From ‘Task’ to ‘Title’? Japanese Linked Poetry and the Fushimono

Abstract

This paper examines how titles in renga (‘linked verse’) poetry, the socalled fushimono, interact with the texts they precede, or with parts of them, particularly the first verse or hokku. Renga is poetry jointly created by a group. Of the rules necessary for this, fushimono originally represented a significant part. While in the course of history the scope of the fushimono became more and more limited, it remained as an indispensable paratext. This paper also shows how historical changes to the renga rules and to the function of the fushimono were inextricably linked to the structure and layout of the manuscripts that emerged from the renga sessions. Finally, the paper will introduce the features of fushimono as a paratext in written artefacts, both in manuscripts and prints.