Origins & Early Life

Nobutsuna Sasaki (佐佐木／佐々木 信綱, Sasaki Nobutsuna; Japanese pronunciation: [sa.sa.kʲi (|) no.bɯꜜ.tsɯ.na], 8 July 1872 – 2 December 1963) was a tanka poet and scholar of the Nara and Heian periods of Japanese literature. He was active during the Shōwa period of Japan. Sasaki was born in what is now part of Suzuka city, Mie prefecture. He was considered a child prodigy, and his father, Sasaki Hirotsuna, taught him the basics of poetry composition and encouraged him to memorize classical tanka verses.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

After graduation from the Classics Department of Tokyo Imperial University, he followed his father's wish and decided to devote his life to waka poetry, both by researching old verses and by composing new verses himself. In 1894 Sasaki published a lengthy patriotic poem Shina seibatsu no Uta (“The Song of the Conquest of China”), on the occasion of the start of the First Sino-Japanese War. The poem was extremely popular, and one of its lyrics comparing falling cherry blossoms to Japanese soldiers falling in battle for the emperor became a common symbolic phrase through the end of World War II. Sasaki founded a literary society called the Chikuhakukai (from...

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The historical impact and works continue to influence the modern world.

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