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Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (fl. ca. 690) is generally regarded as one of the pre-eminent poets of premodern Japan. While most existing scholarship on Hitomaro is concerned with his poetry, this study foregrounds the process of his reception and canonization as a deity of Japanese poetry. Building on new interest in issues of canon formation in premodern Japanese literature, this book traces the reception history of Hitomaro from its earliest beginnings to the early modern period, documenting and analysing the phases of the process through which Hitomaro was transformed from an admired poet to a poetic deity. The result is a new perspective on a familiar literary figure through his placement within the broader context of Japanese poetic culture.
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Hitomaro Brill’s Japanese Studies Library Edited by Joshua Mostow (Managing Editor) Chris Goto-Jones Caroline Rose Kate Wildman-Nakai VOLUME 31 Hitomaro Poet as God By Anne Commons LEIDEN • BOSTON 2009 Cover illustration: Fourteenth-century portrait of Hitomaro (ink and colors on silk, 121.4 × 82.9 cm), Tokyo National Museum. Image: TNM Image Archives. Source: http://TnmArchives.jp/ This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Commons, Anne. Hitomaro : poet as god / by Anne Commons. p. cm. — (Brill’s Japanese studies library ; v. 31) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-17461-0 (acid-free paper) 1. Kakinomoto, Hitomaro, fl. 689–700. I. Title. II. Series. PL785.Z5C66 2009 895.6’114—dc22 2008055177 ISSN 0925-6512 ISBN 978 90 04 17461 0 Copyright 2009 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands For Sue and Bernard Commons CONTENTS Acknowledgements ..................................................................... ix Map of Japan Showing Sites Mentioned in the Text ............... xi Introduction ................................................................................ 1 Chapter One Hitomaro and the Man’yōshū: The Birth of a Legend ................................................................................. 9 Chapter Two Hitomaro in Heian Texts: A Sage of Poetry ... 39 Chapter Three Worshipping Hitomaro: From Text to Image ...................................................................................... 91 Chapter Four Medieval Reception: Poetic Deities in the Secret Commentaries .............................................................. 127 Chapter Five Hitomaro in the Early Modern Period: Poetic Icon and Popular Deity ............................................... 175 Bibliography ................................................................................ 205 Index ........................................................................................... 213 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This book would not have been possible without the generous assistance of many friends, colleagues, and teachers, past and present, not all of