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Hitomaro: Poet as God
Author(s): Anne Commons (Author)
- Publisher: Brill
- Publication Date: June 24, 2009
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 238 pages
- ISBN-10: 9004174613
- ISBN-13: 9789004174610
Book Description
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (fl. ca. 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.
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (fl. ca. 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.
About the Author
Anne Commons received her Ph.D. in premodern Japanese literature from Columbia University in 2003 and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of East Asian Studies, University of Alberta. Her research interests include premodern Japanese poetry and poetic criticism.
