The Ikegami Hyakuchikutei Collection is a collection of 221 items, mainly modern literary materials, collected over the course of a lifetime by Matsumoto City writer Kisaku Ikegami (pen name Hyakuchikutei). This time, we will be introducing works by poets from the Araragi school that are included in the collection.

The tanka magazine "Araragi" originated from "Ashibi," the journal of the Negishi Tanka Society, which brought together poets under Masaoka Shiki, and was first published in 1908 (Meiji 41) under the name "Araragi" by a group of poets led by Ito Sachio (the title was changed to "Araragi" the following year). Even after Shiki's death, it continued to carry on the style of poetry that values ​​Manyo-style descriptive writing, seeking subject matter widely from within and around the home, and expressing experiences and feelings in free language, becoming a mainstream in the tanka world.

The collection includes many works by poets who participated in "Araragi," such as Ito Sachio, Saito Mokichi, Shimagi Akahiko, Shaku Teiku (Orikuchi Shinobu), Nagatsuka Setsu, Hirafuku Hyakuho, Oka Fumoto, Katori Hidemasa, and Hirase Nakigai (Kurumizawa Kannai). Kisaku had connections with haiku poets and poets of the Shiki school, and at one point collected works through Kurumizawa Kannai, who studied under Ito Sachio. These works show how much Kisaku was attracted to the revolutionary movement in haiku and tanka poetry that Shiki started.

Please take your time to enjoy the works of the Araragi school of poets, who follow in the footsteps of Shiki literature, which Kisaku pursued throughout his life.