Yokoi Yayū
Encyclopedia
was a Japanese
samurai
best known for his haibun
, a scholar of Kokugaku
, and haikai
poet. He was born , and took the pseudonym Tatsunojō. His family are believed to be descendants of Hōjō Tokiyuki
.
. He inherited the Yokoi House's patrimony at twenty-six and held important posts of the Owari Domain. He was for example yōnin (manager of general affairs), Ōbangashira (chief of guard) and Jisha-Bugyō (manager of religious affairs). In 1754, at age 53, he retired for health reasons. Yayū moved to (now in Naka-ku, Nagoya
), and lived in the hermitage. He was a prolific and respected composer of haibun, Classical Chinese
poems, waka
and Japanese satirical poems, and was an adept of the Japanese tea ceremony
.
, studied Confucianism
and learned haikai
from Mutō Hajaku (武藤巴雀) and Ōta Hajō (太田巴静). Hajaku and Hajō were pupils of Kagami Shikō (各務支考), a leading disciple of Matsuo Bashō
. Mori Senzō (森銑三), a student of old Japanese literature, compared his hokku
to senryū
, and said they were not as interesting as his haibun. Yayū has been described as a master of haibun, and Nagai Kafū
永井荷風 called Yayū's haibun a model of Japanese prose.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
best known for his haibun
Haibun
Haibun is a literary composition that combines prose and haiku. The range of haibun is broad and includes, but is not limited to, the following forms of prose: autobiography, biography, diary, essay, history, prose poem, short story and travel literature....
, a scholar of Kokugaku
Kokugaku
Kokugaku was a National revival, or, school of Japanese philology and philosophy originating during the Tokugawa period...
, and haikai
Haikai
Haikai is a poetic genre that includes a number of forms which embrace the aesthetics of haikai no renga, and what Bashō referred to as the "poetic spirit" , including haiku, renku , haibun, haiga and senryū ."Haikai" is sometimes used as an abbreviation for "haikai no...
poet. He was born , and took the pseudonym Tatsunojō. His family are believed to be descendants of Hōjō Tokiyuki
Hojo Tokiyuki
was a samurai of the Hōjō clan who fought both for and against the Imperial Court. His father was Hōjō Takatoki, last Regent and de facto ruler of the Kamakura shogunate....
.
Life
Yayū was born in Nagoya, the first son of who served the Owari DomainOwari Domain
The was a feudal domain of Japan in the Edo period. Located in what is now the western part of Aichi Prefecture, it encompassed parts of Owari, Mino, and Shinano provinces. Its headquarters were at Nagoya Castle. At its peak, it was rated at 619,500 koku, and was the largest holding of the...
. He inherited the Yokoi House's patrimony at twenty-six and held important posts of the Owari Domain. He was for example yōnin (manager of general affairs), Ōbangashira (chief of guard) and Jisha-Bugyō (manager of religious affairs). In 1754, at age 53, he retired for health reasons. Yayū moved to (now in Naka-ku, Nagoya
Naka-ku, Nagoya
is the heart of Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Largely hemmed in by Sakura-dōri , Ōtsu-dōri , Fushimi-dōri and Tsurumai-dōri , it contains the main shopping area of Sakae, a massive air-conditioned 5 square-kilometer underground mall) and the 'after-five' semi-red light districts of Nishiki and...
), and lived in the hermitage. He was a prolific and respected composer of haibun, Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese...
poems, waka
Waka (poetry)
Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...
and Japanese satirical poems, and was an adept of the Japanese tea ceremony
Japanese tea ceremony
The Japanese tea ceremony, also called the Way of Tea, is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered green tea. In Japanese, it is called . The manner in which it is performed, or the art of its performance, is called...
.
Works
Yayū also excelled in Japanese martial artsJapanese martial arts
Japanese martial arts refers to the enormous variety of martial arts native to Japan. At least three Japanese terms are often used interchangeably with the English phrase "Japanese martial arts": , literally meaning "martial way", , which has no perfect translation but means something like science,...
, studied Confucianism
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
and learned haikai
Haikai
Haikai is a poetic genre that includes a number of forms which embrace the aesthetics of haikai no renga, and what Bashō referred to as the "poetic spirit" , including haiku, renku , haibun, haiga and senryū ."Haikai" is sometimes used as an abbreviation for "haikai no...
from Mutō Hajaku (武藤巴雀) and Ōta Hajō (太田巴静). Hajaku and Hajō were pupils of Kagami Shikō (各務支考), a leading disciple of Matsuo Bashō
Matsuo Basho
, born , then , was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as a master of brief and clear haiku...
. Mori Senzō (森銑三), a student of old Japanese literature, compared his hokku
Hokku
is the opening stanza of a Japanese orthodox collaborative linked poem, renga, or of its later derivative, renku . From the time of Matsuo Bashō , the hokku began to appear as an independent poem, and was also incorporated in haibun , and haiga...
to senryū
Senryu
is a Japanese form of short poetry similar to haiku in construction: three lines with 17 or fewer total morae . Senryū tend to be about human foibles while haiku tend to be about nature, and senryū are often cynical or darkly humorous while haiku are more serious...
, and said they were not as interesting as his haibun. Yayū has been described as a master of haibun, and Nagai Kafū
Nagai Kafu
is the pen name of Japanese author, playwright, essayist, and diarist Nagai Sōkichi . His works are noted for their depictions of life in early 20th-century Tokyo, especially among geisha, prostitutes, cabaret dancers, and other denizens of the city's lively entertainment districts.-Biography:Kafū...
永井荷風 called Yayū's haibun a model of Japanese prose.
- "Uzuragoromo" (鶉衣) : An anthology of haibun, partially translated in Monumenta Nipponica, vol. 34, no. 3, Autumn 1979, by Lawrence Rogers.
- "Rayō Shū" , "Tetsu Shū" (蘿葉集), (垤集): Anthology of haiku.
- "More Oke" (漏桶): Anthology of renku
- "Kankensō" (管見草): Essay on haikai
- "Rain Hen" (蘿隠編): Prose and poetry in Classical ChineseClassical ChineseClassical Chinese or Literary Chinese is a traditional style of written Chinese based on the grammar and vocabulary of ancient Chinese, making it different from any modern spoken form of Chinese...
- "Gyō-Gyō-Shi" (行々子): An anthology of Japanese satirical poems