Ariwara no Motokata

Japanese: 在原元方 - ありわらのもとかた

Years of birth: unknown. A poet of the Heian period. Grandson of Ariwara no Narihira and son of a master carpenter. It is said that he was adopted by Dainagon Fujiwara no Kunitsune, but his career is unclear. He often participated in poetry contests held by the Uta and Daigo courts, such as the Kanpei Goji Kokyu Utaawase, and 12 of his poems have been collected in the Kokinshu, suggesting his success as a poet. His works are characterized by innovative expressions based on intellectual ideas, and in particular, his poem "Spring has come within the year. Shall I call this year last year or this year?", which takes as its theme the discrepancy between the seasonal time of the beginning of spring within the year and the calendar date, is famous as the opening poem of the entire Kokinshu. A total of 33 poems have been collected in imperial anthologies. Only fragments of his family anthology, the Ariwara no Motokatashu, remain.

(Yamamoto Norio)

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

Japanese:

生年：生没年不詳
平安時代の歌人。在原業平の孫で棟梁の子。大納言藤原国経の猶子になったとも伝えられるが,その経歴はさだかでない。寛平御時后宮歌合など宇多・醍醐朝の歌合にしばしば出詠し,『古今集』には12首もの作が入集していることなどから,歌人としての活躍ぶりがうかがわれる。理知的な着想による斬新な表現に特徴があり,なかでも,年内立春という歳時と暦日のずれをとりあげて主題化した「年のうちに春は来にけりひととせを去年とや言はん今年とや言はん」の作は,『古今集』全巻の巻頭を飾る一首として有名である。勅撰集には計33首が入集。家集の『在原元方集』は断簡のみが現存する。

(山本登朗)

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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