Otomo no Yakamochi | 徳

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Otomo no Yakamochi

Final Editor of the Manyoshu

718頃-785 · 享年 67歳

N O T Y E T M E T

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Three Surprising Facts

其一

"Etchu Manyoshu" — Singing the Nature and People of Toyama as Governor

Otomo no Yakamochi was posted as governor of Etchu Province (present-day Toyama Prefecture) from 746 to 751, and during these five years composed more than 223 waka poems. The group of poems singing of the rich nature of Etchu — the snowy scenery of Mt. Tateyama, the waves of the Ariso Sea (Toyama Bay), Mt. Futagami in spring, evenings with fireflies — is called the "Etchu Manyoshu." Poems like "In the spring garden fragrant with crimson peach blossoms, on the road lit by the blossoms below, young women appear" also vividly depicted the lives of the local people. This experience is said to have become the driving force for the final great work of compiling the Manyoshu. Toyama Prefecture has many stone monuments and facilities connected to the Manyoshu.

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深

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生

Full Biography

From birth to death

A poet and official of the Nara period. He is considered the final editor of the Manyoshu (c. 760), and 473 of his waka poems are included — approximately 10% of the full 4,500 poems, the most for any individual. His father Otomo Tabito was also a celebrated poet. The "Etchu Manyoshu" — poems composed during his five-year posting as governor of Etchu Province (Toyama) (746-751) — is a masterwork group singing of the grand nature of Mt. Tateyama and the lives of local people, and has become a source of Toyama's cultural pride. The Hyakunin Isshu includes his poem: "Seeing the white of the frost laid on the bridge the magpies stretch across, I know the night has grown late."

人

Personality

A lyric poet with delicate sensitivity and a rich appreciation of nature. He also had the scholarly vision to integrate the diverse poetic styles of the Manyoshu as its editor, an important cultural figure who carried the first golden age of Japanese literature.

義

Historical Significance

As the most included poet in the Manyoshu, he contributed most to the completion of Japan's oldest anthology. The "Etchu Manyoshu" has become the core of Toyama Prefecture's cultural identity, and many stone monuments bearing Manyoshu poems remain in the Tateyama region today.

系

Family Tree

Parents

Father

665-731

Otomo Tabito

Nara poet and official. 78 poems in the Manyoshu.

本

Self

Otomo no Yakamochi

718頃-785

─ 完 ─

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