Sanetaka Sanjonishi

1455-1537

A courtier and scholar of the late Muromachi period (c. 1467 – 1573). Born on April 25, 1455 as the second son of Kinyasu Sanjonishi. His given name was Kimiyo. His maternal grandfather was Fusanaga Kanroji. The Sanjonishi Family was a branch of the Ogimachi-Sanjo Family, which in turn was descended from the Sanjo Family. In the society of court nobles of that period, the Sanjonishi Family belonged to the upper middle class, and its name originates from the fact that the Sanjonishi estate was located on the west (“nishi” in Japanese) side of the Ogimachi-Sanjo Family estate. 

In 1458, after the early death of his older brother Sanetsura, Kimiyo was conferred peerage at the age of four and took the name Kiminobu. In 1460, his father Kinyasu passed away, and in 1469, at the age of 15, Kiminobu conducted a ritual to celebrate his coming of age, and took the name Sanetaka. He served four emperors—Gohanazono, Gotsuchimikado, Gokashiwabara, and Gonara—and reached the position of naidaijin (literary “Inner Minister”). As a court noble, he scrupulously performed his duties of connecting the Emperor’s Court with the Shogunate, and at the same time applied his knowledge of court rules, ceremony, decorum and records of the past in order to preserve the traditions and rituals of the imperial court. Sanetaka also worked to revive the classics by gathering and copying Japanese and Chinese books dispersed or lost during the wars. 

He studied Japanese poetry under Masachika Asukai using the pen name Chosetsu, and listened to Sogi’s lectures on Genji Monogatari (“The Tale of Genji”) and Ise Monogatari (“The Tales of Ise”) with Shohaku Botanka as an intermediary. In 1501, Sanetaka received instructions from Sogi in the secret traditions of Kokin Waka Shu (“Collection of Ancient and Modern Japanese Poetry”), the so-called “Kokin denju”), and also cooperated in the compilation of Sogi’s Shinsen Tsukuba Shu (an anthology of renga (linked verse) poems). Sanetaka also possessed profound knowledge of Chinese poetry and prose achieved through communication with Ryutaku Tenin, Jukei Gesshu, and other Zen monks from the Five Mountain System. These qualities made Sanetaka one of the preeminent literary figures of that period, respected both by court nobles and warriors. He entered into priesthood in 1516 under the Buddhist name Gyouku. Upon achieving enlightenment, Sanetaka was awarded the name Koin, and his posthumous Buddhist name was Shoyoin. He was also known as a skilled calligrapher, much of it preserved to this day, including on both tanzaku (strips of paper) and shikishi (square pieces of paper for writing poetry), on which he replied to requests from local lords, as well as copies of classic texts, captions to picture scrolls, draft poems, letters, etc. His works include Genji Monogatari Sairyusho (an annotated edition of the “The Tale of Genji”); Tatara Mondo (a manual on court rules, ceremony, decorum and records of the past); the private poetry collection Setsugyoku-shu; and the poetry diary Saishoso. Sanetaka passed away on October 3, 1537, at the age of 83. He was laid to rest in Nison-in Temple in Saga, Kyoto. Sanetaka had three sons, including his successor Kineda, and two daughters.  

Sanetaka Koki (literary “Lord Sanetaka’s Diary”) is a diary that Sanetaka began writing in 1474, when he was 20 and kept for 63 years, until 1536, the year before his death, when he was 82. The diary is a basic historical source of information about the political and social issues of the late Muromachi period (c. 1467 – 1573). The handwritten original, which consists of 106 rolled scrolls, one folded book, and 44 booklets, is preserved in the Historiographical Institute of the University of Tokyo, and has been designated an important cultural property.