Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (kä`kē`nō`mō`tō nō hē`tō`mä`rō), ?–710?, early Japanese lyric poet. He is the greatest poet represented in the Manyôshu [collection of myriad leaves], which is the oldest extant Japanese poetry anthology. Court poet to three sovereigns, Hitomaro produced an extraordinary range of verse, from public elegies and celebrations of prosperity to more lyrical expressions of personal love and mortality, in the tanka and now archaic chôka poetic forms. His poetry is known for its sense of humanity and empathy with nature.

Bibliography

See study by I. H. Levy (1984).