Hyakunin Isshu and Ogura Hyakunin Isshu


Speaking of Hyakunin Isshu, Ogura Hyakunin Isshu is famous, but what is the difference between Hyakunin Isshu and Ogura Hyakunin Isshu? Are they the same thing?

This article explains the differences between Hyakunin Isshu and Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

Hyakunin Isshu

Hyakunin Isshu is a collection of Japanese poems compiled by Fujiwara no Teika, a Japanese poet. It contains 100 poems in total. The term “Hyakunin Isshu” originally referred to the name of the poetry collection compiled by Fujiwara no Teika, but it came to refer to a collection of 100 poems.

Ogura Hyakunin Isshu

The name “Ogura” in Ogura Hyakunin Isshu is said to come from Ogura-yama, located in Saga, Kyoto. On this mountain, there was a villa where Fujiwara no Teika selected the poems for Hyakunin Isshu at the request of Utsunomiya Yoritsuna. It was called “Ogura-yama’s Hyakunin Isshu,” and it became known as “Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.” Ogura Hyakunin Isshu is a collection of 100 poems, each by one of the 100 poets from Emperor Tenji to Emperor Juntoku, and it became popular as a song card game in modern times.

Other Hyakunin Isshu

The term “Hyakunin Isshu” is used not only for the poetry collection compiled by Fujiwara no Teika, but also for other collections of poems. There are other collections such as Shin Hyakunin Isshu, Gosen Hyakunin Isshu, Genji Hyakunin Isshu, and Eiyu Hyakunin Isshu, some of which contain more than 100 poems.