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Paper short abstract

This paper explores Emperor Gotoba’s (1180–1239) poetics by linking the theories in Gokuden to his judgments in Entō ōn’uta-awase. It analyzes how principles like topic adherence (dai), allusion (honkadori), and pedigree shape the canonical selections in his Jidai fudō uta-awase.

Paper long abstract

Emperor Gotoba (1180-1239; r. 1183-1198) is recognised as a major figure in early mediaeval Japanese poetics, being both an accomplished poet and a critic with a vision of what poetic quality entailed. Explicit articulations of his poetics, however, consist mainly of the text of Gotoba-in gokuden (Former Emperor Gotoba’s Secret Teachings; 1212-26) and the judgements he wrote for Entō ōn’uta-awase (The Former Emperor’s Poetry Match on a Distant Isle; 1236), with the latter work being contemporaneous with the final version of his Jidai fudō uta-awase (Poetry Match of Temporal Differences), which is one of a number of works he completed in the final years of his life. Jidai fudō uta-awase is a collection of exemplary poems of the past and present, organised in the format of a poetry match.

This paper attempts to answer three interconnected questions: first, to what extent are Gotoba’s remarks about poetic quality in his Gokuden practically applied and developed in his judgements in Entō ōn’uta-awase? Second, what are the key features of Gotoba’s poetics which can be inferred from the content of these two texts? Finally, to what extent are these poetics visible in Jidai fudō uta-awase?

Analysis of Gokuden reveals Gotoba’s preoccupation with features such as: adherence to the topic (dai) of a poem; the tension between topic and conception; the appropriate use of allusions to other poems (honkadori) and prose sources, as well as the importance of foundational study and pedigree in the production of poems. Many of these principles are explicitly applied in Entō ōn’uta-awase, making the match a practical syllabus based on the theories articulated in his Gokuden. While Jidai fudō uta-awase is less clear-cut, it seems many of the poems were chosen because they met his criteria for canonical authority, thematic discipline, sophisticated allusion, and refined execution.