was Katsutoshi, his pen name was Okura, and his pen names included Chosho, Kyohaku, Matsuhora, Tozan, Tenkai, and Nishiyama Shoo. He was born in Owari as the eldest son of Kinoshita Iesada, the older brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Kita no Mandokoro (Kodaiin). He served Hideyoshi from his youth, and in 1587 (Tensho 15), at the age of 19, he became the lord of Tatsuno Castle in Harima Province (Hyogo Prefecture). He followed Hideyoshi and participated in the Siege of Odawara and the Bunroku Invasion. In 1594 (Bunroku 3), he was given a fief of 62,000 koku as the lord of Obama Castle in Wakasa Province (Fukui Prefecture). In 1600, during the Battle of Sekigahara, he was ordered by Toyotomi Hideyori to look after Fushimi Castle, but when Ishida Mitsunari raised an army, he abandoned his duties. He was held responsible for this, the castle grounds were confiscated, and he was demoted. He then retired to Higashiyama, Kyoto, at the age of 32. His mountain villa in Higashiyama was large and luxurious, with the support of Kita no Mandokoro, and many literary figures frequently came and went. For about 10 years in his later years, he moved to Nishiyama and lived in seclusion in Oshio, Kyoto. He came to occupy a key position in the Kyoto literary world through his wide-ranging connections with people of all stripes, including his waka teacher Hosokawa Yusai, his fellow student Matsunaga Teitoku, Confucian scholars Fujiwara Seika, Hayashi Razan, and Hori Kyoan, the tea master Kobori Enshu, and the elegant Anrakuan Sakuden. His style of poetry was characterized by a free and fresh expression of himself that broke away from the traditional Nijo school, and his poems and prose are included in the family anthology "Kyohakushu," 10 volumes (1649), edited by his disciples Utai Koki, Utai Keiki, and Yamamoto Harumasa. The conservative Jinkyubo wrote "Nankyohakushu" (1650) to criticize it, but the situation was resolved with the publication of "Kyohakushinhyo" (author and publication date unknown). Shimokawabe Choryu was a good acquaintance of Choshoshi's poetry, and praised him highly as having "an unparalleled voice of the golden jewels" (preface to "Rinba Ruijinshu"), and Matsuo Basho was strongly influenced by his Japanese prose. <References> Usami Kihachi, "The Life of Kinoshita Choshoshi" ("Research on the History of Waka"), Ishikawa Jun, "Miscellaneous Notes on Choshoshi" ("Edo Literature Handbook")

(Yoichi Iikura)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

没年：慶安2.6.15(1649.7.24)
生年：永禄12(1569)
江戸前期の歌人。名は勝俊,字は大蔵,号は長嘯,挙白,松洞,東山,天哉,西山樵翁など。豊臣秀吉の北政所(高台院)の兄木下家定の嫡男として尾張に生まれる。少年時代から秀吉に仕え,天正15(1587)年,19歳にして播磨国(兵庫県)竜野城主となる。秀吉に従って小田原攻め,文禄の役などに参加。文禄3(1594)年,若狭国(福井県)小浜城主として6万2000石を領する。慶長5(1600)年,関ケ原の戦において豊臣秀頼の命により伏見城の留守を預かったが,石田三成の挙兵をみて任務を放棄,この責任を問われて城地を没収され失脚,京都東山の地に遁世したのは32歳であった。東山の山荘は北政所の援助により広大にして豪華で,多くの文人たちがひんぱんに出入りした。晩年の10年ほどは西山に移り洛西小塩に閑居した。和歌の師の細川幽斎,幽斎同門の松永貞徳,儒学者の藤原惺窩,林羅山,堀杏庵,茶人小堀遠州,風雅人安楽庵策伝など,堂上地下,武士町人の別を問わない広範な交流によって京都雅文壇のキーパースン的地位を占めることになった。その歌風は,旧来の二条派を脱出した自由で清新な自己表現をするところに特色があり,その歌文は,門人打它公軌,打它景軌,山本春正の編になる家集『挙白集』10巻(1649)に収められている。保守派の尋旧坊は『難挙白集』(1650)を著してこれを非難したが,『挙白心評』(著者刊年未詳)が出て事態を収めた。下河辺長流は長嘯子の歌の良き理解者で「たぐひなき金玉のこゑ」(『林葉累塵集』序)と絶賛し,松尾芭蕉はその和文に強く影響された。<参考文献>宇佐美喜八「木下長嘯子の生涯」(『和歌史に関する研究』),石川淳「長嘯子雑記」(『江戸文学掌記』)

(飯倉洋一)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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