Fujiwara no Atsushige

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Fujiwara no Atsushige (藤原 篤茂; dates unknown, but active in the tenth century) was a Japanese nobleman and kanshi (classical Chinese) poet of the Heian period.

Biography[edit]

The poet Fujiwara no Atsushige was the son of Yorinari (遂業), the governor of Bichū Province.[1] His date of birth is unknown,[1] but he was active around the mid-10th century.[1] At some point in the Tenryaku era (947–957) he passed the civil service exam,[1] and after serving in such positions as vice-governor of Tanba province (丹波介)[1] he attained to the post of Zusho-no-kami (図書頭), head of the Zusho-ryō [ja], a government agency responsible for compiling histories.[1][a]

Tentoku Sannen Hachigatsu Jūrokunichi Tōshi Gyōji Ryakki (天徳三年八月十六日闘詩行事略記) records that on the 16th day of the eighth month of Tentoku 3 (21 September 959 in the Julian calendar) he was in attendance on the Team of the Right in a poetry event,[1] and that he was at that time an assistant palace secretary (少内記 shōnaiki).[1] The Fusō Ryakki indicates that two years later, in the third month of Tentoku 5, he contributed poetry to a blossom-viewing banquet at the tsuridono of the Reizei-in [ja].[1]

In Ōwa 3 (963), he took part in a poetry competition at the residence of Miyoshi Michimune (三善道統), the Zen Shūsai-taku Shi-awase (善秀才宅詩合), where he was selected to act as a judge.[1] Later, he was awarded the Junior Fifth Rank, Upper Grade,[1] but he bemoaned his having spent a decade at the Zusho-ryō and stagnating in the Fifth Rank, and so made a request to be assigned the governorship of Awaji Province.[1][b]

In Kōhō 3 (966), he was in attendance at Prince Morihira's poetry banquet for the reading of the Commentary on the Classic of Filial Poetry [ja].[1]

It is unknown when Atsushige died.[1]

Poetry[edit]

There is evidence in early sources that Atsushige's poetry was highly regarded in its time,[1] but very few specimens survive.[1] What is extant was included in anthologies such as the Wakan Rōei-shū and the Shinsen Rōei-shū [ja],[1] compiled in the early 11th and early 12th centuries, respectively.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ This information comes from the genealogical work Sonpi Bunmyaku and other sources.[1]
  2. ^ Book VI of the Honchō Monsui.[1]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Kinpara 1983, p. 267.

Works cited[edit]

  • Kinpara, Tadashi (1983). "Fujiwara no Atsushige" 藤原篤茂. Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten 日本古典文学大辞典 (in Japanese). Vol. 5. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. p. 267. OCLC 11917421.