Arakida Moritake

In this Japanese name, the surname is Arakida.

Arakida Moritake

Arakida Moritake (荒木田 守武, 1473 – August 30, 1549) was a Japanese poet who excelled in the fields of waka, renga, and in particular haikai. He studied renga with Sōgi.[1] He was the son of Negi Morihide, and a Shintoist. At the age of 69, he became head priest of the Inner Ise Shrine.

Moritake's most famous poem:

A fallen blossom

returning to the bough, I thought --

But no, a butterfly.

(Translation by Steven D. Carter)[2]

Notes

1. Carter, Steven D. Traditional Japanese Poetry: An Anthology. Stanford University Press, 1991. ISBN 978-0804722124 p338
2. Carter, 1991. p340

External links

• Works by or about Arakida Moritake at Wikisource
• A history of Japanese literature