Modern masterpieces - Kindai Shuka

This is a book on waka poetry by Fujiwara Teika. It was originally written in 1209 (Shogen 3) at the request of Shogun Minamoto no Sanetomo (a sent copy). The main text is in the form of a message explaining the basics of waka poetry, with examples of excellent poems at the end. The main points of the book are to first clarify the basis for the innovations of the so-called modern Six Immortal Poets, such as Minamoto no Tsunenobu and Minamoto no Toshiyori, and the new trends of Teika and others in his younger days, through criticism of the history of waka poetry since Ki no Tsurayuki, and to urge that the "atmosphere of lingering emotion" seen in Ariwara no Narihira and Ono no Komachi from the "Kanpyō era" (the Six Immortal Poets period) should be the ideal, and to this end, the book develops a theory of "honkadori" (taking from original poems). The example poems were initially more than 20 poems by the Modern Six Immortal Poets, but were later replaced with more than 80 poems from the "Twenty-four Generations of Poets" (the Teika Eight Generations of Poets) (the handwritten version still exists), and also include versions sent from other sources, intermediate or composite versions, and other versions of different lineages.

[Shuichi Fukuda]

"Complete Works of Japanese Classical Literature 50: Collection of Poetry Essays" (1975, Shogakukan) edited by Haruo Fujihira et al. "Appreciation of Japanese Classical Literature 24: Collection of Medieval Criticism" (1976, Kadokawa Shoten) edited by Shuichi Fukuda et al.

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

藤原定家(ていか)の歌論書。元来1209年（承元3）将軍源実朝(さねとも)の求めに応じて書き贈ったもの（遣送本(けんそうぼん)）。本文は消息体で詠歌の心得を説き、末尾に秀歌例を付す。歌論の要点は初めに紀貫之(きのつらゆき)以来の和歌史批判を通して源経信(つねのぶ)、源俊頼(としより)らいわゆる近代六歌仙の革新や若き日の定家らの新風の根拠を明らかにし、かつ「寛平(かんぴょう)以往」（六歌仙時代）の在原業平(ありわらのなりひら)、小野小町にみられる「余情妖艶(ようえん)の体」を理想とせよといい、そのための方法として「本歌取(ほんかどり)」論を展開する。例歌は当初近代六歌仙のもの計20余首であったが、のちに『二十四代集』（定家八代抄）からの80余首と差し替え（自筆本が現存する）、また遣送本と、それとの中間もしくは合成形態とみられるものや、その他の系統の諸本がある。定家歌論の眼目の書。

［福田秀一］

『藤平春男他校注・訳『日本古典文学全集50　歌論集』（1975・小学館）』▽『福田秀一他編『鑑賞日本古典文学24　中世評論集』（1976・角川書店）』

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