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The Origin of New Year Karuta — Fujiwara no Teika and the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu

The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, selected by the Kamakura-period poet Fujiwara no Teika, gathers one poem each from 100 poets. Originally chosen to decorate the sliding doors of a mountain villa, it later became 'karuta' cards beloved across Japan and still enjoyed at New Year.

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The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, compiled by the great Kamakura-period poet Fujiwara no Teika, gathers one poem each from 100 poets — from Emperor Tenji to Murasaki Shikibu to Saigyo. It began as poems on decorative cards for the sliding doors of his Ogura mountain villa, requested by his son’s father-in-law. In the Edo period it became karuta cards spread by woodblock printing, and remains a beloved New Year pastime today.

A poet of the Hyakunin Isshu — the 100 masterpieces Teika selected spread across Japan as karuta cards

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Heian court culture — the Hyakunin Isshu gathers poems by emperors, nobles, and court ladies; Teika distilled the essence of court culture into 100 verses

Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Byodoin Phoenix Hall, Uji — a World Heritage site conveying the court-culture world in which Teika perfected the art of waka

Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0

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Key Figures

Fujiwara no Teika

Compiler of Shinkokin Wakashū and Hyakunin Isshu

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