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Paper short abstract

The paper will focus on the Tuqiu fu (Tuqiu, 977) a rhapsody composed by Prince Kaneakira (914–987) around 977. Written in the wake of the most authentic Chinese tradition, this outstanding piece of literature is a political protest made by a high representative of the middle Heian ruling elite.

Paper long abstract

The first book of the Honchō monzui (The Literary Essence of Our Court, 1058-1065?) opens with fifteen fu (rhapsodies) composed in a period ranging from the ninth to the tenth century. All of them show a symbolic alignment with Chinese civilization, both in style and contents. It has already been clarified that part of the legacy associated with the fu is its use as a form of sociopolitical protest, such as the theme of the loyal minister who has been unjustly exiled by the ruler or those in power at the court, rather than receiving the promotion and respect which he truly deserves. This aspect is clearly revealed in particular in the Tuqiu fu (Tuqiu, 977) by Prince Kaneakira (914–987), a powerful text of political criticism unique not only in the literary landscape of the 10th century but in all classical Japanese literature. “Unjustly removed by those in power”, as he writes referring to Fujiwara family, Kaneakira denounces the misconduct of ministers usurping the sovereign power, and announce his retirement form service, adopting the Taoist way to express his protest and showing an attitude similar to that of a Chinese literatus in his same condition. Kaneakira reclusion is by no means a “literary divertissement” proposed as the intellectual repertoire of a scholar-official, nor can be regarded simply as another of the Honchō monzui “model texts”; it is, on the contrary, a moral exigency. Not only in literature but also in the real life, Kaneakira embodies the model of the virtuous man celebrated in Chinese tradition, where reclusion was a pattern of disengagement from political corruption very often expressed through Taoist literary rhetoric. Thanks to this work, which brought him undisputed fame until the dawn of the 19th century, Prince Kaneakira embodied in the eyes of his contemporaries and posterity the ideal figure of a Confucian scholar and official, both for the stylistic excellence of his writings and the consistency of his conduct.