Paper short abstract:

I examine renga master Sōgi's Yamaguchi Notes on the "Tales of Ise," a unique commentary on that work by his own hand, aimed expressly at novices. I consider the light it sheds, contrasted with other Sōgi commentaries, on the reality of rengashi activity in regional literary hubs like Yamaguchi.

Paper long abstract:

Yamaguchi Notes on the "Tales of Ise" (Ise monogatari Yamaguchi-ki) is a commentary on the Tales of Ise by the renga master Sōgi, composed by him during the Entoku era (1489-91). The text comes with a colophon penned by Sōgi himself. From this we learn that the commentary was drawn up during his sojourn in the Province of Suō (modern-day Yamaguchi Prefecture), where he stayed with the region's preeminent and literarily ambitious warlord, Ōuchi Masahiro. We learn also that his intended audience for the work was expressly one of novices. A text so situated, as preliminary studies by Yamamoto Tokurō have noted, presents something of unique value to scholarship. Multiple other works may preserve Sōgi's teachings on the Tales of Ise, but this text is the only such commentary from Sōgi's own hand. Exact knowledge of why, when, where, and for whom he composed it, moreover, allows us to grasp the nature of its commentary with rare depth and precision.

In this paper, I compare Sōgi's commentary as it appears in these Yamaguchi Notes with other commentaries that represent his teachings on the Tales of Ise. I center my inquiry in particular on the contrast between Capital and province, demonstrating how Sōgi's acts of commentary differed depending on where, and for whom, they were performed. The research of recent years has made it ever clearer how deeply renga masters (rengashi) were involved in the spread of literary works to the countryside. My goal, through a detailed comparison of content across commentaries that builds on the achievements of previous research, is to bring the concrete reality of these rengashi activities to light.