One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets

Although better known during his lifetime for his own poetry, Fujiwara no Teika’s (1162-1241) anthology One Hundred Poems by One Hundred Poets (c.1235) became the standard work of Japanese verse for centuries, and inspired countless works of visual art.

The anthology collects poems in the waka (or tanka) format (31 syllable verses arranged in lines of 5,7,5,7 and 7) by highly distinguished poets, mainly courtiers. It is notable that many works in the Hundred Poems exhibit a Chinese influence–especially of Six dynasties and Tang dynasty poetry–and the collection is reminiscent of Selections of Refined Literaturet. The earliest example of a Chinese literature anthology, compiled by crown prince Xiao Tong, this work was considered a classic in Japan from the Heian period on.

Portraits of the poets: Katsukawa Shunshō depicts Teika and Saionji Kintsune beside elegant calligraphic transcriptions of their texts in the then newly popular ‘brocade’ style, or nishiki-e.

The much later iteration on the theme by Kuniyoshi has the ghost of the exiled poet Emperor Sutoku-in invoking a thunderstorm, demonstrating a nineteenth century taste for supernatural subjects in ukiyo-e.