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Kurita Chodô was a ''[[haikai]]'' poet of the late 18th and early 19th century; he was considered one of the seven great ''haikai'' poets (the ''shichi-haijin'') of his time.

Kurita Chodô was a ''[[haikai]]'' poet of the late 18th and early 19th century; he was considered one of the seven great ''haikai'' poets (the ''shichi-haijin'') of his time.

Kurita was born into a ''[[sake|saké]]'' brewers' family in Matsuyama ([[Iyo province]]), where as an adult he served as a local town elder (''machikata ô-toshiyori''). He studied under [[Kato Kyotai|Katô Kyôtai]], and had close interactions with [[Kobayashi Issa]] and [[Inoue Shiro|Inoue Shirô]]. For example, he is known to have engaged in poetry recital alongside Kobayashi Issa on an occasion in [[1795]], at Matsuyama's famous [[Dogo Onsen|Dôgo Onsen]].

Kurita was born in [[1749]] in Matsuyama ([[Iyo province]], [[Shikoku]]), the son of ''[[sake|saké]]'' brewer Buzen-ya Kiemon, but married into the Kurita family, and took on that surname as his own. For over thirty years, from age 23 in [[1771]] until age 54 in [[1802]], he served as a local town elder (''machikata ô-toshiyori'') in one of the neighborhoods of Matsuyama.  

Kurita is buried at [[Manshu-ji|Manshû-ji]] in the [[Inland Sea]] port town of [[Mitarai]] (today, part of [[Kure]] City, [[Hiroshima prefecture]]). A wooden plaque, or ''hengaku'', which still hangs in the temple's main hall (''hondô'') was created by Kurita as a copy of a work of calligraphy, also still today in the temple's collection, by [[Ryukyuan missions to Edo|Ryukyuan envoy]] [[Ryo Kochi|Ryô Kôchi]]<!--梁光地・當間親雲上-->.<ref>''Shirarezaru Ryûkyû shisetsu'' 知られざる琉球使節, Fukuyama-shi Tomonoura rekishi minzoku shiryôkan (2006), 37.</ref>

Taking up an interest in ''haikai'', Kurita studied under Kyoto-based poet [[Kato Kyotai|Katô Kyôtai]]<!--加藤暁台 aka 久村暁台-->, and had close interactions with [[Kobayashi Issa]] and [[Inoue Shiro|Inoue Shirô]]. For example, he is known to have engaged in poetry recital alongside Kobayashi Issa on an occasion in [[1795]], at Matsuyama's famous [[Dogo Onsen|Dôgo Onsen]].

 

After retiring from his official civic position in Matsuyama, Kurita relocated sometime in the first years of the 1800s to the port town of [[Mitarai]] (today part of [[Kure]] City, [[Hiroshima prefecture]]), which lies roughly halfway between his home province of Iyo and the Honshû mainland. As Mitarai lay along the major [[Inland Sea]] trading routes, Kurita remained well-informed and well-connected, but also led a relatively quiet life in retirement, composing poetry, and publishing numerous poetry collections.

 

Kurita died on [[1814]]/8/21, and was buried at [[Manshu-ji|Manshû-ji]] in Mitarai. A wooden plaque, or ''hengaku'', which still hangs in the temple's main hall (''hondô'') was created by Kurita as a copy of a work of calligraphy, also still today in the temple's collection, by [[Ryukyuan missions to Edo|Ryukyuan envoy]] [[Ryo Kochi|Ryô Kôchi]].<ref>''Shirarezaru Ryûkyû shisetsu'' 知られざる琉球使節, Fukuyama-shi Tomonoura rekishi minzoku shiryôkan (2006), 37.</ref>

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==References==

==References==

*"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%A0%97%E7%94%B0%E6%A8%97%E5%A0%82 Kurita Chodô]," ''Nihon jinmei daijiten'' 日本人名大辞典, Kodansha, 2009.

*"[http://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%A0%97%E7%94%B0%E6%A8%97%E5%A0%82 Kurita Chodô]," ''Nihon jinmei daijiten'' 日本人名大辞典, Kodansha, 2009.

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[[Category:Artists and Artisans]]

[[Category:Artists and Artisans]]

[[Category:Edo Period]]

[[Category:Edo Period]]