The 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 time--was 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...

Song in an Age of Discord is a companion volume to the author's translation of The Journal of Socho, the travel diary and poetic memoir of Saiokuken Socho (1448-1532), the preeminent linked-verse (renga) poet of his generation. The Journal--which records several journeys that Socho made between Kyoto and Suruga Province during the tumultuous Age of the Country at War--is unparalleled in the literature of the period for its range of commentary and freshness of detail, and for its impressive array of literary genres, including more than 600 poems. The present volume...

The 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 time--was 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...

In 736, a Japanese diplomatic mission set out for Silla, on the Korean peninsula. The journey proved fruitful in one respect - its literary representation, a collection of 145 poems, made its way into the eighth-century poetic anthology 'Man'yoshu', becoming the longest poetic sequence in the collection.