Poetica di Fujiwara no Kintō: Shinsen zuinō e Waka kuhon

Abstract

Fujiwara no Kintō (966-1041) was one of the most eminent men of letters of his time. Highly appreciated poet of compositions both in Chinese and Japanese, expert in music and court ceremonies, compiler of various anthologies including Wakan rōeishū (Collection of Japanese and Chinese Verses for Recitation), he also contributed to the evolution of Japanese poetics, when the canons established by the first imperial anthology, Kokinshū, were at a turning point. This study will examine two of his writings, Shinsen zuinō (Essentials of Poetry, Newly Compiled) and Waka kuhon (Nine Styles of Japanese Poetry), which constitute the manifesto of new proposals, with a focus on concepts such as sugata and yosei.