Oe no Yoshitoki (大江嘉言)
OE no Yoshitoki
OE no Yoshitoki (year of birth unknown - c. 1009) was a waka poet in the mid-Heian period. His father was OE no Nakanobu and his great-grandfather was OE no Chifuru. Although he once called himself one of the Yuge clan, later he resumed his former surname of OE. He is regarded as one of the Chuko sanjurokkasen (medieval 36 Immortal Poets).
In 992, he became monjosho (a student of literary studies in the Imperial University) and then Danshoshochu (judge of inspection and police ministry). In 1009, he went to Tsushima Province as Tsushima no Kami (Governor of Tsushima Province) and died there. He participated in Uta-awase (poetry competitions) as a poet and interacted with FUJIWARA no Nagato, MINAMOTO no Michinari, the priest Noin, and others. "Noin shu" includes Zotoka (poetry exchanged between a man and a woman) about his leaving the capital as Tsushima no Kami and elegies on his death. His waka poems were selected for chokusen wakashu (anthologies of Japanese poetry compiled by Imperial command) starting when 'Shui Wakashu' (Collection of Gleanings of Japanese Poems) was compiled and onwards.
He privately compiled 'OE no Yoshitoki shu.'