Elder Male - Yuchoro

A Zen monk and kyoka poet of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. His name was Eiyu Eiho. He was called Yuchoro because he became the abbot of Nanzen-ji Temple in Kyoto. His other names were Take, Kokei, and Gan'insou. He was from the Takeda clan of Wakasa (Fukui Prefecture), and his mother was Miyagawani, a famous female kyoka poet. His uncle was Hosokawa Yuusai, a warrior and poet scholar. He entered the Buddhist priesthood at a young age and served Bunkei Eitada at Kennin-ji Temple, and later became the abbot of Kennin-ji Temple and Nanzen-ji Temple. He excelled in Chinese poetry and prose, as well as Chinese-Japanese linked verse, and was counted among the top five monks of the Five Mountains at the time. However, what made him famous in later literary history was his hobby of kyoka poetry. "Eihyakushu Kyoka," which he composed in 1589 (Tensho 17) and asked Nakanoin Michikatsu to critique, is particularly famous for its scathing satire and candid humor.

A willow tree with its branches drooping, mixed with spring flowers that are not cherry blossoms. [Akira Morikawa October 19, 2017]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

安土(あづち)桃山時代の禅僧、狂歌作者。名は永雄英甫(えいゆうえいほ)。京都南禅寺の住持にまでなったので雄長老とよぶ。別号、武、小渓、玩隠叟(がんいんそう)。若狭(わかさ)（福井県）武田氏の出身で母は女流狂歌作者として名高い宮川尼(みやがわに)、一代の武人歌学者細川幽斎(ゆうさい)は叔父にあたる。幼にして仏門に入り建仁(けんにん)寺の文渓永忠に随侍し、のち建仁寺、南禅寺の住持になった。漢詩文や漢和聯句(かんなれんく)などに優れ当時五山の僧侶(そうりょ)中五指の一人に数えられた。だが後世文学史上彼を著名にしたのは余技の狂歌で、1589年（天正17）につくり中院通勝(なかのいんみちかつ)に批評を請うた『詠百首狂歌』は、痛烈な風刺や磊落(らいらく)な笑いに満ちてとくに有名である。

　桜にはあらぬ春べをこきまぜて枝をたれたるはこ柳かな
［森川　昭　2017年10月19日］

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