was a Japanese waka poet of the early Heian period.[1] His exact dates of birth and death are unknown,[1] [2] but he was a fourth-generation descendant of Sakanoue no Tamuramaro.[1]
He was one of the Thirty-six Immortals of Poetry[1] [2] and one of his poems was included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.[3] [4] Forty-one of his poems were ultimately included in the imperial anthologies.[2]
He was the father of the poet .[1] [5]
During his own life he was known primarily as a champion kemari player.[2] On March 2, 905, he and his colleagues kicked a ball 206 times without interruption at the Imperial Court, and were praised by the emperor.
He served as governor of Kaga Province.[2]
One of his poems was included as No. 31 in Fujiwara no Teika's Ogura Hyakunin Isshu:
| Japanese text | Romanized Japanese[6] | English translation |
朝ぼらけ 有明の月と みるまでに 吉野の里に ふれる白雪 | Asaborake ariake no tsuki to miru made ni yoshino no sato ni fureru shira-yuki | The first light over Yoshino village - The snow has piled so deep, so white I cannot tell it from the dawn's pale moonlight |
. Donald Keene . A History of Japanese Literature, Vol. 1: Seeds in the Heart — Japanese Literature from Earliest Times to the Late Sixteenth Century . . New York . 1999 . 978-0-231-11441-7 .
. Peter McMillan . One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each . . New York . 2010 . 978-0-231-14399-8 .