Ogura Hyakunin Isshu is a classical Japanese anthology of one hundred Japanese waka by one hundred poets. Hyakunin isshu can be translated to "one hundred people, one poem "; it can also refer to the card game of uta-garuta, which uses a deck composed of cards based on the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. It was compiled by Fujiwara no Teika while he lived in the Ogura district of Kyoto, Japan.
Compilation
One of Teika's diaries, the Meigetsuki, says that his son Tameie asked him to arrange one hundred poems for Tameie's father-in-law, Utsunomiya Yoritsuna, who was furnishing a residence near Mount Ogura; hence the full name of Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. In order to decorate screens of the residence, Fujiwara no Teika produced the calligraphy poem sheets. Hishikawa Moronobu provided woodblock portraits for each of the poets included in the anthology. In his own lifetime, Teika was better known for other work. For example, in 1200, Teika prepared another anthology of one hundred poems for ex-Emperor Go-Toba. This was called the Shōji Hyakushu.
A visually-descriptive poem attributed to Empress Jitō. Teika chose this poem from the Shin Kokin Wakashū: The original was likely based from a poem of the Man'yōshū by the same poet.
Poem number 26
A quite different poem is attributed to Sadaijin Fujiwara no Tadahira in the context of a very specific incident. After abdicating, former Emperor Uda visited Mount Ogura in Yamashiro Province. He was so greatly impressed by the beauty of autumn colours of the maples that he ordered Fujiwara no Tadahira to encourage Uda's son and heir, Emperor Daigo, to visit the same area. Prince Tenshin or Teishin was Tadahira's posthumous name, and this is the name used in William Porter's translation of the poem which observes that "he maples of Mount Ogura / If they could understand / Would keep their brilliant leaves / until he Ruler of this land / Pass with his Royal band." The accompanying 18th century illustration shows a person of consequence riding an ox in a procession with attendants on foot. The group is passing through an area of maple leaves. Teika chose this poem from the Shūi Wakashū for the hundred poems collection:
English translations
The Ogura Hyakunin Isshu has been translated into many languages and into English many times, beginning with Yone Noguchi's Hyaku Nin Isshu in English in 1907. Other translations include:
William N. Porter, A Hundred Verses from Old Japan
Clay MacCauley, Hyakunin-isshu
Tom Galt, The Little Treasury of One Hundred People, One Poem Each
Joshua S. Mostow, Pictures of the Heart: The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image
Peter MacMillan, One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Treasury of Classical Japanese Verse
Emiko Miyashita and Michael Dylan Welch, 100 Poets: Passions of the Imperial Court
Other Hyakunin Isshu anthologies
Many other anthologies compiled along the same criteria—one hundred poems by one hundred poets—include the words hyakunin isshu, notably the World War II-era Aikoku Hyakunin Isshu, or One Hundred Patriotic Poems by One Hundred Poets. Also important is Kyōka Hyakunin Isshu, a series of parodies of the original Ogura collection.
Card game
Teika's anthology is the basis for the card game of karuta, which has been popular since the Edo period. Many forms of playing games with Hyakunin Isshu exist in Japan, such as Uta-garuta, the basis for competitive karuta.
