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Shōtetsu
Japanese poet
Also known as: Komatsu Masakiyo
Quick Facts
- Original name:
- Komatsu Masakiyo
- Born:
- 1381, Oda, Bitchū province [part of Okayama prefecture], Japan
- Died:
- June 9, 1459, Kyōto (aged 78)
- Notable Works:
- “Conversations with Shōtetsu”
Shōtetsu (born 1381, Oda, Bitchū province [part of Okayama prefecture], Japan—died June 9, 1459, Kyōto) was a priest-poet who is considered the last truly important tanka poet before the 20th century. Shōtetsu was born into a middle-rank samurai family in the provinces but was taken by his family to Kyōto when he was a boy. He showed precocious ability at composing tanka. Probably by his father’s command, he became a Zen priest before he was 20, but he did not abandon tanka poetry. For him, as for the great Noh playwrights, a key term was yūgen, which he used to ...(100 of 222 words)