Ki no Tomonori (紀友則)
KI no Tomonori (c. 845 - 907) was kajin in the Heian period. He was one of the 36 Immortal Poets. His father was KI no Aritomo, Kunai Gon no sho (Provisional Junior Assistant of Imperial Household Ministry) and the cousin of KI no Tsurayuki.
Tomonori's official rank was low, just as Tsurayuki's was, and he remained Dainaiki (Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Central Affairs) in 904. He compiled "Kokin Wakashu" (A Collection of Ancient and Modern Japanese Poetry) with KI no Tsurayuki and MIBU no Tadamine, but he died before seeing it completed. Poems in mourning of Tomonori's death by KI no Tsurayuki and MIBU no Tadamine were included in "Kokin Wakashu" Vol. 16. His poems were compiled in "Kokin Wakashu" and in Chokusenshu (anthology of poems collected by Imperial command) such as "Gosenshu" (Later Collection of Japanese Poetry) and "Shuishu" (Collection of Gleanings of Japanese Poems). His anthology was "Tomonori shu" (Tomonori Collection).
Representative works
Poems collected in Kokin Wakashu
In the warmth of the sun on a tranquil spring day, how is it that the blossoms scatter in a rushed way?
This poem is used widely in Japanese textbooks, and is one of the most famous poems in Hyakunin Isshu (one hundred waka poems by one hundred poets).