Renga by Sasaki Doyō: Selected from the Tsukubashū (Tsukuba Anthology)

The Tsukubashū (1356-57), or Tsukuba Anthology, was the first of two official collections of medieval linked verse (renga) modeled on the structural and thematic format of the seventeen imperial waka anthologies compiled between 905 and 1349.¹ The Tsukubashū was initially compiled by the court poet Nijō Yoshimoto (1320-88) in 1356 without an imperial mandate. In the following year, however, it was recognized as a quasi-imperial anthology through the mediation of warrior and lay monk Sasaki Dōyo (1295?-1373).

The 2,149 pairings of renga verses in the Tsukubashū are arranged in twenty maki, or scrolls, grouped topically in sections dedicated to the four seasons, religion, love, travel, miscellany, and so forth, roughly following the manner of the imperial waka anthologies. Most of the anthology’s verses are presented as single pairs in two lines, many of them excerpted from longer sequences of, for example, hyakuin (hundred-verse sequences composed collaboratively by two or more poets), senku renga (thousand-verse sequences, also collaboratively composed), or kusari renga (literally, “chain-linked poetry”).² Only the poet of the second line (the tsukeku) in these pairs is identified. In so doing, the anthology places greater importance on the deliberate act of linking, that is to say, in finding the “life” of renga in the linkage and celebrating the distinct manner in which a poet responds to the imagery, sound, rhythm, mood, and literary allusions of the preceding verse.

Sasaki Dōyo is represented in the Tsukubashū by 81 links. This makes him the fourth best represented renga poet after Kyūsei (also pronounced Gusai; 1283-1376?, with 127 links), Prince Son’in (Kajii no Miya; 1306-59, with 90 links), and Nijō Yoshimoto (1320-88, with 87 links). Thus he was the most important among the warrior poets of his day. His record also compares closely to that of Ashikaga Takauji (1305-58), who is represented in the collection by 68 links.

Sasaki’s prominence as a poet in the Tsukubashū undeniably reflected his political influence. As a top military leader and trusted advisor in the Ashikaga Shogunate, he also had connections at Emperor Go-Daigo’s (1288-1339) court and at powerful temples. And he was a cultural leader whose influence extended beyond the world of poetry to the spheres of tea, incense blending, and flower arrangement. Sasaki attended renga parties given by Son’in and Nijō Yoshimoto, among others; and he studied renga with Kyūsei, who was also Nijō Yoshimoto’s teacher. In the late 1340s and early 1350s, he hosted a monthly renga party at his home. In other words, while his role in securing imperial recognition for the Tsukubashū may have played a part in the inclusion of so many of his links in the anthology, the selections appear to be justified by their conceptual briskness, aesthetic refinement, and emotive depth.

The following are Dōyo’s renga from the first six volumes of the Tsukubashū, progressing through the seasons from early spring to late winter. The first line of each linked pair represents the maeku of an unidentified poet, and the second line represents Dōyo’s tsukeku.³ It should be noted that renga links are normally written and printed in single lines in Japanese. In order to indicate the alternating long and short groupings of 5/7/5 and 7/7 syllables, the 5/7/5 groupings are translated here in three lines of English, and the 7/7 syllabic groupings in two lines.

        ura no haru to ya nami ni hana saku6     tōyama wa kasumi nimo nari yuki ni mie

        spring on the shore as they say        on waves flowers bloom        distant mountains        turn into haze too        though looking like snow—⁴

        kareki to mishi ni hana no saku haru36     ume-ga-e no sakari no hodo wa ha mo nakute

        a withered tree, I thought        but flowers bloom in spring        a plum branch        while at peak        has no leaves—⁵

        sato made kane o...