Ukamachi no Toshi

Ukamachi no Toshi [层亩の利; 1735 - 1820] was a northern Kantonese poet, author and travel diarist of the 18th century. Along with Kusayama no Sayū, he is considered one of the greatest Honzura poets of his era. His most famous works include 50 Excellent Sights of Honzura, The Eastern Road, Incident at Twilight Lake, and Ocean View.
== Biography ==
Ukamachi was born in the town of Kanema in Yamako Province (modern-day south Saka Prefecture). Although Ukamachi scarcely discussed his childhood, it is commonly thought that he was the illegitimate son of the village head and a migrant worker from the north of the province. According to the village records, he was the son of a servant girl named Ama, who had come to work in Kanema and had borne a child by her master.
Around the age of 20, Ukamachi moved to Kōryō (present-day Kaimon). He learned poetry under the master Furashi no Shinyū, and after his death in 1756, Ukamachi moved back to his hometown of Kanema where he met and married his wife Miyami. During a half-decade-long period Ukamachi composed a number of poems and anthologies which were published in Honzura and became relatively popular. During this time Miyami gave birth to two daughters, Michi and Arihana.
In 1761, Ukamachi embarked on a circuit trip around the Honzura region. The trip was later chronicled fully in his 1767 work 50 Excellent Sights of Honzura, which became an instant bestseller and gave rise to the popularity of travel diaries throughout the country. 
After travelling through various parts of northern Kanton, including Daimi, Hasetsu and Sanzama Provinces, Ukamachi moved his family to the newly-developed literary capital of the north, Anzaki. There he taught poetry and writing classes to students in the Furumachi district, also becoming the patron of a number of senkō. His eldest daughter Michi soon became a celebrated poet in her own right. Eventually his wife Miyami died in 1813 of an unknown illness, with Ukamachi deciding soon after to move back to Kanema to live out the rest of his days. He died seven years later at the age of 85 in 1820.
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