Around six years ago, I fell in love with Hyakunin Isshu after watching the anime Chihayafuru which involves a Japanese traditional card game called Karuta. Not only was the anime amazing, but the poems mentioned in the series really caught my attention.
I have been writing poetry since I was a high school student... so for 20 years now. I haven't kept all the poetry pieces I wrote back then, but I do still have hundreds of them that I could keep... and I've shared a lot of them on my blog. (I'll be writing poetry again soon, so check it on my other account)
Even though I enjoyed Chihayafuru, I'm going to introduce another anime related to Hyakunin Isshu. I've watched this before but chose to rewatch it with the goal of reigniting my passion for poetry. (And it sure helped!)
Let's talk about Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi!!!
NOTE: All photos are screenshots I took while watching the anime.
Before discussing the anime, let me tell you what Hyakunin Isshu is first. This poetry compilation is originally named Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. Ogura is a district in Kyoto which was the capital of Japan during the Heian Period.
Hyakunin Isshu literally means one hundred people, one poem each. So, it's a collection of 100 poems made by 100 people during that era. Heian is such an interesting period in Japanese history. There were so many amazing poets and writers during those years and I'll be mentioning some of them later on.
I love Heian Period!!! One of my students (she's a Japanese history freak and is a tour guide) often calls me Heian otaku. hahaha She's more into Sengoku and Edo period, but it's ok... we still enjoy talking about Japanese history in general. :)
Hyakunin Isshu was compiled by Fujiwara no Teika who also came from a family of poets. In the anime, he usually does some introduction of the poem they're about to portray. He does it alongside Utsunomiya no Yoritsuna and sometimes with Ki no Tsuriyuki.
Yoritsuna is a good friend of Teika and he's the one who commissioned the latter to compile Hyakunin Isshu. It was originally selected to be made to decorate screens at his residence in Mt. Ogura. Seeing both of them talking about why Teika selected certain poems in the anime was so interesting to watch!
The anime Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi is basically a liberal interpretation of some of the poems in Hyakunin Isshu. It was said that more than 40% of the poems in the anthology are about love. The anime shared stories for more than 10 of them. <3
Earlier, I mentioned that Ki no Tsuriyuki sometimes appeared with Teika and Yoritsuna in the anime. Actually, he also made an anthology that featured these six writers.
Except for Otomo no Kuronushi, poems from these poetic geniuses were featured in Hyakunin Isshu.
These are Ono no Komachi, Funya no Yasuhide and Ariwara no Narihira. (If you're into Chihayafuru, Narihira wrote the poem in the Chihayaburu card). They're part of the Six Geniuses... I love their relationship! ^^
The first part of the anime (episodes 1-5) featured writers from the early Heian period. Narihira is such a casanova, but it's sad how his true love ended. It was said that Murasaki Shikibu's Genji Monogatari was based on him.
Murasaki Shikibu = another writer in the Heian period.
Genji Monogatari = first novel in the world
Episode 6 was a filler episode, but it was so funny. It involved several portions like:
- Teika's Room = talk show
- Heian Grand Prix = an ox race featuring the writers from the first few episodes
- Heian Host Club = this got me laughing so hard!!! xD
The second half of the anime featured poems and stories from the mid to late Heian period.
The poets and poems featured here are also really amazing. There are various kinds of romantic love... and some of them are really relatable.
Sei Shonagon was involved in several poems... though her poem was also among the chosen ones. Aside from poetry, she's known for writing "The Pillow Book" which is a collection of her observations and musings while she served as a court lady to Empress Teishi.
Aside from her, Murasaki Shikibu (the author of Genji Monogatari) was also a part of Hyakunin Isshu.
It's just amazing that in a world and era dominated by men, there are these three magnificent female writers. Ono no Komachi, Sei Shonagon and Murasaki Shikibu are sometimes called "Three Heian Women".
Knowing these three makes me motivated to continue writing. :)
I wrote this poem almost six years ago. This was also inspired by a poem from Hyakunin Isshu. Though Oe no Chisato's poem wasn't featured in the anime, this is among my favorite pieces from the anthology.
Anyway, reviewing the anime is tough because I might be pretty biased. However, I recommend this especially when you're a poetry lover just like me. It's truly inspirational... and the art style is stunning!
The songs used in the anime were also really good, especially the opening song. I couldn't find any trailer online, but let me share the opening song below.
VIDEO SOURCE
I hope you give this anime a shot. Hopefully, through this you won't only appreciate the beauty of Japan's Heian period, but also the value of poetry. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it as much as I did.
Thanks for reading and see you around!
Japanese literature is really interesting! Honestly, I'm not into Japanese poetry (more like I'm into the novels), but every time I read some of their poetry, I can't help but marvel at its simplicity and beauty—especially the ones that express tragedy.
I don't know why, but when it comes to literature, my taste contradicts what I like in anime. I mostly like happy and hopeful endings in anime, but when I read novels, the tragic ones really draw me in! I read the ones that break my heart and leave me empty... Ryuunosuke-sensei's stories were some of the novels that inspired me to write stories and also (sometimes) haiku about the dark and sad side of humanity.
This one is really an intriguing anime, and when there's a literary tragedy, I'm on it! Thanks for sharing @tegoshei~
It is... there's a certain mysticism, if I may say... basta.. haha xDDD
I'm not much into novels coz it takes time to read... I don't have much of that. adulting --> daw, pero naai time for anime and manga... lol
Ryuunosuke as in Akutagawa Not familiar with the actual novelist and his works, but I just know the name thanks to BSD. hahah
I do like Yosano Akiko, though... :) She's also a poet. <3
My friend works in a museum which is partly for her, so it was awesome to take a virtual tour. ^^
Enjoyyyy~
Ahahahaha age is just a number! Anyway, yeah Ryuunosuke the novelist and BSD... Wala pa ko kawatch ana na anime, but I heard na ang iyang mga characters kay based sa mga literary artists sa Japan (novelists and poets). I'm not really familiar sa mga Japanese poets, but sure their works were interesting. Hopefully, I can manage to check this anime this coming Christmas break!
Yes... They're named after authors and poets in Japan... I've only watched the first two seasons (if I remember correctly), but definitely on my rewatch list... Hahahah
Waaa... Sanaol Christmas break... hahahah Enjoyyyyyy!!!! 😎✨🩵
Bitaw ni try kog basa sa manga sa BSD, pero medg naboringan man ko, basin mas nice if animated siya...
Ahahhahaha naa lagi Christmas break pero dili man kay mafeel na kay ga start na hatag amo mga prof mga buhatonon...haisstt plano ta nako mag binge watch ika Christmas break ಠ,_｣ಠ.
Haven't checked the manga version...
I guess mas exciting ang anime... I bet naay daghan dialogues mao boring? hahaha
Aguuuyyyy~~~ college nman ka dba? What major?
ahahahaha kani sad! Ok ra kung sa anime kay maabsorb man sad ka sa voice sa mga va, pero sa manga medg makaboring gud basta naa sa part na naay daghan texts og explanations.
Oo ahahaha... sa elementary educ ko, major sa content education (0v0)..