Ota Nanpo 大田南畝

大田南畝 Ota Nanpo (1749-1823)
A representative literati and kyōka poet of the Tenmei period, and a samurai retainer. While serving as a shogunate official at the accounting office and rising to the position of chief accountant, he also gained high renown in literary pursuits. Alongside leaving behind a vast quantity of essays, he excelled in kyōka, satirical books, Chinese poetry and prose, and kyōshi. He was particularly renowned for his kyōka, being counted among the Three Great Masters of Kyōka alongside Karakura Tachibana and Shuraku Sugae. The group of kyōka poets centred around Nanpō was known as the Yamate-ren (Yamate Circle).