17 - Heian canons of Chinese poetry:Wakan rōeishūand Bai Juyi

Summary

The degree to which Bai Juyi's poetry outshone that of his Tang contemporaries in the Japanese constellation of the poetic universe is quite remarkable and is not merely a reflection of the contemporary Chinese canon. The incorporation of Bai's poetry, and by extension other literary texts from China, into the Heian literary world view is reflected by Wakan roeishu, edited by Fujiwara no Kinto. Wakan roeishu is an anthology of poetry in Chinese or Sino-Japanese and Japanese organized in thematic rubrics. Compiler Fujiwara no Kinto juxtaposed waka with over eighth hundred couplets by Japanese and Chinese kanshi poets. Wakan roeishu is divided into two books, or volumes. The first book covers the four seasons, in gradual procession from early spring to the end of winter and the end of the year. The second book is a miscellaneous arrangement of often intriguing categories, from monkeys and recluses to courtesans and the color white.