The Hundred Poets of the Inkstand

(Sumi-ire hyaku-nin isshu, 住入 百人一首)

Publisher: Sa-Ichi of Ichigaya

c. 1843

Hyaku-nin isshu is an anthology of 100 poems by 100 different poets compiled by the thirteenth-century critic and poet Fujiwara no Sadaie (also known as Teika). The poems are all five-line poems of 31 syllables arranged as 5, 7, 5, 7 and 7. This form was known as waka and is now known as tanka. The 100 poets are in approximately chronological order from the seventh through the thirteenth centuries. Some of the prints portray the poets, and some show scenes associated with their lives or poetry. The poem and some descriptive text appear on each print. The poems were translated by Clay MacCauley in his book Single Songs of a Hundred Poets (1917, Kelly and Walsh, Yokohama). The prints are each about 7 by 5 inches (18 by 13 centimeters), a size known as koban. These images were originally printed four to an ôban sized sheet.

No image available	Number: 1 Poet: Emperor Tenchi Tennô Scene: Emperor Tenchi Tennô on a palace balcony overlooking a misty landscape Robinson: S27.1
	Number: 2 Poet: Empress Jitô Tennô (持統天皇) Scene: Empress Jitô Tennô and a maid looking back at a garden pavilion Robinson: S27.2 I am grateful to Horst Graebner for this image.
	Number: 3 Poet: Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (柿本人麿) Scene: Poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro at his writing desk, chin in hand, watching a pheasant in a tree Robinson: S27.3 I am grateful to I am grateful to Horst Graebner for this image.
No image available	Number: 4 Poet: Yamabe no Akahito Scene: Poet Yamabe no Akahito on the rocky sea-shore with Mount Fuji in the background Robinson: S27.4
	Number: 5 Poet: Sarumaru Dayû (猿丸大夫) Scene: Poet Sarumaru Dayû standing and viewing a mountain with maple trees in their autumn colors Robinson: S27.5 (listed as “not seen”) I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 6 Poet: Chûnagon Yakamochi (中納言家持), who is also known as Otomo no Yakamochi Scene: Poet Chûnagon Yakamochi on a veranda contemplating a building through the mist Robinson: S27.6 I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 7 Poet: Abe no Nakamaro (安倍仲麿) Scene: Poet Abe no Nakamaro seated on the foreign shore with two Chinese men, one of whom points across the sea towards Japan Robinson: S27.7 I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 8 Poet: The monk Kisen Hôshi (喜撰法師) Scene: Two girls seated picking tealeaves while one of them rebukes a wandering child Robinson: S27.8 I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 9 Poet: Ono no Komachi (小野小町) Scene: Poetess Ono no Komachi seated on a palace veranda Robinson: S27.9 I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 10 Poet: Semimaru (蝉丸) Scene: The blind poet Semimaru seated at the window of his hut listening to the sounds of passing travelers on the road Robinson: S27.10 I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 11 Poet: Sangi Takamura (参議篁) also known as Ono no Takamura Scene: Stern view of a junk Robinson: S27.11 (listed as “not seen”) I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 12 Poet: Sôjô Henjô (The Monk Henjô, 僧正遍昭) Scene: Sôjô Henjô looking up at winged figures Robinson: S27.12 (listed as “not seen”) I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 13 Poet: Emperor Yôzei-in (陽成院) Scene: Emperor Yôzei-in bareheaded and seated on a veranda with mist and distant mountains in the background Robinson: S27.13 I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 14 Poet: Kawara no Sadaijin (河原左大臣), who is also known as Minamoto no Toru Scene: Poet Kawara no Sadaijin seated and dozing with folded arms with a river and drying clothes in the background Robinson: S27.14 I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 15 Poet: Emperor Kôkô Tennô (光孝天皇) Scene: Two court ladies and three pages searching for young greens (wakana) in the snow Robinson: S27.15 I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 16 Poet: Chûnagon Yukihira (中納言行平), who is also known as Ariwara no Yukihira Scene: Attendants carrying a palanquin under the watchful eyes of a supervisor with a wooded hill in the background Robinson: S27.16 I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 17 Poet: Ariwara no Narihira Ason (庄原業平朝臣) Scene: Poet Ariwara no Narihira with a page beside the Tatsuta River viewing the autumn maples Robinson: S27.17 I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 18 Poet: Fujiwara no Toshiyuki Ason (藤原敏行朝臣) Scene: Poet Fujiwara no Toshiyuki Ason dozing at his writing table by lamplight with a screen behind him Robinson: S27.18 I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 19 Poet: Lady Ise (伊勢) Scene: Lady Ise with a fan in hand walking by the sea-shore with distant sailboats in the background Robinson: S27.19 I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.
	Number: 20 Poet: Prince Motoyoshi-shinnô (元良親王) Scene: Prince Motoyoshi-shinnô and his lady by the Bay of Naniwa with distant sailboats in the background Robinson: S27.20 The poem translates: In this dire distress my life is meaningless. So we must meet now, even though it costs my life in the Bay of Naniwa. I am grateful to Stuart Varnam-Atkin for this image.

“Robinson” refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its privately published supplement.

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