Masatetsu

A poetic monk from the early Muromachi period. His childhood name was Sonmyomaru (Sonmyomaru). His first name was Masakiyo. After he became a monk, he called himself Shotetsu. His hermitage name was Ryoshun, and he took the name Shogetsuan (or Shogetsuan). His pen name was Seigan. He was also called Toshoki because he served as a scribe at Tofukuji Temple. He is said to be the son of Komatsu Yasukiyo, or Hidekiyo, the lord of Kobeyama Castle in Oda-no-sho, Bitchu Province (Okayama Prefecture). Around 1395 (Oei 2), he attended a monthly poetry gathering held by the Shogunate Magistrate's Jibukata, where he met Tamemasa, Tamekuni, and Ryoshun, all of whom were members of the Reizei school, and this became the catalyst for his career as a poet. In 1414 (Oei 21), he became a monk, and shortly thereafter entered Tofukuji Temple, where he studied under Tozen Ken'ei. His talent as a poet was recognized when he published poems such as "Tonshoji Horaku: A Thousand Poems in a Day" in April of the same year, and he subsequently attended many poetry gatherings hosted by monks and court nobles, becoming an active poet. In 1432 (Eikyō 4), his hermitage caught fire, and the 20,000 poems he had written since the age of 20 were reduced to ashes, which shocked him. During the Eikyou period (1429-1441), he was shunned by Shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori, and as a result, his hermitage land was confiscated and he suffered the misfortune of not having a single poem included in the imperial anthology Shinshoku Kokinshu. After Yoshinori's death, he returned to the world of poetry, and in his later years, he lectured Shogun Yoshimasa on the Tale of Genji. His works include the Sokonshu, a private anthology of over 11,000 poems, annual poems from the 5th, 6th, and 9th years of Eikyou, as well as the Shochu Monogatari, a treatise on poetry, and the Nagusame-gusa, a travelogue. He was devoted to Fujiwara no Teika, and composed dreamy and mysterious poems such as "The mountain wind, which calls to mind the world as if it were a swan's life waiting for the evening,".

[Toshinori Inada]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

室町前期の歌僧。幼名は尊命丸（尊明丸）(そんみょうまる)。初名は正清(まさきよ)。出家以後正徹と称した。庵(あん)号は了俊(りょうしゅん)の号を受けて松月庵(しょうげつあん)（または招月庵）。字(あざな)は清巌(せいがん)。東福寺の書記を務めたので徹書記ともいう。備中国(びっちゅうのくに)（岡山県）小田庄(おだのしょう)の神戸(こうど)山城主小松康清(やすきよ)、または秀清の子息と伝えられる。1395年（応永2）ごろ幕府奉行治部方(じぶかた)の月次(つきなみ)歌会に出座し、冷泉(れいぜい)派の為尹(ためまさ)、為邦(ためくに)、了俊らと出会ったことが、歌人としてたつ契機となった。1414年（応永21）出家し、まもなく東福寺に入寺し、東漸(とうぜん)健易に師事した。同年4月の『頓証寺法楽(とんしょうじほうらく)一日千首』などに出詠して歌人としての力量を認められ、その後、公武僧の主催する多くの歌会に出座、精力的な歌壇活動を展開した。32年（永享4）に草庵が類火にあい、20歳以来の詠草二万数千首が灰燼(かいじん)に帰し衝撃を受けた。また永享(えいきょう)期（1429～41）には、将軍足利義教(あしかがよしのり)に忌避され、ために草庵領を没収されたり、勅撰(ちょくせん)集『新続古今集(しんしょくこきんしゅう)』に1首も入集されない悲運をなめた。義教の死後、歌壇に復帰し、晩年には将軍義政(よしまさ)に『源氏物語』を講じた。作品には、1万1000余首の家集『草根(そうこん)集』をはじめ、永享5、6、9年の年次(ねんじ)詠草があるほか、歌論書『正徹物語』、紀行『なぐさめ草』もある。藤原定家に傾倒し、「夕暮を待つに命を白鳥のとはにうき世をさそふ山風」のような夢幻的で縹渺(ひょうびょう)とした歌を詠じた。

［稲田利徳］

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