Ōtomo Yakamochi

Ōtomo Yakamochi (born 718?, Nara, Japan—died Oct. 5, 785, Michinoku, northern Honshū) was a Japanese poet and the compiler of the Man’yōshū. Born into a family known for having supplied personal guards to the imperial family, Yakamochi became in 745 the governor of Etchū province, on the coast of the Sea of Japan (East Sea). Although he had been composing poetry throughout his life, he was intensely productive during his five years in Etchū and...