From heart to word : self, other, and oneness explored by three medieval Japanese poets of the Kyōgoku school of poetry
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- This dissertation looks to the Kyogoku school of poetry, a select group of Jimyo-in imperials and their followers who were active during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and considers how three of its poets—Kyogoku Tamekane (1254-1332), Hanazono (1297-1348), and Kogon (1313-1364)—interpreted the poetic process of translating heart (kokoro) to word (kotoba). This process was monumentally defined by the court poets Ki no Tsurayuki and Ki no Yoshimochi in the Kokin wakashu prefaces (c. 905), which metaphorized poetry as leaves of words that have sprouted from seeds of heart, and as flowers rooted in heart that have bloomed in a grove of words. Centuries later, Tamekane, Hanazono, and Kogon recast these original literary metaphors into a religiously- and philosophically-inspired poetics that rethinks the process of translating heart (kokoro) to word (kotoba). Using poetry composition as a meditative practice informed by medieval Buddhist thought, they reshaped the assumption that a poet is always a "self" and that the poetic subject is always an "other, " and produced a new style of poetic expression that is born from the poet actualizing a state of "oneness" with the poetic subject. Each chapter respectively explores Tamekane's, Hanazono's, and Kogon's ideas on kokoro and kotoba as revealed by their poetry and writings. I argue that composing poetry was for them an experiential means of reforming their preconceptions of the self and external world. For Tamekane, it was a conceptual exercise toward questioning and transcending the boundaries of poet as "self" and poetic subject as "other, " aspiring for an experience of "oneness" that encourages the poet to reconsider what the purpose of poetic composition is. For Hanazono, it was a meditative tool for transcending conscious knowing, entering into the non-dual realm beyond the fathoming of heart/mind, and producing waka poetry that gestures toward this liminal experience. And for Kogon, it was a practice of reflecting upon and transcending the dualistic separations between himself and winter's heart. Their poetry and writings acknowledge the heart of "oneness" as ineffable. However, they also show that even while knowing that words are by their very nature incomplete, a poet can continue to strive to express their feelings and experiences with words from the heart
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic resource; remote; computer; online resource |
| Extent | 1 online resource |
| Place | California |
| Place | [Stanford, California] |
| Publisher | [Stanford University] |
| Copyright date | 2020; ©2020 |
| Publication date | 2020; 2020 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Wake, Caroline Akiko |
|---|---|
| Degree supervisor | Carter, Steven, 1943- |
| Degree supervisor | Reichert, Jim (James Robert) |
| Thesis advisor | Carter, Steven, 1943- |
| Thesis advisor | Reichert, Jim (James Robert) |
| Thesis advisor | Levy, Indra A |
| Degree committee member | Levy, Indra A |
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|---|
| Genre | Text |
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Caroline Akiko Wake |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures |
| Thesis | Thesis Ph.D. Stanford University 2020 |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2020 by Caroline Akiko Wake
Also listed in
Loading usage metrics...