Hitomaro : poet as god / / by Anne Commons.

• Superior document: Brill's Japanese studies library ; v. 31
• Author: Commons, Anne.
• Year of Publication: 2009
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Brill's Japanese studies library ; v. 31.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (240 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (fl. circa 690) is generally regarded as one of the pre-eminent poets of premodern Japan. While most existing scholarship on Hitomaro is concerned with his poetry, this study foregrounds the process of his reception and canonization as a deity of Japanese poetry. Building on new interest in issues of canon formation in premodern Japanese literature, this book traces the reception history of Hitomaro from its earliest beginnings to the early modern period, documenting and analysing the phases of the process through which Hitomaro was transformed from an admired poet to a poetic deity. The result is a new perspective on a familiar literary figure through his placement within the broader context of Japanese poetic culture.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Materials / A.E. Commons -- Introduction / A.E. Commons -- Chapter One. Hitomaro And The Man’yōshū: The Birth Of A Legend / A.E. Commons -- Chapter Two. Hitomaro In Heian Texts: A Sage Of Poetry / A.E. Commons -- Chapter Three. Worshipping Hitomaro: From Text To Image / A.E. Commons -- Chapter Four. Medieval Reception: Poetic Deities In The Secret Commentaries / A.E. Commons -- Chapter Five. Hitomaro In The Early Modern Period: Poetic Icon And Popular Deity / A.E. Commons -- Bibliography / A.E. Commons -- Index / A.E. Commons.