Fujiwara no Shunzei was a noted Japanese poet and nobleman, son of Fujiwara no Toshitada. He was also known as Fujiwara no Toshinari or Shakua ; in his younger days, he gave his name as Akihiro, but in 1167, changed to Shunzei. He was noted for his innovations in the wakapoetic form, and for his achievement in compiling Senzai Wakashū, the seventh Imperial anthology of waka poetry; this work was at the behest in 1183 of the Retired Emperor Go-Shirakawa, who despite Shunzei's low rank, admired him. Go-Shirakawa's trust in Shunzei is significant, as Imperial anthologies were landmarks in the poetic circles of the court, second to no other events in significance; poets were literally willing to risk their lives just for the chance to have a poem included. The Tale of the Heike relates that Shunzei was compiling the Senzai Wakashū during the Genpei War, and that Taira no Tadanori ventured into enemy territory to Shunzei's residence, asking him to include a particular poem of his, and then managed to successfully escape back to his own forces without being apprehended. Shunzei eventually did decide to include Tadanori's poem, but attributed it to "Anonymous." His son, Fujiwara no Teika, is considered one of the four best poets in Japanese history. Shunzei was a member of the famous poetic and aristocratic clan, the Fujiwara. As his father and grandfather and a number of other relatives were all men of literature and poetry, he began writing and composing poetry at a young age. He tended to hew to an older style of poetry such as that seen in the Man'yōshū, but he also drew upon recently imported and translated T'ang dynastyChinese poetry. From a literary criticism perspective, he notably was an early supporter of theTale of Genji, and past his 30s and 40s, he was especially known for his criticism and judgments at various poetry gatherings and contests, where he favored poems that displayed his preferred poetic style of yugen ; his style was sometimes summarized as "old diction, new treatment". He wrote that poems "should somehow... produce an effect of both charm and of mystery and depth. If it is a good poem, it will possess a kind of atmosphere distinct from its words and their configuration and yet accompanying them." An example: His style was disciplined, determinedly sensitive and emotional; the poetShinkei wrote this description of Shunzei's composition of poetry: At the age of 63, in 1177, Shunzei "retired from the world" and took Buddhist vows, taking the religious name of "Shakua". Most of his critical philosophy of poetry is known from his sole major work of criticism, written a decade after he was asked by the Emperor to compile the anthology, Fūteishō. His son, Fujiwara no Teika, would succeed him in prominence as a poet, and would be more successful in court politics than his father; Shunzei attained only the rank of "Chamberlain to the Empress Dowager". Shunzei's granddaughter, Fujiwara Toshinari no Musume, whom he raised and taught, would also be successful as a poet in the vein of Teika.
Biography
Fujiwara no Shunzei was born in 1114. He was a descendant of the great statesman Fujiwara no Michinaga and son of of the so-called of the Fujiwara clan. His father died when he was ten years old and he was adopted by. As Akiyori's adopted son, he took the name Akihiro, but in 1167, when he was 53, he returned to the house he had been born into and took the name Toshinari. At court, he attained to the post of Kōtai Gōgū-daibu and held the Senior Third Rank. In 1176, when he was 62, he took the tonsure and adopted the dharma name of Shakuagaku or Shakua. Shunzei died on December 22, 1204 at age 90.
