was a Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. The period is named after the capital city of Heian-kyō, or modern Kyōto. It is the period in Japanese history when Buddhism, Taoism and other Chinese influences were at their height...

 waka poet

Waka (poetry)

Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...

and Japanese nobleman. His daughter was the Heian poet and author Sei Shōnagon

Sei Shonagon

Sei Shōnagon , was a Japanese author and a court lady who served the Empress Teishi around the year 1000 during the middle Heian period. She is best known as the author of The Pillow Book .-Name:...

, famous today for writing The Pillow Book

The Pillow Book

is a book of observations and musings recorded by Sei Shōnagon during her time as court lady to Empress Consort Teishi during the 990s and early 11th century in Heian Japan. The book was completed in the year 1002....

. He is designated as a member of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals

Thirty-six Poetry Immortals

The Thirty-six Poetry Immortals are a group of Japanese poets of the Nara, Asuka and Heian periods selected by Fujiwara no Kintō as exemplars of Japanese poetic ability. There are five female poets among them...

, and one of his poems is included in the famous Ogura Hyakunin Isshu

Hyakunin Isshu

is a traditional anthology style of compiling Japanese waka poetry where each contributor writes one poem for the anthology. Literally, it translates to "one hundred people, one poem [each]"...

. His court career included terms as governor of Kawachi Province

Kawachi Province

was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province...

 and Higo Province

Higo Province

Higo Province was an old province of Japan in the area that is today Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. It was sometimes called , with Hizen Province. Higo bordered on Chikugo, Bungo, Hyūga, Ōsumi, and Satsuma Provinces....

.

As one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber

Five Men of the Pear Chamber

The Five Men of the Pear Chamber are a group of Heian period Japanese poets and scholars who cooperated in the compilation of the Gosen Wakashū. They also compiled kundoku readings for texts from the Man'yōshū...

 (梨壺の五人), Kiyohara no Motosuke assisted in the compilation of the Gosen Wakashū. This group also compiled kundoku (訓読) readings for texts from the Man'yōshū.

His poems are included in several official poetry anthologies, including the Shūi Wakashū. A personal collection known as the Motosukeshū (元輔集) also remains.

External links

• E-text of his poems in Japanese
• Brief biography in English