Ki no Tsurayuki

Ki no Tsurayuki (紀貫之) was a Japanese author, poet and courtier of the Heian period.

Tsurayuki was a son of Ki no Mochiyuki. He became a waka poet in the 890s. In 905, under the order of Emperor Daigo, he was one of four poets selected to compile the Kokin Wakashū, an anthology of poetry.

After holding a few offices in Kyoto, he was appointed the provincial governor of Tosa province and stayed there from 930 until 935. Later he was presumably appointed the provincial governor of Suo province, since it was recorded that he held a waka party (Utaai) at his home in Suo.

He is well-known for his waka and is counted as one of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals selected by Fujiwara no Kinto. He was also known as one of the editors of the Kokin Wakashū. Tsurayuki wrote one of two prefaces to Kokin Wakashū; the other is in Chinese. His preface was the first critical essay on waka. He wrote of its history from its mythological origin to his contemporary waka, which he grouped into genres, referred to some major poets and gave a bit of harsh criticism to his predecessors like Ariwara no Narihira.

His waka is included in one of the important Japanese poetry anthologies, the Hyakunin Isshu, which was compiled in the 13th century by Fujiwara no Teika, long after Tsurayuki's death.

Works
Besides the Kokin Wakashū and its preface, Tsurayuki's major literary work was the Tosa nikki (土佐日記) (Tosa Diary), which was written using kana. The text details a trip in 935 returning to Kyoto from Tosa province, where Tsurayuki had been the provincial governor.

Impersonation
Most researchers have long believed that Tsurayuki impersonated a woman, because they assume that kana was usually by women in the Heian Period.

In 2006, Hideo Komatsu (小松英雄) published a book, Koten-sai-nyu-mon (古典再入門, Re-introduction to Japanese Classical Literature), in which he advanced a new theory relating to Tosa nikki. In his theory, Tsurayuki did not impersonate a woman, and the first sentence was only part that he would not write using kanji but kana. This theory has virtually been ignored by most researchers, though.

Tale of Genji
Tsurayuki's name is referred to in the Tale of Genji as a waka master. In this story, Emperor Uda ordered him and a number of female poets to write waka on his panels as accessories.