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Secondary sourceBookc. 1300

Hyakunin Isshu

Fujiwara no Teika · c. 1300

A classic anthology of one hundred poets compiled by Fujiwara no Teika that canonised Murasaki Shikibu and spread her verse through a popular card game.

Canonised Murasaki Shikibu as one of the hundred great poets and spread her verse through the karuta game.

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Illustrated playing card with a woman in a purple robe reclining on red and yellow bedding, with a long-haired figure and a white fan-like sleeve. Black brush calligraphy in Japanese runs down the upper right.
Uta-garuta playing card depicting Murasaki Shikibu, Edo period illustration for the Hyakunin Isshu.

About this source

What it is

The Hyakunin Isshu is a classical anthology of one hundred waka poems by one hundred poets, compiled by Fujiwara no Teika around the Ogura district of Kyoto. It is also the basis of the uta-garuta card game.

Why it matters

By including Murasaki Shikibu among the hundred chosen poets, Teika's anthology placed her among the great names of Japanese poetry. Because the collection became a popular card game, her poem and image spread far beyond the court into everyday culture.

Look closer

  • Why might a card game be a powerful way to keep a poet's work alive for centuries?
  • What choices did Teika make in selecting only one hundred poets, and what might that leave out?
  • Look at the playing card illustration: how is Murasaki Shikibu imagined by an artist centuries after she lived?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Murasaki Shikibu on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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