Ariwara no Narihira

Ariwara no Narihira Ason (在原業平朝臣 Ariwara no Narihira Ason, 825 – 9 July 880) was an early Heian period courtier and poet, included in Tsurayuki's Rokkasen and in Kinto's Sanjurokkasen.
One of his poem was included as No.17 in Fujiwara no Teika's Hyakunin Isshu.
==Appearance==
In Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi, Narihira is depicted as a tall, lean bel homme with dark brown eyes, with messily arranged brown hair that goes past his ears, part of his hair styled in a normal topknot. He used to don a traditional clothes which courtiers usually wear such like sokutai or kariginu.
==Personality==
A perfect model for courtiers at that time, Narihira appears to be calm, polite and elegant. Under the surface, though, he is an unusually deep man and also hard to figure out. Beside that, he's also quite a womanizer, who writes poems to woo the women of his choice.
==Relationships==
* Narihira had affairs with such women like the high priestess of the Ise Grand Shrine, the poetess Ono no Komachi, and a consort of Emperor Seiwa Nijō no Tsubone, also known as Fujiwara no Takaiko, and he even tried to elope with her.
* He had four other older half-brothers, and Yukihira - the author of the poem No.16 in Hyakunin Isshu - is one of them.
* He was also Emperor Yozei's mentor, who serves and watched after him until his death. However, in Uta Koi, it is unspeculated what their actual relationship is.In The Tales of Ise, there is a description of the romantic affair between Narihira and Takaiko, and it is hinted that this was one of the reasons for his leaving the capital and traveling east. Whether the affair was historical or not, the Reizei family's commentary on The Tales of Ise speculates that Emperor Yōzei was a product of this union, not the previous emperor.
* He was an uncle of Oe no Chisato, the author of the poem No.23 in Hyakunin Isshu.
==Quotes==
(to his brother) "Brother. Happiness comes in many forms. Your happiness is not mine, and the opposite is also true. I would prefer that you not force your way of life upon me."
(to Emperor Yozei) "Nobody knows how long I will be able to serve you.
...No, I intend to serve you until you ask me to quit. But... I do not know if I will live to see you grow up, so I wish to teach you what I can while I'm still here."
(to Fun'ya no Yasuhide) "You talk a lot. I don't plan on moving up the ladder. Currying my favor won't do you any good. I don't like people who flaunt their rank, and I don't like people who cower before rank. Do you think the poem I wrote that beat yours yesterday was meant a payback for your insult?
...No need to worry then. I'm used to having the unskilled lash out at me. I just wanted to show you up yesterday because I heard you are a fine poet. Did I confuse you? So sorry about that. You got on your knees for nothing."
==Trivia==
Category:Characters