was a Japanese

Japanese people

The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...

 statesman and waka

Waka (poetry)

Waka or Yamato uta is a genre of classical Japanese verse and one of the major genres of Japanese literature...

poet in the Nara period

Nara period

The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyō, in 784...

. He is a member of the . He was born into the prestigious Ōtomo clan; his grandfather was Ōtomo no Amaro and his father was Ōtomo no Tabito

Otomo no Tabito

was a Japanese poet, best known as the father of Ōtomo no Yakamochi, who contributed to compiling the Man'yōshū alongside his father. Tabito was a contemporary of Hitomaro, but lacked his success in the Imperial Court...

. Ōtomo no Kakimochi was his younger brother, and Ōtomo no Sakanoe no Iratsume

Otomo no Sakanoe no Iratsume

was a female Japanese poet, important in her time , with 79 poems in the Man'yōshū.-Life:In her teens, she married Prince Hozumi and after his early death, she married his half-brother. After he also died, she went to live with Ōtomo no Tabito....

 his aunt. His granduncle is possibly Ōtomo no Komaro who came to Japan in the time of Empress Jitō

Empress Jito

was the 41st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Jitō's reign spanned the years from 686 through 697.In the history of Japan, Jitō was the third of eight women to take on the role of empress regnant. The two female monarchs before Jitō were Suiko and Kōgyoku/Saimei...

.

Political life

The Ōtomo clan were warriors and bureaucrats in the Yamato

Yamato period

The is the period of Japanese history when the Japanese Imperial court ruled from modern-day Nara Prefecture, then known as Yamato Province.While conventionally assigned to the period 250–710 , the actual start of Yamato rule is disputed...

 Court, and Yakamochi served as a in several provinces. Like his grandfather and father before him, Yakamochi was a well-known politician, and by Enryaku

Enryaku

was a after Ten'ō and before Daidō. This period spanned the years from August 782 through May 806. The reigning emperor was .-Change of era:* November 12, 782 : The new era name was created to mark an event or series of events...

 rose to the position of , the highest bureaucratic position. In 738 he met Udoneri, and in 740 at the behest of Emperor Shōmu

Emperor Shomu

was the 45th emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession.Shōmu's reign spanned the years 724 through 723.-Traditional narrative:...

 went to Kyūshū

Kyushu

is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....

 Daisaifu to suppress the rebellion of Fujiwara no Hirotsugu. In 745 he became a . In July of the following year, he became governor of Etchu Province

Etchu Province

was an old province in central Honshū, on the Sea of Japan side. It was sometimes called , with Echizen and Echigo Provinces. It bordered Echigo, Shinano, Hida, Kaga, and Noto provinces...

, a post he lasted in until 751. By this time he was already the author of 220 waka. In 751 he was promoted to and returned to the capital. In 754 he was appointed , and the following year concerned himself with the at Namba

Namba

is a district of Osaka, Japan. Namba is regarded as the center of so-called Minami area of Osaka. Its name is one of variations on the former name of Osaka, Naniwa...

, a time that is described in the Sakimori Songs Collection in the Man'yōshū. Yakamochi did not take part in the . Instead, he conspired with Fujiwara no Yoshitsugu, Isonokami Yakatsugu and Saeki no Imaemishi to plot the assassination of Fujiwara no Nakamaro

Fujiwara no Nakamaro

, later also given the name of by Emperor Kōnin, was an aristocrat and poet of Nara period in Japan. His father was Fujiwara no Muchimaro, founder of Nanke lineage of Fujiwara clan....

. Afterwards Yoshitsugu took sole responsibility for the affair, but due to suspicions about Yakamochi's involvement he was transferred to the governorship of Satsuma Province

Satsuma Province

was an old province of Japan that is now the western half of Kagoshima Prefecture on the island of Kyūshū. Its abbreviation is Sasshū .During the Sengoku Period, Satsuma was a fief of the Shimazu daimyo, who ruled much of southern Kyūshū from their castle at Kagoshima city.In 1871, with the...

. In 777 he rose to the governorship of Ise Province

Ise Province

or was a province of Japan including most of modern Mie Prefecture. Ise bordered Iga, Kii, Mino, Ōmi, Owari, Shima, and Yamato Provinces.The ancient provincial capital was at Suzuka...

. According to the records of the , he served in this post for about five years. In 780 he was promoted to . Fearing suspicion and banishment from the capital for aiding in Hikami no Kawatsugu's , he remained quiet and was promoted to in 783. He died by drowning in Mutsu Province

Mutsu Province

was an old province of Japan in the area of Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate and Aomori prefecture and the municipalities of Kazuno and Kosaka in Akita Prefecture...

 while attending to his concurrent post as shogun

Shogun

A was one of the hereditary military dictators of Japan from 1192 to 1867. In this period, the shoguns, or their shikken regents , were the de facto rulers of Japan though they were nominally appointed by the emperor...

. Soon after his death, Fujiwara no Tanetsugu was assassinated; suspecting that Yakamochi was involved in the affair, his burial was denied and he was posthumously disgraced and excommunicated. His son was stripped of rank and forced into exile, and it was only in 806 that he regained his rank.

Poetic works

Yakamochi was one of the compilers of the Man'yōshū, the first poetry anthology created in Japanese history, for which he not only wrote several poems but also transcribed, rewrote, and refashioned an unknown number of ancient poems and folklore. He was the most prolific and prominent writer of his time, and had a great influence on the Shika Wakashū as well.

External links