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Hanlon, Kurtis Towers

University of British Columbia

Uta-awase, or “poetry matches,” were a ludic pursuit of Japan’s nobility, starting in the tenth century and continuing into the early-modern period. They were gatherings both large and small of high-ranking courtiers where two teams presented poems, a judge or team of judges adjudicated the poems to determine a winner, and play continued until the score was tallied at the end. However, not every uta-awase followed the same design, and the three examples this dissertation explores—the Ko-Uemon-no-Kami Tadatoshi kindachi nazo-awase (Family of Late Captain of the Right Outer Palace Guards Fujiwara no Tadatoshi Riddle Match) of 981; the Horikawa-in ensho-awase (Horikawa’s Love Poem Exchange Match) of 1103; and the Teiji-in uta-awase (Poetry Match at the Teiji Villa) of 913—were played in ways that raise the question “Why play this way?” Utilizing the theoretical framework of “striving play” introduced by philosopher C. Thi Nguyen, this dissertation conducts three case studies to examine the non-normative design elements of the above uta-awase and analyze the historical and cultural purpose of playing each one. By treating the uta-awase as games instead of as ritual or as play, this dissertation offers a new lens for examining uta-awase that allows for holistic analysis of the participants, the proceedings, and most importantly, the poems. Ultimately, each chapter concludes that the non-normative design elements were made in service of the purpose of playing the game, namely, showcasing cleverness, modeling heterosexual romance as sympathetic magic, and aligning interpersonal relationships among powerholders at court, respectively, rather than the guiding of players to the lusory goals. By conducting these analyses and by including full English translations and explications of 140 poems from these events, this dissertation contributes to the literary history of Heian Japan (794–1185) and the history of cultural practices by the nobility of that time period.

Text

2024-08-29

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/89108

Asian Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/