Fujiwara no Sanekata

Fujiwara no Sanekata, from the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

Fujiwara no Sanekata (藤原実方, died 998) was a Japanese waka poet of the mid-Heian period. One of his poems was included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. He left a private waka collection, the Sanekata-shū.

Biography

Sanekata was a great-grandson of Fujiwara no Tadahira, "and commander of the bodyguard." He was raised by his uncle, Fujiwara no Naritoki (藤原済時).

He was reportedly a lover of Sei Shōnagon, and exchanged love poems with many women.

He was appointed governor of Mutsu Province, and he died while in service there.

He died in 998.

Poetry

Sixty-seven of his poems were included in imperial anthologies from the Shūi Wakashū on, and he was listed as one of the Late Classical Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry.

The following poem by him was included as No. 51 in Fujiwara no Teika's Ogura Hyakunin Isshu:

Japanese text	Romanized Japanese	English translation
かくとだに えやはいぶきの さしも草 さしも知らじな 燃ゆる思ひを	Kaku to dani e ya wa ibuki no sashimo-gusa sa shimo shiraji na moyuru omoi wo	Can I let you know what consumes me? Unknown to you, my heart blazes like red hot moxa aflame with love for you.

A private collection of his poetry, the Sanekata-shū (実方集), survives.

Bibliography

• McMillan, Peter. 2010 (1st ed. 2008). One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231143998
• Suzuki Hideo, Yamaguchi Shin'ichi, Yoda Yasushi. 2009 (1st ed. 1997). Genshoku: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. Tokyo: Bun'eidō.

External links

• List of Sanekata's poems Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine in the International Research Center for Japanese Studies's online waka database.
• Sanekata-shū Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine in the same database.
• Fujiwara no Sanekata on Kotobank.