It was New Years 730 C.E, and Ōtomo no Tabito was throwing a plum blossom viewing party at his residence.
While sakura (cherry) trees are native to Japan, plum trees were rather rare, especially in the city of Nara. So thanks to the plum tree Tabito had received from China, Nara could finally see and appreciate its blossoms. He thought, “why don’t we all gather and celebrate?” 32 select individuals gathered at his residence from all over the Kyushu area.
The preface of the collection of poetry “Man'yōshū,” the oldest collection of Japanese waka poetry, states:
“In early spring, the air is fresh and the wind is calm. The plum flowers are blooming like a beautiful woman applying white powder in front of the mirror, and the fragrance of flowers is like that of robes scented with incense.”
The preface is followed by 32 ume-themed poems written by each of the individuals gathered at Tabito’s plum-themed party. In the developed yet remote city of Dazaifu, guests felt artistic freedom while at the same time being inspired by their peers. These poems and their sense of “beautiful harmony” was reflected in the works of Man'yōshū, which is said to have been the basis in choosing “Reiwa” as the newest Japanese era from 2019.
The residence of Tabito was chosen as the location for Sakamoto Hachimangu Shrine, most likely because it was where the plum blossom party took place.
Michizane loved plum blossoms, Tabito loved plum blossoms… What's the deal with plum blossoms?
Plum Trees are native to China, where it represents scholarship. As Japan began to develop and work with China, that symbolism and importance was transferred to Japan too. Japan was very interested in plum blossoms and how they bloomed before the Lunar New Year, earlier than the Japan-native sakura.
The party Tabito threw was based on the Chinese theme of plum blossoms, so the guests followed that theme and wrote Kanshi, Chinese poetry. Tabito was the only one who wrote a poem in Waka, the Japanese style.
Why did he do this? “While it’s important to learn from the culture of China, it’s just as important to remember your own Japanese culture, too.” That was the idea he tried to instill into his guests.
Another theory for Tabito using Waka was that he was using “plum” as a metaphor for his recently deceased wife. In this theory, guests were not gathered to celebrate, but to support Tabito in his time of mourning. In that case, Waka would have been rather fitting.
Ōtomo no Tabito had a teenage son, Ōtomo no Yakamochi, who helped in compiling the poems in his work Man'yōshū. I wonder what Yakamochi thought of his father’s party...
