Fujiwara no Yukinari

Haku Rakuten Shikan

Honnōji-gire

Fujiwara no Yukinari ( Japanese 藤原 行 成 , or in respectful reading Fujiwara no Kōzei ; born 972 ; died January 3, 1028 ) was a Japanese court official and calligrapher of the Heian period . Together with Fujiwara no Sukemasa and Ono no Michikaze , he is one of the three great calligraphers of his time.

life and work

Yukinari was the son of Fujiwara no Yoshitaka ( 藤原 義 孝 ; 954–974) and grandson of Fujiwara no Koretada ( 藤原 伊尹 ; 924–972).

In 995, at the age of 24, he was appointed imperial chief secretary ( 蔵 do kurōdo no tō ), 1001 imperial advisor ( 参議 sangi ) and finally in 1020 the extraordinary grand chancellery councilor ( rat 大 納 言 gon-dainagon ). He held the second, real court rank ( 正 二 位 shō-ni-i ).

There are no examples of his kana script, but there are a number of texts that are entirely written in kanji . Among the surviving texts, the scroll entitled "Poems of Haku Rakuten" ( Haku rakuten shikan ) is considered to be particularly characteristic. The scroll contains eight poems by the poet of the Tang Dynasty Bai Juyi , who is also known as Bo Luoran ( Chinese  白 楽 天 , Japanese read Haku Rakuten). The eight poems are a selection from the 65th section of Bozhi wenji ( Chinese  白氏 文集 ). Yukinari copied these poems on the 21st day of the 8th month of the 2nd year of Kannin (1018). As it stands, the text consists of 61 lines, but there is evidence that lines from the beginning and the middle of Yukinari's manuscript were cut out by admirers of the manuscript.

Yukinari's style can be described as correct and beautiful. The signs are arguably balanced and well on the line. The font gives a clean and crisp feel, which makes it easy for the eye to read. Compared to Ono no Michikaze, it has a more urbane quality, so that Yukinari can be described as the perfecter of the font developed by Michikaze.

Yukinari seems to have had a kind, genteel disposition; he may have been a fine example of a man from the Court of Time. This is also evidenced by his diary Gonki ( 権 記 ), as well as by contemporary reports.

Documents

• Haku rakuten shikan or Hakushi shikan ( 白氏 詩 巻 ), National Treasure , Tokyo National Museum
• Honnōji-gire ( 本能 寺 切 ), national treasure , kept in the Honnō-ji temple
• Go-Sagain hon-Hakushi shikan (後 嵯峨 院 本 白氏 詩 巻 ), National Treasure , Masaki Art Museum
• Atsuyasu-shinnō kankei bunsho ( 敦康 親王 関係 文書 ), Sannomaru shōzōkan ( 三 の 丸 尚 蔵 館 ) (see Kōkyo Higashi-gyoen )
• Shojō (Onmeijō) ( 書 状 (恩 命 帖) ), Important Cultural Property , Tokyo National Museum

literature

• Tazawa, Yutaka: Fujiwara no Yukinari . In: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art. Kodansha International, 1981. ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Japanese yūsokuyomi ( 有 職 読 み ). The Japanese name reading was replaced by a Sino-Japanese on reading .
2. ↑ 朧 谷 寿 : 藤原 行 成 . In: 朝日 日本 歴 史 人物 事 典 at kotobank.jp. Retrieved December 9, 2017 (Japanese). 
3. ↑ 藤原 行 成 . In: 大 辞 林 第三版 at kotobank.jp. Retrieved December 9, 2017 (Japanese). 

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . So Fujiwara is the family name, Yukinari the first name.