Biographies CXLIV: Men of Letters, Part V

Tachibana-no-Naomoto

¶Tachibana-no-Naomoto was a son of Nagamori, Nagato-no-kami, Governor of Nagato (Note: following the Tachibana-shi Keizu). He studied under Tachibana-no-Kimimune (Note: following the Ruijū Fushōshō), passed the taisaku, the civil-service examination, was appointed Dainaiki, Senior Secretary of the Palace, and later became Daigaku-no-kami, Director of the University. In the second year of Tenryaku (948) he was granted the post of Monjō Hakase, Professor of Letters, and by imperial command conducted the examination of the Monjō Tokugōshō, the candidates in literature (Note: following the Nihon Kiryaku). In the eighth year of Tenryaku (954), when the post of Minbu-no-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of Popular Affairs, fell vacant, Naomoto submitted a memorial asking to hold it concurrently, in which he said:

¶"In the second year of Tenryaku (948) (Note: the original reads "third year"; it has been corrected here on the basis of the phrase "seven years have now passed" in the text below), on the day I was appointed to this post of Professor of Letters from my posts as Director of the University and Senior Secretary of the Palace, both offices I had held were suspended. Since the court first established the Professors of Letters, I have never heard of such a case. Again, in the fourth year (950), on the day Mimune-no-Motonatsu was appointed from Shikibu-no-shōyū, Junior Assistant Minister of Ceremonial, to be a Confucian official, he was not relieved of his post as Junior Assistant Minister, and was granted an edict permitting him to hold both. The grace of appointment ought to be one and the same, yet the fortunes of flourishing and withering divide differently from man to man. That men should be treated differently may look like partiality, but to bestow office is to take the place of Heaven, and it truly hangs upon fate. I alone have kept to a single post, and seven years have passed in this way. Now, examining the precedents, among those who have served as Professors of Letters and are now at court, Ōe-no-Koretoki, while remaining Professor, concurrently held the posts of Junior Assistant Minister of Ceremonial and Director of the University; Ōe-no-Asatsuna first held concurrently the post of Sashōben, Junior Controller of the Left, and later that of Senior Assistant Minister of Popular Affairs. Ki-no-Arimasa first held concurrently the post of Junior Assistant Minister of Ceremonial, and later those of Senior Assistant Minister of Popular Affairs and Senior Secretary of the Palace; Sugawara-no-Arimi holds concurrently the post of Ushōben, Junior Controller of the Right. Precedents from the past are beyond counting. Moreover, it is the rule that the appointment of Confucian officials does not overstep the order of seniority, yet Miyoshi-no-Bunmei and Mimune-no-Motonatsu and others are all men who stand below me, Naomoto, in rank. Fujiwara-no-Kunimitsu is a junior who sought learning only after I had already won my honorable rank. Whenever the post of Junior Assistant Minister of Ceremonial fell vacant, these three were appointed one after another, passing over me. Furthermore, the Professors of Mathematics and of Law, and others, all hold concurrently posts of eminence and ease, the posts that bring rich emoluments. Some hold concurrently the posts of head or assistant head of two bureaus and bear the weighty duties of the court; others hold concurrently posts of guard and of judgment and administer the nation's statutes and the dignity of the court. And yet I, Naomoto, not knowing my station, mistakenly won the name of a man of great learning, but, being by nature wanting in capacity, have been unable to share in the stipends of an age of peace. Looking at recent cases, even men such as the clerks of the Kurōdo-dokoro, the Chamberlains' Office, and the shisshō, the clerks of the Council of State, while still wearing the green robe of low rank, partake fully of the perquisites of the various offices, and after they come to wear the red cord, they gain profits spread over several provinces; their mansions flourish like flowers, and their gates are as busy as a marketplace. Now, when I consider how steep the path of learning is, it is as if I were crossing a million leagues of billows, yet in hoping for advancement as an official I do not attain even a fivefold or sixfold difference. My rice basket and my gourd dipper are often empty; weeds grow thick in my lane as in the alley of Yan Hui, and goosefoot and bean leaves close my door deep, and the rain soaks my house as it did the dwelling of Yuan Xian. The men of old are said to have kept their joy though poor, but I, now, merely endure this sorrow. Truly I have come to know that the clumsiness of the Confucian Way is itself the source of misfortune. The more one tries to plumb this Way to its depths, the more surely one will receive hunger as its reward. This lesson reaches to the last generations, and should be a warning for the ages that follow. I, Naomoto, have for several years submitted no petitions, relying only upon the Way of Heaven and upon the heart of a sagacious sovereign. But the blue heavens are far and hard to answer, and even my small wish in my breast has not yet been fulfilled. Humbly I consider that to be admitted to the Seiryōden is a selection beyond this floating world, and a man of common station cannot tread the clouds of Penglai. The Shōsho, the head of the Ministry of Popular Affairs, is likewise the object of the hopes of all under Heaven, and a mediocre talent cannot reach out to the moon over the high ministries. But as for the post of Senior Assistant Minister of Popular Affairs, it is by no means an unusually mild and favorable post; it has always been held concurrently as a matter of regular practice, and it is not an honor beyond the station of anyone. Rather than waste months and days in vain, nothing is better than to make my request at once. Humbly I hope that, through special heavenly grace, I may be permitted to hold this vacant post concurrently, and so for a while console the grief of one buried and sunk in the world." (Note: following the Honchō Monzui)

¶This memorial was presented to the emperor. When the emperor read the several lines saying that "men should be treated differently," it is said that he took offense and showed displeasure (Note: following the Jikkinshō and the Kokon Chomonjū). At the beginning of Tentoku (957–961), Naomoto became Shikibu-no-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of Ceremonial (Note: following the Ruijū Fushōshō, the Tentoku Zushiki, and the Fusō Ryakki), and served as tutor to Emperor Reizei (Note: following the Nichūreki).

Minamoto-no-Shitagau

¶Minamoto-no-Shitagau, whose style name was Gugi (Note: following the Gōdanshō), was a great-grandson of Dainagon Sadamu, Grand Counsellor, and a son of Kozoru, Samanojō, Third Secretary of the Left Equestrian Bureau. He was skilled in poetry and prose and also versed in waka (Note: following the Kasenden, the Shūgaishō, and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). In the fifth year of Tenryaku (951), the emperor commanded Shitagau together with Ōnakatomi-no-Yoshinobu, Kiyohara-no-Motosuke, Ki-no-Tokibumi, and Sakanoue-no-Mochiki to attend at the Shōyōsha, the Nashitsubo, and to select and compile a collection of waka. The world calls them the Five of the Nashitsubo. Fujiwara-no-Koretada was also made Bettō, Superintendent, of the Office for the Compilation of Waka (Note: following the Yakumo Mishō and the Shūgaishō). Koretada at that time held the posts of Kurōdo and Sakonoe-no-shōshō, Lesser Captain of the Left Palace Guards (Note: following the Kugyō Bunin), and the emperor wrote out his edict with his own hand and gave it to him. Shitagau composed the reply, in which there was the phrase: "The male sword is at the waist; when drawn, it is three feet of autumn frost. The female yellow comes from the mouth; when chanted, it is once more the single note of cold jade." The men of the time praised it (Note: following the Honchō Monzui and the Wakan Rōeishū). Shitagau passed the examination for the degree of shinshi (Note: following the Honchō Monzui) and was appointed Kageyu-no-hangan, Judge of the Office of Examiners of Provincial Governors. During the Ōwa and Tengen periods (961–964; 978–983) he served in turn as Minbu-no-daijō, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Popular Affairs, Shimōsa-no-gon-no-kami, Provisional Governor of Shimōsa, and Izumi-no-kami, Governor of Izumi, and was transferred to be Noto-no-kami, Governor of Noto (Note: following the Kasenden). His official career did not advance as he wished, and his discontent often showed in his poetry and prose. He once composed the "Fu on the Kawaramon Mansion," satirizing the extravagance of Minamoto-no-Tōru, in which he wrote: "When mighty Wu fell, brambles grew, and the dew on the Gusu Terrace lay heavy; when cruel Qin declined, there were no tigers and wolves left, and the smoke over the Xianyang Palace drifted in wisps." (Note: following the Honchō Monzui and the Wakan Rōeishū). He also once wrote for Imperial Princess Kinshi the Wamyō Ruijushō in ten volumes (Note: following the preface of the old text of that work). He loved the writings of Tachibana-no-Aritsura, collected them into seven volumes, and composed a preface to hand them down to later generations (Note: following the Honchō Monzui). Together with Yoshinobu and others he also received an imperial command to prepare the kunten, the reading marks, for the Man'yōshū (Note: following the Jirin Saiyōshō). In the first year of Eikan (983) he died at the age of seventy-three (Note: following the Kasenden and the Sonpi Bunmyaku).

Tachibana-no-Masamichi

¶Tachibana-no-Masamichi, whose style name was Nō (Note: that his style name was Nō follows the record of the poem contest of Zendō-no-Muneie of the third month of the third year of Ōwa (963)), was a descendant in the sixth generation of Ujikimi, Udaijin, Minister of the Right, and his father Saneto was Ōtoneri-no-kami, Director of the Palace Attendants (Note: following the Tachibana-shi Keizu). In his youth Masamichi set his heart on learning and studied under Minamoto-no-Shitagau (Note: following the Gōdanshō). He entered the University together with Fujiwara-no-Arihira, and the two were on close terms. But whereas Arihira rose through the posts of Shikibu-no-shōyū and Gokinoi Kurōdo, Masamichi obtained only the Sixth Rank. He therefore sent a poem to relate his state of mind, composing the lines: "Flowers and moon at one window, we once shared old intimacy; clouds and mud ten thousand leagues apart, my eyes are now at their limit." (Note: following the Wakan Rōeishū). Arihira rose steadily in office and rank and at last reached the rank of kugyō. Masamichi gradually grew old and lamented his own ill fortune. In his heart he was always gloomy, and he cherished the wish to shun the world. Whenever he wrote, his feelings often showed through (Note: following the Honchō Monzui). In the Tenroku period (970–973) he was appointed Kaga-no-jō, Third-Class Official of Kaga (Note: following the Minamoto-no-Shitagau Kashū), and before long he became Kunai-no-shōjō, Junior Secretary of the Imperial Household Ministry (Note: following the Honchō Reisō and the Sakusha Burui). He once wrote a preface to a poem, saying: "My years come next after Yan Si's; I have passed three reigns and still sink low. My resentment is the same as Bo Luan's; singing the five sighs, I am about to depart." (Note: following the Honchō Monzui). When Minamoto-no-Tamenori read this he was greatly puzzled, and turning to Masamichi he asked, "Surely you do not have some other purpose in mind?" Masamichi shed tears in deep emotion, and afterward he did indeed flee the world and live in seclusion (Note: following the Kokon Chomonjū and the Jikkinshō. Remark: the Chomonjū and the Jikkinshō both say that Masamichi took his wife and children to Koryŏ, where the king valued his talent and treated him generously, and he gradually rose to high rank; but this is mistaken). Imperial Prince Tomohira, writing a heading on the poems he left behind, composed: "The glory of his writing remains as the jade of Mount Jing; the strength of his character has vanished into the dust of ten thousand leagues. He has not yet met the principle of Heaven's Way, vast and boundless; the vermilion and purple of the whole court, who are they?" That is how deeply the men of the time lamented him (Note: following the Honchō Reisō).

Minamoto-no-Tamenori

¶Minamoto-no-Tamenori was a great-grandson of Imperial Prince Koretsune, a son of Emperor Kōkō, and a son of Tadamoto, Chikuzen-no-kami, Governor of Chikuzen (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). He received his learning from Minamoto-no-Shitagau. Tachibana-no-Masamichi was Shitagau's foremost pupil, yet on his deathbed Shitagau did not give his poetry collection to Masamichi but entrusted it to Tamenori (Note: following the Gōdanshō). He was recommended as a monjōshō, a student of letters, and served in turn as Kurōdo, Iga-no-kami, Governor of Iga, and Shikibu-no-jō, Secretary of the Ministry of Ceremonial. In the Shōryaku period (990–995) he became Tōtōmi-no-kami, Governor of Tōtōmi. This province had long been one whose households were worn out, but when Tamenori took up his post he cared for the people by skillful means and gradually made them prosperous. The clearing of fields came to several times the amount in the old records, and he was greatly praised for his good government. In the first year of Chōtoku (995), at the end of his term, he returned to the capital and, for his achievements, was raised to Junior Fifth Rank Upper. After that, however, for twenty years he remained in the idle rank of sanni, without office. In the third year of Chōwa (1014), when the governorships of the two provinces of Mino and Kaga fell vacant, Tamenori submitted a memorial requesting those appointments, and in the end served in turn as governor of both provinces (Note: following the Honchō Monzui and the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Whenever he went to a poetry gathering he always carried a bag, which he called his shinō, his poetry bag. Once, when he listened to Ōe-no-Mochitoki lecture on poetry, he put the poems into his bag and chanted and savored them over and over without stopping, almost to the point of tears. The men of the time did not understand his true meaning. He wrote the Honchō Shirin (Note: following the Gōdanshō).

Fujiwara-no-Tametoki

¶Fujiwara-no-Tametoki was a grandson of Chūnagon Kanesuke, Middle Counsellor, and a son of Masatada, Gyōbu-no-taifu, Senior Assistant Minister of Justice (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku. Remark: the character for "Masa" is written "Kore" in one text). He had talent in poetry and prose and was ranked together with Fujiwara-no-Takamichi and Minamoto-no-Tamenori, but critics put Tametoki first among them (Note: following the Gōdanshō). He was recommended as a monjōshō and served in turn as Shikibu-no-jō and Kurōdo-no-ben (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku; the post of Shikibu-no-jō follows the Konjaku Monogatari). In the reign of Emperor Ichijō, when the governorship of Echizen fell vacant, Tametoki and Minamoto-no-Kunimori both sought it. But Sadaijin Fujiwara-no-Michinaga supported Kunimori, and so Kunimori obtained the governorship of Echizen (Note: following the Jikkinshō). Tametoki obtained only Awaji-no-kami, Governor of Awaji (Note: following the Imakagami); dissatisfied, he brooded and was joyless, and privately submitted a memorial. Its text, in brief, said: "Studying hard on a cold night, my crimson tears wet my collar; on a spring morning of the appointments, the blue heavens lie before my eyes." The emperor saw it, was so grieved that he did not take his meal. When Michinaga heard of this he was greatly astonished and hastily dismissed Kunimori and made Tametoki his successor (Note: following the Kojidan, the Konjaku Monogatari, the Jikkinshō, and the Imakagami). Afterwards he was transferred to be Echigo-no-kami, Governor of Echigo (Note: following the Shōyūki and the Jikkinshō). In the fifth year of Chōwa (1016) he entered Onjōji and had his head shaved (Note: following the Shōyūki). His son Nobunori became Shikibu-no-jō (Note: following the Murasaki Shikibu Nikki).

Yoshishige-no-Yasutane

¶Yoshishige-no-Yasutane, whose style name was Nō (Note: that his style name was Nō follows the Honchō Reisō), was a son of Kamo-no-Tadayuki (Note: following the Konjaku Monogatari and the Kamo Keizu). His family had for generations followed the Way of Yin and Yang as their hereditary calling, but Yasutane abandoned this calling early and became a student of letters. He gave his mind to literature and changed his surname to Yoshishige (Note: following the Konjaku Monogatari. Remark: that work says, "Because he was raised by a certain Professor, he changed to his present surname," but the name of that Professor is lacking. This account is probably mistaken. Examining the Shōji-roku and other books, no surname Yoshishige is to be found. Considering it now, "Kamo" and "Yoshishige" have the same meaning in their characters, and probably, on turning to the path of learning, he exchanged the characters and took a new name. His younger brother Yasuakira's son Tamemasa also became a student of letters and changed his surname to Yoshishige in a different writing, which is of the same intent. There is no documentary evidence, but it can be inferred by analogy). He studied under Sugawara-no-Fumitoki, and his talent and discernment advanced from day to day. He sat the examination and passed, and his fame was the foremost of his time. He was skilled in prose (Note: following the Zoku Ōjōden and the Kojidan).

¶Once, when Fumitoki had been granted a theme and composed a poem, he thought it unfinished and kept chanting it over and over under his breath. Yasutane happened to be present, saw the draft, and praised it, saying, "This is a peerless piece. Why do you not present it at once?" Fumitoki followed his advice and presented it, and when it was made known it indeed won fame (Note: following the Jikkinshō). Imperial Prince Tomohira loved letters and constantly studied under Yasutane (Note: following the Imakagami). One day, when the Prince inquired about the men of letters of the day one by one, Yasutane answered as follows: "Ōe-no-Masahira is like several hundred picked soldiers in armor of rhinoceros hide, lashing their swift horses as they pass the shore of Awazu. His keenness is awe-inspiring, and few could easily face him. Ki-no-Tadana is like a man sitting on the Jeweled Terrace on a snowy morning, playing the zither. Ōe-no-Mochitoki is like a man dancing the Ryōō in a garden of white sand, in the shade of green pines." When the Prince further asked, "And what of yourself?" Yasutane replied, "I am like the sound heard long ago when a kandachime passed in a carriage covered with areca palm leaves." The people of the world said that "this was not a ranking of better and worse; each judgment was apt and fitting" (Note: following the Kokon Chomonjū).

¶He was appointed Dainaiki, Senior Secretary of the Palace, and concurrently Ōmi-no-jō, Third-Class Official of Ōmi (Note: following the Kamo Keizu and the Zoku Ōjōden). By nature he was compassionate and a devout believer in Buddhism. Though his body served at court, his heart was always set on withdrawing to the mountains and forests. He built no house of his own but always lived lodging in other people's homes. Later he chose a plot in the Sixth Ward, built a pavilion beside a pond, and himself wrote a record of it to express his aims (Note: following the Honchō Monzui and the Imakagami). Once, on his way to the palace, he met a serving woman who was weeping most piteously. When he asked the reason, she said, "I had borrowed a jeweled belt for my master, but I lost it on the road. I am afraid of being blamed by my master, and so I weep." Yasutane thereupon untied his own belt and gave it to her (Note: following the Imakagami). Even creatures such as dogs and horses he treated all with kindness and care. His compassion was praised by the men of the time (Note: following the Hosshinshū).

¶In the second year of Kanna (986) he at last shaved his head and changed his name to Jakushin. The world called him the Naiki Nyūdō, the Secretary-Priest (Note: following the Konjaku Monogatari and the Zoku Ōjōden). He traveled through the provinces and devoted himself to religious practice (Note: following the Zoku Ōjōden). At that time the monk Zōga was at Yokawa lecturing on the Shikan. Yasutane went to listen, was moved and sighed. Zōga scolded him and struck him with his fist. Everyone was shocked and appalled, but Jakushin was unmoved and asked to take his seat again. When he shed tears as before, Zōga scolded him again. This went on several times, but Jakushin sobbed without ceasing, and Zōga in the end was greatly moved by his sincerity and let him hear the whole of the inner teaching (Note: following the Nihon Gokuraku Ōjōki). In the third year of Chōtoku (997) he died at Nyoirinji on the Eastern Mountain (Note: following the Zoku Ōjōden). He wrote the Nihon Gokuraku Ōjōki (Note: following the Nihon Gokuraku Ōjōki itself).

¶His nephew Yoshishige-no-Tamemasa was likewise skilled in poetry and prose (Note: following the Zoku Honchō Monzui and the Honchō Reisō). His father Yasuakira was a Professor of Letters. Tamemasa ably carried on the family calling, and became Kawachi-no-kami, Governor of Kawachi, Noto-no-kami, and Minbu-no-taifu, and also held concurrently the post of Professor of Letters (Note: compare the Kamo Keizu, the Sakusha Burui, and the Chōya Gunsai). The world called him Zen Gakushi, the Scholar Zen (Note: following the Zoku Honchō Monzui and the Honchō Reisō).

Ki-no-Tadana

¶Ki-no-Tadana was originally surnamed Taguchi but later changed to the Ki clan (Note: following the entry for the fourth year of Kenpō (1216) in the Azuma Kagami). He studied under Tachibana-no-Masamichi and was known for his excellence in prose (Note: following the Gōdanshō). In the reign of Emperor Ichijō he was appointed Dainaiki, Senior Secretary of the Palace, and held concurrently the posts of Ecchū-no-gon-no-kami, Provisional Governor of Ecchū (Note: following the Honchō Monzui) and Shikibu-no-shōyū, Junior Assistant Minister of Ceremonial (Note: following the Shōyūki). When the Kampaku Fujiwara-no-Yorimichi held a Buddhist service at the Tōhokuin, Tadana attended him. It was the thirteenth night of the ninth month, and the color of the moon was clear and lovely. Yorimichi turned to Fujiwara-no-Tadanobu and said, "On so fine a night, can there be no rōei, no chanting of verse?" Tadanobu hesitated, and everyone pricked up their ears. After a while he chanted the line: "The honored one of Buddha-invocation and the Pure Land; tonight the mountain moon is just full." This was a line Tadana had composed. The company regarded this as an honor (Note: following the Jikkinshō and the Kokon Chomonjū. The matter of Yorimichi follows the Imakagami. Remark: this text has Fujiwara-no-Kaneie in place of Yorimichi, but this is a mistake and has been corrected here).

¶He once sat an examination together with Ōe-no-Mochitoki, and both composed poems on the same theme, "The Poetic Realm Before Autumn Has Yet Appeared" (Note: following the Gōdanshō and the Jikkinshō). In Tadana's parallel couplet there are the lines: "The frost-flowers bloom after the dawn of the forest of words; the wind-blown leaves drive before the stage of the writing-brush post." (Note: following the Gōdanshō). Mochitoki's poem had: "Holding the reins at the peak of letters, the colt passes in a shadow; fitting out a boat on the sea of words, the leaves fall with a sound." Mochitoki secretly showed the draft to Imperial Prince Tomohira and asked for his judgment. The Prince said, "The character 'white' is the essential thing." Mochitoki followed his words and changed "the shadow of the passing colt" to "the shadow of the white colt," and "the sound of falling leaves" to "the sound of crimson leaves." When both poems came before the world, Mochitoki's was judged the better. In the first year of Chōhō (999), when Tadana lay ill, the Prince came to visit him, and Tadana thanked him, saying, "I have received your favor deeply, but only that one character 'white' I cannot forget even now." Such was the depth of his devotion to poetry and prose (Note: following the Gōdanshō and the Jikkinshō). He died at the age of thirty-four (Note: following the Ichidai Yōki). The work he compiled is the Fusōshū. Ōe-no-Masafusa, discussing Mochitoki and Tadana, said: "Mochitoki's writing strives only to bring forth novelty, giving free rein to his talent and almost never putting a bridle on it. When it succeeds, later writers cannot reach it. But when it does not succeed, it is not worthy of being taken as a model. In the case of Tadana, every line relies on the men of old, and so it has an elegant flavor. But when it does not succeed, there is nothing worth seeing. That is because it lacks freshness." (Note: following the Gōdanshō).

Fujiwara-no-Yoshitada

¶Fujiwara-no-Yoshitada was a descendant of Umakai, Shikibu-kyō, Minister of Ceremonial, and a son of Tamefumi, Yamato-no-kami, Governor of Yamato (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). In the reign of Emperor Go-Ichijō he served in turn as Dainaiki, Shikibu-no-shōyū, Tōgū Gakushi, Tutor to the Crown Prince, Left and Right Junior Controllers, and Professor of Letters, and was granted Senior Fifth Rank Lower (Note: following the Benkan Bunin). At the banquet for the seventieth birthday of Rinshi, wife of the Regent Fujiwara-no-Michinaga, Dainagon Fujiwara-no-Tadanobu chose the poems to be written on the screens and took many from Fujiwara-no-Sukenari, among them the line "The words of colored silk are stitched together by the spring wind." Yoshitada criticized this and told Michinaga's son Yorimichi, "The character 'silk' is not in the level tone." When Tadanobu heard of it, he defended himself by pointing to Bai Juyi's line, "Every line of fair words is stitched together with colored silk." Yorimichi rebuked Yoshitada to his face, and from then on Yoshitada shut himself up for more than a year. He grieved deeply and composed a waka to beg for pity (Note: following the Gōdanshō, the Konjaku Monogatari, and the Imakagami). In the Chōgen and Chōryaku periods (1028–1040) he was appointed Daigaku-no-kami, Director of the University, became Gon-no-sachūben, Provisional Middle Controller of the Left, was advanced to Senior Fourth Rank Lower, and held concurrently the posts of Tutor to the Crown Prince and Yamato-no-kami (Note: following the Benkan Bunin). He seized timber intended for the construction of the south gate of Yakushiji in order to put it to official use. The monks of the temple repeatedly petitioned against it, but Yoshitada would not listen (Note: following the Konjaku Monogatari). In the second year of Chōkyū (1041) he climbed Mount Kinpu, and on his way back, when he reached the Yoshino River, his boat capsized and he drowned. He was thirty-eight. In consideration of his services as an imperial tutor, the court treated him generously and posthumously granted him the rank of Sangi, Consultant, of Junior Third Rank (Note: following the Benkan Bunin and the Sonpi Bunmyaku; the climb of Mount Kinpu follows the Konjaku Monogatari).

Fujiwara-no-Akihira

¶Fujiwara-no-Akihira was a descendant of Umakai, Shikibu-kyō. His father Atsunobu served as imperial tutor and was appointed Yamashiro-no-kami, Governor of Yamashiro. Akihira carried on the family calling, was broad in learning and also excellent in waka, and was appointed monjōshō. In the reign of Emperor Go-Reizei he served in turn as Shikibu-no-shōyū and Saemon-no-jō, Third-Class Official of the Left Gate Guards (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku, the Zoku Honchō Monzui, and the Jimoku Taiseishō), became Daigaku-no-kami and Ukyō-no-daibu, Master of the Right Capital Office, and held concurrently the post of Professor of Letters. In the Kōhei period (1058–1065) he became Tutor to the Crown Prince (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku and the Honchō Monzui). His works include the Unshū Ōrai in three volumes, the Honchō Monzui in fourteen volumes, and the Honchō Shūku in five volumes (Note: following the Ninnaji Shoseki Mokuroku). His sons were Atsumoto and Atsumitsu (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Atsumitsu has a separate biography.

¶Fujiwara-no-Atsumoto. Atsumoto was recommended as a shūsai, a man of outstanding talent, while still in his early twenties and passed the taisaku. When Emperor Shirakawa was still Crown Prince, he served long at his side (Note: following the Zoku Honchō Monzui). He served in turn as Ukyō-no-daibu and Dainaiki, and held concurrently the posts of Shikibu-no-taifu, Professor of Letters, and Kōzuke-no-suke, Assistant Governor of Kōzuke (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). His works include the Chūka Ruirin in three hundred and sixty volumes and the Kokugoshō (Note: following the Ninnaji Shoseki Mokuroku). His sons Noriakira and Shigeakira both became Professors of Letters and rose as far as Shikibu-no-shōyū (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku; that Noriakira was Shikibu-no-shōyū follows the printed text).

¶Atsumoto once visited the Kampaku Fujiwara-no-Tadamichi and spoke at length of how excellent his sons' talents were. One day, when Tadamichi was composing linked verse with the men of letters, he said in jest, "My foolish son is called a worthy son," and Atsumoto at once answered with the matching line, "Noriakira and Shigeakira." Tadamichi marveled at his quickness (Note: following the Kojidan). Noriakira's son Atsutō and Shigeakira's son Atsuchika also ably carried on the family calling (Note: following the Sonpi Bunmyaku). Atsutō was well versed in the rites of mourning; until the mourning period was over he kept women at a distance, did not eat meat, and copied Buddhist sutras every day to pray for the repose of the dead. People praised him for it (Note: following the Taiki).

¶The monk Gen'e: the particulars of his family are unknown. He lived at Kitakōji, took the sobriquet Dokuseiken, and also called himself Kensō (Note: following the Taiheiki and the Sekiso Ōrai). He was appointed Gon-no-daisōzu, Provisional Senior Bishop. He was widely versed in books and histories and also had talent in poetry and prose, and was praised in his time (Note: following the Taiheiki; that he was Gon-no-daisōzu follows the preface to the Gosannen Gunki). He constantly read the Zizhi Tongjian of Sima Guang of the Song, and honored and believed in the learning of Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi, and Zhu Xi. Emperor Go-Daigo summoned Gen'e as imperial tutor; until then the keien, the lectures before the sovereign, had used exclusively the commentaries of the Confucians of Han and Tang, but at this time Gen'e first expounded the doctrines of Cheng and Zhu, and many in the world began to study them (Note: following the Sekiso Ōrai). Later, when Emperor Go-Daigo secretly plotted to destroy the Hōjō, Gon-Chūnagon Fujiwara-no-Suketomo agreed with the plan and held bureikō, drinking parties free of ceremony, in order to bind the warriors' hearts. Fearing to arouse suspicion, he gave out as the pretext that Gen'e was being invited to lecture on books. Because Gen'e was well versed in law and learned in precedent, he was greatly valued by Ashikaga Takauji and by his younger brother Tadayoshi. After Takauji rebelled, the capital was captured again and again, and each time the Emperor's carriage went to Enryakuji to escape the danger, relying on the strength of the monks to hold it. Takauji was deeply angered at the conduct of the monks, and in the Engen period (1336–1340) he entered the capital and conferred with Kō-no-Moronao and Uesugi-no-Shigeyoshi, intending to abolish Enryakuji and drive out the monks so as to cut off future trouble. But since Enryakuji was a temple that successive sovereigns had revered, he hesitated and could not decide. Just then Gen'e came to call, and Takauji summoned him and asked, "Enryakuji collects taxes from many districts and villages and supports three thousand monks. Its expense is already enormous, and yet it often opposes my army. Now I think of abolishing it. What do you think?" Gen'e answered, "When a hunted bird flies into one's bosom, people still help it. How much more so when the lord of ten thousand chariots himself has gone to that place; who would dare to block him? If the General forgets his old grudge and soothes them with kindness and virtue, they will on the contrary be put to use for the General." Takauji at last abandoned the proposal and even added several villages to Enryakuji's estates.

¶When Tadayoshi stepped down from office and withdrew to Nishikikōji, even the officers who owed him old favors dared not visit him, for fear of Kō-no-Moronao. Gen'e asked Moronao for leave and called on Tadayoshi repeatedly, and each time he talked of matters of past and present to console him. Once, when Tadayoshi fell ill, Gen'e sent him medicine with a poem attached. When Gen'e himself became ill and could not rise, he answered with a poem. Before long Gen'e died. This was in the fifth year of Shōhei (1350). Tadayoshi himself wrote a Buddhist sutra on the back of the paper bearing Gen'e's poem and prayed for his repose. The men of the time are said to have pitied his feelings greatly (Note: following the Taiheiki; the fifth year of Shōhei follows the Entairyaku). Originally the monk Echin of Hōshōji had recorded the gains and losses of the wars since Genkō (1331–1334) and Kenmu (1334–1338) in more than thirty volumes, called them the Taiheiki, and presented them to Tadayoshi. Tadayoshi summoned Gen'e and had him read it, and Gen'e said, "What is recorded in this book is unfair, and moreover there are very many errors, so it should not be shown to others; it should be pruned and corrected and then circulated in the world." But the revision was never carried out (Note: following the Nan-Taiheiki). One account holds that the Taiheiki now transmitted was in fact revised and reselected by Gen'e. At that time there was a man named Zeen, who was versed in law and also excellent in prose. In the Kenmu period (1334–1338), when Takauji had subdued the provinces and opened a shogunate at Kamakura, he consulted widely on matters of government. Zeen discussed them with eight men including Gen'e and Shin'e. They weighed the regulations of past and present and compiled seventeen articles, those most pertinent to practical affairs, which they presented and named the Kenmu Shikimoku. Afterwards they further drew up the twenty-one articles of the Shinka Seishiki. Takauji approved them heartily and put them all into effect (Note: following the Kenmu Shikimoku and the Shinka Seishiki).

¶Bokuō: his surname and clan are not recorded; he took the sobriquet Yūwaken Sakubokushi. He was learned and versed in matters of past and present. He followed Emperor Go-Murakami and lived at Yoshino. When Ashikaga Tadafuyu petitioned the throne to be allowed to attack his father Takauji and show his loyalty, the emperor granted his request and, by a rinji, an imperial decree, ordered him to return to the capital. When Bokuō heard of this he sighed and said, "From of old it has been said that if one seeks a loyal subject, one must seek him in the house of a filial son. That is why Yao yielded the throne to Shun, and the whole world was well ordered. If a man is filial to his parents, he may be employed even if he is of humble station. If it is the opposite, then even if he has merit, how is he worthy of being given weighty trust? Now Tadafuyu would borrow the royal command to harm his own father. Nothing can be more contrary to the principle of Heaven and more lost to the way of a son. And yet the court allows it and is even about to grant him the setsuetsu, the insignia of command. What is the meaning of this? Even if he should win victory in this war, he will not be able to keep his achievement whole." Afterwards it indeed turned out just as he had said (Note: following the Taiheiki).