Tachibana Akemi

Tachibana Akemi (橘曙覧) (1812 – October 13, 1868) was a Japanese poet and classical scholar.

Biography
Tachibana was born in Echizen (now part of Fukui Prefecture). His parents died when he was a child. He studied to become a Nichiren priest for a time, but abandoned that and considered other career paths. He returned to his hometown of Echizen. After the birth of his first son in 1846, he turned the family business over to his half-brother and became a recluse, devoting his time to the study and composition of waka.

Tachibana broke from tradition by writing poems about whatever he was contemplating at the time, including household minutia, industrial activity, and even nationalism, rather than limiting himself to nature scenes and romantic themes. He lived in voluntary poverty but that environment inspired "some of his most endearing poems, those describing the little pleasures of a poor scholar's life."

During his life Tachibana's poetry was only known in the Echizen region, but an 1899 newspaper article by Masaoka Shiki called national attention to his work.

Works

 * Dokurakugin (独楽吟 "Reciting Poetry for My Own Pleasure"), collection of 52 poems.