The Hundred Poets of the Inkstand

(Sumi-ire hyaku-nin isshu)

Publisher: Sa-Ichi of Ichigaya

c. 1845

Hyaku-nin isshu is an anthology of 100 poems by 100 different poets compiled by the thirteenth-century critic and poet Fujiwara no Sadaie (also known as Teika). The poems are all five-line poems of 31 syllables arranged as 5, 7, 5, 7 and 7. This form was known as waka and is now known as tanka. The 100 poets are in approximately chronological order from the seventh through the thirteenth centuries. Some of the prints portray the poets, and some show scenes associated with their lives or poetry. The poem and some descriptive text appear on each print. The poems were translated by Clay MacCauley in his book Single Songs of a Hundred Poets (1917, Kelly and Walsh, Yokohama). Kunisada also designed prints for this series. The prints are each about 7 by 5 inches (18 by 13 centimeters), a size known as koban. I am grateful to Horst Graebner for contributing images.

No image available	Number: 1 Poet: Emperor Tenchi Tennô Scene: Emperor Tenchi Tennô on a palace balcony overlooking a misty landscape Robinson: S27.1
	Number: 2 Poet: Empress Jitô Tennô Scene: Empress Jitô Tennô and a maid looking back at a garden pavilion Robinson: S27.2
	Number: 3 Poet: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro Scene: Poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro at his writing desk, chin in hand, watching a pheasant in a tree Robinson: S27.3
No image available	Number: 4 Poet: Yamabe no Akahito Scene: Poet Yamabe no Akahito on the rocky sea-shore with Mount Fuji in the background Robinson: S27.4
	Number: 5 Poet: Sarumaru Dayû (猿丸大夫) Scene: Poet Sarumaru Dayû standing and viewing a mountain with maple trees in their autumn colors Robinson: S27.5 (listed as “not seen”)
No image available	Number: 6 Poet: Chûnagon Yakamochi (Otomo no Yakamochi) Scene: Poet Chûnagon Yakamochi on a veranda contemplating a building through the mist Robinson: S27.6
No image available	Number: 7 Poet: Abe no Nakamaro Scene: Poet Abe no Nakamaro seated on the foreign shore with two Chinese men, one of whom points across the sea towards Japan Robinson: S27.7
No image available	Number: 8 Poet: The monk Kisen-hôshi Scene: Two girls seated picking tealeaves while one of them rebukes a wandering child Robinson: S27.8
No image available	Number: 9 Poet: Ono no Komachi Scene: Poetess Ono no Komachi seated on a palace veranda Robinson: S27.9
No image available	Number: 10 Poet: Semimaru Scene: The blind poet Semimaru seated at the window of his hut listening to the sounds of passing travelers on the road Robinson: S27.10
	Number: 13 Poet: Emperor Yôzei-in Scene: Emperor Yôzei-in bareheaded and seated on a veranda with mist and distant mountains in the background Robinson: S27.13
No image available	Number: 14 Poet: Kawara no Sadaijin (Minamoto no Toru) Scene: Poet Kawara no Sadaijin seated and dozing with folded arms with a river and drying clothes in the background Robinson: S27.14
No image available	Number: 15 Poet: Emperor Kôkô Tennô Scene: Two court ladies and three pages searching for young greens (wakana) in the snow Robinson: S27.15
No image available	Number: 16 Poet: Chûnagon Yukihira (Ariwara no Yukihira) Scene: Attendants carrying a palanquin under the watchful eyes of a supervisor with a wooded hill in the background Robinson: S27.16
No image available	Number: 17 Poet: Ariwara no Narihira Ason Scene: Poet Ariwara no Narihira with a page beside the Tatsuta river viewing the autumn maples Robinson: S27.17
	Number: 18 Poet: Fujiwara no Toshiyuki Ason Scene: Poet Fujiwara no Toshiyuki Ason dozing at his writing table by lamplight with a screen behind him Robinson: S27.18
	Number: 19 Poet: Lady Ise Scene: Lady Ise with a fan in hand walking by the sea-shore with distant sailboats in the background Robinson: S27.19
	Number: 20 Poet: Prince Motoyoshi-shinnô Scene: Prince Motoyoshi-shinnô and his lady by the Bay of Naniwa with distant sailboats in the background Robinson: S27.20 The poem translates: In this dire distress my life is meaningless. So we must meet now, even though it costs my life in the Bay of Naniwa.

“Robinson” refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its privately published supplement.

CLICK HERE TO RETURN TO MAIN PAGE