Teika After Teika

Criticisms and evaluations of Teika as a person and as a poet began during his own lifetime. The history of reception of Teika’s biography, poetry, and other works is surveyed from the thirteenth century up until modern times. Although Teika was generally regarded as an extremely skilled poet and occasionally venerated as a demigod of waka, factional battles among his descendants led to criticism of his poetry. Rumors of an illicit affair with his contemporary Princess Shokushi inspired a fifteenth-century noh play and further embellished his reputation among early modern readers. Teika’s distinctive calligraphy plays a prominent role in his posthumous fame.