Lecture No.4: The World of Yoshimorihyakushu
The World of Yoshimorihyakushu (summary)
Lecturer: Yoko Motohiro
A rules of ninjutsu was expressed by one hundred kinds of poetry is called "Yoshimori hyakushu".
One hundred kinds poetry has been seen from Heian period, but it is changing with the time.
Based on transition of the one hundred kinds of poetry, I tried to place "Yoshimori hyakushu" in the history of literature.
At the middle of Heian period, one hundreds poetry appeared for the first time, and that poetry was called "Yoshitadahyakushu", written by Soneno Yoshitada. It's consisted of four seasons, love, actoric verse, and name of object, to be considered as a foundation of the one hundred kinds of poetry. At the end of Heian period, "Horikawain no ontoki hyakunin waka" and other kinds of poetry, such as taninzuu hyakushu (read poetry by many people) and kumidai hyakushu (poetry is made in certain theme) had been read. Beside of above, one hundred people, a poem each,"Hyakunin isshu" was also read at that time.
Those themes, such as four seasons and love, which has many common points in Chokusenshuu, were shown the elegant world.
But after Muromachi period, hyakushuka is spreading widely. For example, "Kemari hyakushu","Sekai hyakushu", " Eihyakuryou waka" ,"Ryuzankotaka hyakushu","Johoh chayu hyakush"etc... and etiquette of kemari, tea ceremony, the world, and government service are composed in the poem.
In the background, how such a poetry was made, include that a didactic poem of Buddhism came to be made. After Muromachi period, many didactic poems of Buddhism came to be written, and also many poetries about a moral or an art and craft of one hundreds poetry was made. At the same time, poetry about the way of military tactics and that hyakushuka was made.
In the "Yoshimori hyakushu", there were poetry about careful point in detail to steal in, and other than that, explain a spirit as a shinobi, importance of using ninja, contents which predict a fortune, and various other contents were also composed.
In such flow, "Yoshimori hyakushu" was made as the poetry about the rules as a ninja which made a pretext of Yoshimori.
