Minamoto no Tōru (源融, 822 – September 21, 895) was a Japanese poet and statesman. He was born the son of Emperor Saga and a member of the Saga Genji clan. He is sometimes mentioned as the model for Hikaru Genji in important Japanese literary classic The Tale of Genji.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Minamoto_no_Tohru.jpg/200px-Minamoto_no_Tohru.jpg)
Under his title Minister of the Left of Kawara (河原左大臣, Kawara no Sadaijin), he is the author of poem 14 in the Hyakunin Isshu poetry anthology:
陸奥のしのぶもぢずり誰ゆゑに
乱れそめにしわれならなくに
Michinoku no shinobu-mojizuri tare yue ni
midare somenishi ware naranaku ni
Like Michinoku prints of the tangled leaves of ferns, it is because of you,
that I have become confused; but my love for you remains.
(based on Kokin Wakashū 14:724)
Here is another translation:
- The dye with hare’s-foot-fern, of Michinoku—who else would have made me feel as disturbed?
The poet is also famous for making a replica of the uta-makura Shiogama, a poetic place name, in his garden.[1]
His tomb resides at the Seiryō-ji, a Buddhist temple situated on what was once Saga Moor in Kyoto.
We also see two of his poems included in the Gosen Wakashū.[2]
References
edit- ^ Sato, Hiroaki (1995). Legends of the Samurai. Overlook Duckworth. p. 38. ISBN 9781590207307.
- ^ "Minamoto no Tōru • . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史". . A History . . of Japan . 日本歴史. Retrieved 2022-07-30.