Paper short abstract:

Okikaze-shū has Teika's notes of Sanjūrokkasen in which it is written that a fellow who compiled such anthologies are Ma 魔 of the way. Ma is very important to Teika next to Yūgen and Ushin tei. I plan to investigate how Teika used Ma in his writings and clarify the meaning of Ma in Teika's thought.

Paper long abstract:

Japanese culture in the medieval period connects with Buddhist thought. Waka poetry studies are the same. FUJIWARA no Shunzei 藤原俊成(1114-1204), who was the most famous critic of the late Heian period, thought that the study of waka was similar to that of the Buddhist teachings. FUJIWARA no Teika 藤原定家(1162-1241), who was Shunzei's son, also inherited that thought from Shunzei as it can be perceived from his writings.

Okikaze-shū 興風集 (the Collection of FUJIWARA Okikaze's Poems) was transcribed by Bōmon no Tsubone 坊門局, who was Teika's sister, and it has Teika's notes of Sanjūrokkasen (Thirty-six Immortals of Poetry) in which it is written that a fellow who compiled such anthologies are Ma 魔 of the way. "The way" means Kadō 歌道 (the way of waka poetry), but what does mean Ma? According to the dictionary, the origin of the word Ma is the Buddhist word Mara. Mara is the demon that tempted Gautama Buddha when he practiced asceticism to attain enlightenment. From that, the word Ma changed its meaning to "barriers for ascetic practices". Teika introduced the Buddhist concept of Ma to waka poetry studies and he thought the previous anthologies of excellent poems were "barriers for ascetic practices." In Buddhism, Mara tried to seduce Buddha with a beautiful woman. What is then "barriers for ascetic practices" in Teika's thought? He often used Ma in the situation of waka. So, this word is very important to Teika next to Yūgen 幽玄 (the style of mystery and depth) and Ushin tei 有心体 (the style of deep feeling).

In this presentation, I plan to investigate how Teika used Ma in his writings: diary, essay on waka poems, judgements of poetry competitions, and I would like to clarify the meaning of the way of waka poetry in Teika's thought.