THE “WAY OF POETRY” (UTA-NO MICHI) IN THE TREATISES OF MASTERS OF “LINKED VERSE”

Abstract

The paper analyzes Sasamegoto (Whispered Conversations, 1463–1464), a treatise by Shinkei, the influential Buddhist poet and thinker of the Muromachi period (1392–1568). In this treatise on the collaborative poetry of “linked verse” (renga), the author addresses the category of the “Way” (michi) or the “Way of Poetry” (uta-no michi), which he interprets on the basis of ancient Chinese philosophers (Confucius and Lao Tze) and early Japanese authors of Zen school (e. g., Mujū Ichien, who wrote the Shasekishū — The Collection of Sand and Rocks, 13th century) and even endows it with a new meaning. In Shinkei’s view, the Way is not only mastery and its perfection. This is a sum total of many diverse things: the entire corpus of belles-lettres, theoretical treatises, schools, teachers and disciples, ideal poets, trends, styles, inner discipline, lifestyles, the past and the present.