Satomura Jôha
1524-1602
Poet of linked verse
Jôha was the younger son of a temple servent at the Ichijôin
in Nara who died when Jôha was 12. After a period of monastic life, Jôha became a priest though he elected to devote himself
to poetry and traveled with noted
renga composer Shûkei to Kyoto in 1542. He trained under Satomura Shôkyu and assumed
the Satomura name after the death of the latter in 1552 - as well as becoming a foster father to Shôkyu's son Shôshitsu. As
head of the Satomura school of
renga, Jôha's fame gradually increased and he gained as patrons both Miyoshi Chokei
and Matsunaga Hisahide and later became a teacher for Chokei's son Yoshioki. He gained the favor of Oda Nobunaga in 1568 when
the latter entered Kyoto and over the next ten years composed verse with such great names as Akechi Mitsuhide and Hosokawa
Fujitaka. When Akechi killed Nobunaga in 1582, Jôha managed to spirit the crown prince out of Nijô and harm's way - which
held him in good stead when Hideyoshi questioned him afterwards (he had been involved in a provocative linked-verse session
with Mitsuhide only days before Nobunaga's death). He became active in politics under Hideyoshi and a companion of Toyotomi
Hidetsugu - which led to his banishment to Miidera when Hidetsugu was ordered to commit suicide in 1595. He was allowed to
return to Kyoto in the fall of 1596 and was soon forgiven by Hideyoshi. While enjoying the reputation of being Japan's last
true
renga master and a discerning critic, Jôha's reputation suffered from what some saw as opportunism and ambition
in his character. His most notable works included the
Renga shihôshô (Book of the Supreme Treasure of Renga) and his
own journal, which detailed a trip he took to view Mt. Fuji in 1567.
Sei Shônagon
c.968-c.1025
Famous author
Shônagon was the daughter of Kiyowara Motosuke and a maid
of honor to the consort of the Emperor Ichijô. A colorful figure, she produced the famous 'Pillow Book', or Makura no Sôshi,
which provides the reader with an insider's view of the going's-on of the Imperial Court as well as Shônagon's opinions on
such subjects as love, good looks, commoners and gossip. Written around 1002, the Pillow Book stands as the second of the
two great literary works of the day - next to Murasaki Shikibu's 'The Tale of Genji'. Shônagon was known for her wit and openness
on all matters, leading Murasaki Shikibu to pen in her own diary, 'Sei Shônagon has the most extraordinary air of self-satisfaction.'.
(TWSP, pg.263)
Sen no Rikyû
1522-1591
Master of the tea ceremony
Sen no Rikyû was a man of merchant background
from Sakai and was known for much of his career as Sôeki. His father was Sen (Tanaka) Yohyôe, himself the son of a certain
Sen'ami whom we are told fled Kyoto during the Ônin war and took up in Sakai. Rikyû's first mention in surviving documents
is a listing (as 'Yashiro', which he was known as in his youth) as a contributor to a Sakai temple in 1535 (AWC, pg.
211). A practitioner of the tea ceremony from at least the age of fifteen, Rikyû had been trained as a tea man in the elegant
Ashikaga style. He would in time reject this school in favor of a very different approach. The nobility's tea ceremony had
been developed to cater to the sorts of individuals that partook of it, with elegant Chinese utensils and great pains taken
to avoid offending any guests of higher status. In his own vision, Rikyû substituted the pricey utensils with simple, practical
ones, and replaced the expensive and often gaudy teahouses of the nobility with the Sôan, or 'grass hut' style teahouse.
The only way into the tearoom of a Sôan was through a small door, the nijiriguchi, which was only some two and a half
feet square. Guests therefore entered by crawling, a deliberately humbling device intended to create a sense of equality once
inside. Rikyû intended for the tea ceremony to be an activity free from social and political trappings, though in this he
was to be ultimatly disappointed. As Rikyû was making a name for himself, the warlord Oda Nobunaga
was also gaining fame through his steady expansion and at length came to meet Rikyû. Rikyû's early connection with Nobunaga
is uncertain, as are the specifics of their relationship in general. However, it seems clear that Rikyû's prestige grew over
the roughly 14 years Nobunaga dominated Kyoto. His star would contine to rise under the good graces of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
after Nobunaga's death in 1582; in fact, Rikyû was performing ceremonies at Hideyoshi's behest at Yamazaki (the site of the
latter's victory over Nobunaga's destroyer) before the year was out. It has been speculated that Rikyû and Hideyoshi had known
one another since the 1570's - yet even their later relationship is hazy. Clearly, however, Hideyoshi - who used culture as
a tool in the legitimization of his rule - saw many uses for Rikyû. This is perhaps ironic - the warlord who basked in the
ostentatious - the teaman who stressed the humble. At any rate, as Rikyû's prestige grew, so did his opportunities to throw
his voice into the political arena. The most obvious case in point may be the visit of Kyushu daimyô Otomo Yoshisaige
(Sorin) in 1586. Ôtomo had come out of retirement to beg for Hideyoshi's assistance against the encroaching Shimazu family.
After the fact he would observe that Rikyû's assistance was most vital for anyone hoping to have an audience with Hideyoshi
(AWC, pg.216). Rikyû's career seemed to be at its height when he assisted Hideyoshi in a tea ceremony held for the
emperor Ôgimachi in 1585. Two years later he accompanied Hideyoshi on the latter's invasion of Kyushu; he would also entertain
him during the 1590 Odawara Campaign. Yet, in 1591, Hideyoshi suddenly ordered Rikyû placed under house arrest in Sakai and
was two weeks later made to commit suicide. This shocking turn of events provides historians with one of the great mysteries
of Hideyoshi's later career. Various theories have been presented over the years but none quite seem to satisfy. The official
cause for Rikyû's fall from favor and subsequent suicide concerns a gate to the Daitokuji in Kyoto. In 1589 Rikyû had donated
money so that the gate (which had gone uncompleted since the 1520's) could be finished and in tribute a statue of Rikyu had
been added at the top of the structure. Hideyoshi, then, was infuriated at the notion of passing under the image of an inferior
should he enter the temple and thus brought his fury down on Rikyû. In fact, Hideyoshi had the offending statue crucified
along with ordering Rikyû's suicide. Certain scholars have suggested that Rikyû had also incurred Hideyoshi's displeasure
in another way - that he was selling tea utensils for a great profit, thus abusing his position (and the fact that he could
set the prices as he saw fit) (AWC, pg. 220). An alternate theory has Rikyû caught in the midst of a struggle within
the Toyotomi ranks. This holds that Rikyû, who evidently favored a softer hand in dealing with the daimyô and their rights,
was executed to appease those who took a harder line (such as Ishida Mitsunari). At any rate, Rikyû's passing has been described
as the end of an era - for Japanese culture in general and the tea ceremony in particular. Rikyû stands as one of the more
complex and fascinating figures of Japan's 16th Century, his fatal association with Hideyoshi somehow very appropriate and
in keeping with the nature of that colorful time.
Suzuki Harunobu
1725-1770
Woodblock artist
Harunobu was a noted painter in the ukiyo-e ('pictures
of the floating world') style and is thought to have been the first to produce a full polychrome print. His trademark was
his delicate depiction of his female subjects.
Zeami
1363-1443
Pioneer of Nô drama
Zeami was the son of the playwright Kan'ami (1333-1384). In
1374 one of Kan'ami's plays was preformed before the shôgun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and the latter was much taken by the
young Zeami, an actor in the work. Yoshimitsu arranged for Zeami to be placed in his custody and saw that the young man received
a strong education and cultural refinement. Under the patronage of that great patron of the arts, Zeami flourished. The leader
of his own troupe, he developed many plays (though scant few traces of his original work remain) and refined what would become
known as 'classic' Nô drama. Yet his later life was to be marred by misfortune. His two sons would predecease him and after
1429 he suffered a troubled relationship with the shôgunate. In that year Zeami and his son Motomasa (himself author of the
famous drama 'Sumida River' and others) were banned from entering the shôgun's palace by Ashikaga Yoshinori and in 1434 Zeami
was exiled to Sado Island for reasons unknown. He returned to Kyoto around 1441 but died only a few years later. His heir
would be a son-in-law named Komparu Zenchiku (1405-1468). Among the many works attributed to Zeami are counted 'Atsumori',
'Hanjo', 'Izutsu', and 'Yamamba'. Nô would remain a favorite of the upper-class into the Edo Period, when it was to fall out
of favor somewhat at the start of the 18th Century.
Sources: Berry, Mary Elizabeth.
Hideyoshi Harvard University Press, 1982
Ellison, George
and Bardwell L. Smith, eds.
Warlords, Artists, and Commoners The University Press of Hawaii, 1982
Hall,
John Whitney and Toyoda Takeshi.
Japan in the Muromachi Age University of California Press, 1977
Kamo-no-Chomei
Hojoki Stone Bridge Press, 1996
Morris, Ivan
The World of the Shining Prince Peregrine 1969
Sansom, G. B.
Japan. A Short Cultural History Tuttle 1973
Tsunoda, Ryusaku, Wm. Theodore De Bary, Donald
Keene.
Sources of Japanese Tradition Columbia University Press, 1965
Tyler, Royall (ed.)
Japanese
Nô Dramas Penguin 1992
