Tanabe Fukumaro - Tanabe no Sakimaro

Japanese: 田辺福麻呂 - たなべのさきまろ

Years of birth: unknown. A poet of the Nara period. He was a low-ranking official and his reading history is unclear, but according to the Manyoshu (volume 18), he went to Ecchu Province in 748 as an emissary of the Minister of the Left, Tachibana, and was welcomed by Otomo no Yakamochi, who was the provincial governor at the time. He is also listed as a sake brewer's commander, which corresponds to the rank of Daisho-no-jo. There are poems in the Manyoshu that are said to have been written by Fukumaro and others that are said to have appeared in Tanabe Fukumaro's collection of poems (anthology of poems), and the latter are also recognized as Fukumaro's work. In total, he composed 10 long poems and 34 short poems. Considering that he composed a poem (volume 6) praising the new capital of Kuni, which was moved to the capital in 731, it is believed that he received the patronage of Tachibana no Moroe, who was a promoter of the capital's move, due to his talent for poetry. Although he tends to be overshadowed by Otomo no Yakamochi, he can be considered one of the representative poets of the late Manyoshu. Although his style is generally flat, he uses well-organized couplets with strong rhetorical power, and incorporates auditory expressions that reflect the tastes of the Tenpyo period, making his long poems noteworthy.

(Norio Haga)

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

Japanese:

生年：生没年不詳
奈良時代の歌人。下級の官人で閲歴は定かでないが,『万葉集』(巻18)によって,天平20(748)年,左大臣橘家の使者として越中国に赴き,当時国守であった大伴家持の歓待を受けたことが知られる。時に造酒司令史とあり,これは大初位上の位に相当する。『万葉集』に,福麻呂の作とするものと,「田辺福麻呂の歌集中(歌集)に出づ」とされる歌群が残り,後者も福麻呂の作品と認められている。あわせて長歌10首,短歌34首。天平12年に遷都された恭仁の新京を讃える歌(巻6)を作ったことをも勘案すれば,その歌才をもって,遷都の推進者たる橘諸兄の恩顧を蒙っていたと考えられる。大伴家持の陰に隠れがちな観があるものの,『万葉集』末期の代表的な歌人のひとりとしてよい。作風は,おおむね平板だが,修辞性の強い整然とした対句を用い,天平期の好尚を反映して聴覚的な表現を取り入れるなど,長歌にみるべき点がある。<参考文献>橋本達雄『万葉宮廷歌人の研究』,山崎馨『万葉歌人群像』

(芳賀紀雄)

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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