Sankashū

Sankashū (山家集||“Collection of a Mountain Home”) is a collection of poems by Saigyō, most probably made by himself and issued c.1180.

Dating

Because the collection contains no poems from the last decade of Saigyō's life, 1180-90, he is thought to have closed it c.1180, and circulated it thereafter.[1]

Divisions

The collection contains 1552 poems,[2] and falls into three parts. The first (1-572) is divided into four sections containing poems of the four seasons; the second (573-1041) into two sections - Love and Miscellaneous; and the third (1042-1152) again into two sections - Miscellaneous Songs and One Hundred Songs.[3]

Quality

Where much court poetry of the time was convoluted, the Sankashū is known for its directness of utterance.[4] His early translator, Hei-Hachuro Honda, valorised Saigyō's poems of solitude over those that were involved in more communal activities. Later critics, however, have paid more attention to how his poetry was rooted both in his private life and the public life of his society.[5]

References

W R Lafleur, Awesome Nightfall (2003) p. 69
Shuichi Kato, A History of Japanese Literature (2013) p. 94
H H Honda trans, The Sanka Shu: The Mountain Hermitage (Hokuseido Press 1971) p. vii
Shuichi Kato, A History of Japanese Literature (2013) p. 94
W R Lafleur, Awesome Nightfall (2003) p. xi and p. 1-2

External links

The monk Saigyo
Classical Japanese Database - has some poems by Saigyō in translations and in the original Japanese

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[1] W R Lafleur, Awesome Nightfall (2003) p. 69

[2] Shuichi Kato, A History of Japanese Literature (2013) p. 94

[3] H H Honda trans, The Sanka Shu: The Mountain Hermitage (Hokuseido Press 1971) p. vii

[4] Shuichi Kato, A History of Japanese Literature (2013) p. 94

[5] W R Lafleur, Awesome Nightfall (2003) p. xi and p. 1-2