| Shinpen kokka taikan no. | 20 |
| Heian-chō uta’awase taisei no. | 36 |
| Title | 近江御息所歌合 |
| Romanised Title | Ōmi no miyasudokoro uta’awase |
| Translated Title | Poetry Contest held by the Ōmi Lady of the Bedchamber |
| Alternative Title(s) | Ōmi miyasudokoro shushi uta’awase 近江御息所周子歌合 (‘Poetry Contest held by Chikako, Ōmi Lady of the Bedchamber’) |
| Date | Spring, before Enchō 延長 8 [930] |
| Extant Poems | 20 |
| Sponsor | Minamoto no Chikako (Shūshi) 源周子 |
| Identifiable Participants | Y – Ōchikōchi no Mitsune 凡河内躬恒 |
| Judgements | N |
| Topics | Plum (mume 梅); willow (yanagi やなぎ); blossoming cherry (hanazakura 花桜); bird cherry (kaniwazakura かには桜); chinaberry (ōchi 楝); Taiwan cherry (hizakura no hana ひざくらの花); garden cherry (niwazakura には桜); peach blossom (momo no hana ももの花); rock azalea (iwatsutsuji いはつつじ); mulberry blossom (kaji no ki no hana かぢのきの花); snowbell blossom (yamajisa no hana 山ぢさの花); smilax blossom (sarutori no hana さるとりの花); maple (kaede かへで); sand pear blossom (yamanashi no hana 山なしの花); fox willow (iwayanagi いはやなぎ); budding azalea (mitsutsuji no hana みつつじの花); waterweed (ukikusa うき草); kerria blooms (yamabuki no hana 山ぶきの花); wisteria blooms (fuji no hana ふぢのはな) |
The sponsor of this match, the Ōmi Lady of the Bedchamber (ōmi no miyasudokoro 近江御息所) has been identified as Minamoto no Chikako (Shūshi) 源周子 (?-935), who served Emperor Daigo 醍醐 (884-930; r. 897-930) as an Imperial Concubine (kōi 更衣). Chikako was a daughter of Minamoto no Tonau 源唱 (dates unknown), who Daigo appointed as Middle Controller of the Right (uchūben ) on his enthronement in 897, but her Ōmi sobriquet may have been bestowed posthumously as her older brother, Suguru 俊 (dates unknown) was appointed Governor of Ōmi in 958. Little is known of Chikako personally, but her relationship with Daigo seems to have been close as she bore him seven children between 904-928.
The precise date of this uta’awase is unclear—about all that can be said is that it probably took place prior to Daigo’s death in 930, while Chikako was still resident in the Rear Palace, but after the completion and circulation of the first imperial poetry anthology, Kokin wakashū (‘Anthology of Yamato Poetry, Ancient and Modern’; 915-920), as many of the plants which are used as topics derive from that work (Hagitani 1957, 256–257). Many of its poems are acrostics making it another exercise in enjoyable wordplay for the participants and audience.
The names of the poets are not recorded in the match’s text, but one is attributed to Ōchikōchi no Mitsune 凡河内躬恒 (Fl. 898-922) in Kokin rokujō, which makes it likely that this was an event where experienced wordsmiths composed poems for the pleasure of their aristocratic superiors. This impression is reinforced by the fact that the poems were not matched into rounds, but simply presented one at a time, with one poem on each topic.