Saigyō

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Saigyō


Born
in Kyoto, Japan
December 25, 1118

Died
March 16, 1190

Website

Genre

Influences
Kokin Wakashuu


Saigyō Houshi (西行 法師, 1119 – March 23, 1190) was a famous Japanese poet of the late Heian and early Kamakura period.

Born Satou Norikiyo (佐藤 義清) in Kyoto to a noble family, he lived during the traumatic transition of power between the old court nobles and the new samurai warriors. After the start of the Age of Mappō (1052), Buddhism was considered to be in decline and no longer as effective a means of salvation. These cultural shifts during his lifetime led to a sense of melancholy in his poetry. As a youth, he worked as a guard to retired Emperor Toba, but in 1140 at age 22, for reasons now unknown, he quit worldly life to become a monk, taking the religious name En'i (円位). He later took the pen name, "Saigyo" meaning Western Journey, a ref
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Average rating: 4.07 · 978 ratings · 142 reviews · 33 distinct worksSimilar authors
Three Japanese Buddhist Monks

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3.78 avg rating — 441 ratings — published 2020 — 5 editions
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Saigyo

4.36 avg rating — 233 ratings — published 1991 — 10 editions
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Gazing at the Moon: Buddhis...

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4.37 avg rating — 131 ratings3 editions
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Awesome Nightfall: The Life...

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4.26 avg rating — 76 ratings — published 2003 — 6 editions
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Mirror for the Moon

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4.03 avg rating — 32 ratings — published 1978 — 3 editions
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The Tale of Saigyo (Volume ...

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3.87 avg rating — 15 ratings2 editions
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Горная хижина

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 13 ratings
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Poesie dal mio rifugio

4.13 avg rating — 8 ratings
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Vers le vide

4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2004 — 3 editions
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Dům v horách. Sto básní na ...

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2013
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More books by Saigyō…
Quotes by Saigyō  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“I'd like to divide
myself in order to see,
among these mountains,
each and every flower
of every cherry tree.”
Saigyo

“Every single thing changes and is changing always in this world. Yet with the same light the moon goes on shining.”
Saigyo

“Limitations gone:
Since my mind fixed on the moon,
Clarity and serenity
Make something for which
There's no end in sight.”
Saigyo, Mirror for the Moon

Topics Mentioning This Author

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PenPal Readers: JAPAN - PenPals, Authors, Books, Travel etc - Discussion 12 22 Apr 19, 2019 01:34PM