| Waka poetry of the Tokugawa period, when drawing any critical attention at all, is typically regarded as a literary fossil which was insulated from the major artistic and intellectual currents of the age. It is commonly described as a consciously preserved relic of Japan's court tradition, its continued existence having little to do with contemporary literary trends. Moreover, it is often dismissed as artistically uninspired, possessing few qualities which might recommend it to serious critical inquiry. This dissertation challenges such generalizations as facile, particularly when they are applied to waka poetry of the latter half of the Edo period. Waka poetry of the Tokugawa period was not isolated from the literary mainstream; indeed, by the middle of the nineteenth century it had come to reflect a number of artistic, intellectual, an even social trends in Edo culture. Among its practitioners were several poets whose works bespeak a fertile imagination, whose poems possess an enduring aesthetic appeal.;This study identifies and analyzes five channels through which waka poetry of the Edo period was influenced by contemporary culture. Confucian "ancient learning" (kokugaku), "nativism" (kokugaku), the dynamics of ga (high, courtly) and zoku (low, plebeian) characteristic of the age, a reassessment of Chinese culture to include a heightened appreciation of recent continental literature and art theory, and the rise of individual consciousness in the latter half of the Tokugawa period all played an important role in the development of Edo waka poetic theory and practice. Much space is also devoted to analysis of the techniques and poetic devices employed by poets treated in the study, demonstrating their worthiness as objects of critical investigation.;Part I of this dissertation examines the historical development of Edo waka poetry, demonstrating its connections to mainstream culture. The study treats a wide range of poets and their works, but devotes special attention to Okuma Kotomichi (1798-1868) and Tachibana Akemi (1812-1868). Part II consists of annotated translation of selections from the works of Kotomichi and Akemi. |
