Description
Book SynopsisThe Journal of Socho is one of the most individual self-portraits in the literary history of medieval Japan. Its author, Saiokuken Socho (1448-1532)the preeminent linked-verse (renga) poet of his timewas an eyewitness to Japan''s violent transition from the medieval to the early modern age. Written between 1522 and 1527, during the Age of the Country at War (Sengoku jidai), his journal provides a vivid portrayal of cultural life in the capital and in the provinces, together with descriptions of battles and great warrior families, the dangers of travel through war-torn countryside, and the plight of the poor.
The journal records four of Socho''s journeys between Kyoto and Suruga Province, where he served as the poet laureate of the Imagawa house, as well as several shorter excursions and periods of rest at various hermitages. The diverse upbringing of its authora companion of nobles and warlords, a student of the orthodox poetic neoclassicism of the reng
Trade Review
"With his fine translation of Socho's journal, Horton provides another valuable document to aid in our understanding of the complexities of medieval Japanese discourse." -- Journal of Japanese Studies
"In sum, these two [The Journal of Socho and Song in an Age of Discord: 'The Journal of Socho' and Poetic Life in Late Medieval Japan] beautifully produced volumes provide a fine entry into the cultural world of the elite classes of warring states in Japan." -- Journal of Asian History
Table of Contents
List of Abbreviations Eras and Reigns During Soch6's Lifetime (1448-I532) A Note to the Translation Book One Second Year of Daiei (1522) Third Year of Daiei (1523) Fourth Year of Daiei (1524) Fifth Year of Daiei (1525) Sixth Year of Daiei (1526) Book Two Sixth Year of Daiei (1526) Seventh Year of Daiei (1527) Appendixes A: The Imagawa House B: The Historical Context of the "Asahina Battle Chronicle" C: Chronology of The Journal of Socho Notes Bibliography Index of First Lines General Index
