Page:Japanese Literature (Keene).pdf/47

Rh the second verse were somewhat less demanding; it had to be closely related to the first and to end in a noun. The third verse was more independent and ended in a participle; the fourth had to be “smooth”; the moon had to occur in a certain verse; cherry-blossoms could not be mentioned before a certain point; autumn and spring had to be repeated in at least three but not more than five successive verses, while summer and winter could be dropped after one mention, etc. The rules multiplied to such an extent that one might feel safe in predicting that nothing worthwhile could be written under such handicaps. Yet, although linked-verse increasingly became the toy of dilettanti whose chief accomplishment was exact conformity to the rules, great poetry was occasionally written, especially by Sōgi (1421–1502), the master of the linked-verse.

In 1488 Sōgi and two disciples met at a place called Minase and composed together 100 linked-verses which are considered to be the marvel of the art. The series begins: