was a Japanese waka poet of the mid-Heian period. One of his poems was included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. He produced a private collection, the Egyō-hōshi-shū, and was listed as one of the Late Classical Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry.
Biography Although his exact birth and death dates are unknown, he flourished in the Kanna era in the mid-980s,Britannica Kokusai Dai-hyakkajiten article "Egyō". 2007. Britannica Japan Co. His name is sometimes read as Ekei.McMillan 2010 : 140 (note 47).
Poetry Fifty-six of his poems were included in imperial anthologies from the Shūi Wakashū on, and he was included in the Late Classical Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry.
Along with , he was a central figure of the poetry circle of his day, and also associated with the poets Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu, Ki no Tokifumi and Taira no Kanemori.
The following poem by him was included as No. 47 in Fujiwara no Teika's Ogura Hyakunin Isshu: Japanese textSuzuki et al. 2009 : 62.Romanized JapaneseMcMillan 2010 : 164.English translationMcMillan 2010 : 49.八重葎 しげれる宿の さびしきに 人こそ見えぬ 秋は来にけりYae mugura shigereru yado no sabishiki ni hito koso miene aki wa kinikeriHow lonely this house overgrown with goosegrass weeds. No one visits me— only the weary autumn comes.
He also left a private collection, the .
Religion He is supposed to have delivered sermons on the Buddhist sutras at the Kokubun-ji in Harima Province.
References
Bibliography
McMillan, Peter. 2010 (1st ed. 2008). One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each. New York: Columbia University Press. Suzuki Hideo, Yamaguchi Shin'ichi, Yoda Yasushi. 2009 (1st ed. 1997). Genshoku: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. Tokyo: Bun'eidō.
External links List of Egyō's poems in the International Research Center for Japanese Studies's online waka database. Egyō-hōshi-shū in the same database. Egyō on Kotobank.