Fujiwara no Akinaka

Fujiwara no Akinaka was born in Kōhei 2 (1059 in the Gregorian calendar).[1] He was the third son of Sukenaka (ja),[1] a member of the Saneyori lineage (実頼流) of the Northern Branch of the Fujiwara clan.[2] He was later adopted by Fujiwara no Motoie (died 1093),[1] the governor of Mutsu Province.[3] His mother was a daughter of Minamoto no Tsuneyori.[2]

He is known as Suke Akinaka (佐顕仲)[1] to distinguish him from Minamoto no Akinaka.[2] He had various other names,[1] such as Katsumata no Hyōe no Suke (勝間田兵衛佐),[1] by which name the Fukuro-zōshi calls him.[2] The latter name is a derived from a combination of his court position, Sahyōe-no-suke, and a famous poem he composed at the Shirakawa-den Gyokai (白河殿御会) on Katsumata Pond (勝間田池 Katsumata-no-ike):[2]

He was close friends with Minamoto no Toshiyori and Fujiwara no Mototoshi,[2] and in addition to being a respected poet he was also known for his skill as a calligrapher and musician,[2] but was unable to attain success due to his relatively low birth.[2] By the end of his career, he had risen to the Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade.[1] He held the position of Assistant Head of Left Military Guards (左兵衛佐 sahyōe-no-suke).[1]

According to the Chūyūki,[2] Akinaka died on the third day of the first month of Daiji 4 (31 January 1129).[1] He was 71 (by Japanese reckoning).[2]

The first uta-awase contest in which he took part was the Sakon no Gon-Chūjō Toshitada Ason-ke Uta-awase (左近権中将俊忠朝臣家歌合) in Chōji 1 (1104).[2] He took part in the following poetic gatherings:

• the Ungo-ji Kechien-kyō Goen Uta-awase (雲居寺結縁経後宴歌合) in Eikyū 4 (1116);[2]
• the Hitomaro-eigu held by Fujiwara no Akisue in Gen'ei 1 (1118);[2] and
• the Naidaijin-ke Uta-awase (内大臣家歌合) that was held over three sessions between Gen'ei 1 and Gen'ei 2 (1119).[2]

He was one of the poets of the Horikawa-in Ontoki Hyakushu Waka (堀河院御時百首和歌).[1]

According to the Yakumo Mishō,[2] he was disappointed with the Kin'yōshū,[1] and in Daiji 1 (1126)[2] compiled his own anthology, the Ryōgyokushū (良玉集),[1] which is no longer extant.[1]

18 of his poems were included in imperial anthologies from the Kin'yōshū on.[1]

One famous poem of his, in which he laments his lack of success at court, is the following from the first book of miscellaneous poems in the Kin'yōshū:[2]