Utamakura is a category of poetic words, often involving place names, that allow for greater allusions and intertextuality across Japanese poems. Utamakura includes locations familiar to the court of ancient Japan, such as
Utamakura serve as a significant tool to achieve yugen in Japanese poetry by adding profundity and indirect beauty in poems. It can be used as a source for identifying significant figures and places in ancient Japan. Utamakura enables poets to express ideas and themes concisely — thus allowing them to stay in the confines of strict waka structures. Some scholars see the use of geographical allusion as the evidence for a restricted scope of poetry writing. Although the poets' "true" meaning was true because the essence was initially pre-established, the poems were written within fixed topics. The poet could inhabit a subjective position or persona and write about the topic but not necessarily about his/her personal feelings. Utamakura could have suppressed poets' individuality or creativity.
History
The history of utamakura is found in documents on the study of poetry such as the Utamakura of Noin, by the poet and monk of the late Heian period, and lists of places in the Utamakura Nayose. Utamakura were first used by traveling priests. They collected stories from the towns they traveled to. Since they saw many places, it was easier to remember the details of a story by using a single, consistent reference point for each recurring event in their tales. Over time, the people across the Japan came to identify utamakura place names by the psychological feelings associated with the references made by the wandering priests. After utamakura place names and people had become well established, eager waka poets went sightseeing to the sites of utamakura. Beyond becoming familiar with the scenery of the poems, entering the locale of a poem or story deepened one's understanding of it. Utamakura was also used in renga, a form of Japanese collaborative poetry that is the ancestor of renku and haiku poetry.
Examples
There are numerous instances of utamakura in Japanese literature, one of which is the Kokinshū. The source of this particular utamakura example is poem #3 in the "Spring" section. In the poem above, Yoshino refers to a place in the Yamato region in the vicinity of the capital. Yoshino is known for having both heavy snowfall and an abundance of cherry blossoms. Poem #1 in "Spring 1" of Shin Kokin Wakashū also uses Yoshino for depicting the beginning of spring. Another instance of poetic place name comes from Tales of Ise, a piece titled "In the Provinces". Mount Shinobu is a pun on the verb shinobu, meaning "to conceal," "endure," "long for," and "remember."
Contemporary examples
In Japan there are many examples of utamakura in everyday readings. Often, menu items will be named after their visual appearance with a reference to a well-known Japanese scenic area. For example, the Tatsuta River is famous for its red autumn maples. Therefore, a menu that includes tatsuta age will have crispy fish or chicken that was marinated in soy sauce before it was dredged in cornstarch and deep fried. The cornstarch coating absorbs some of the soy, so that when it is fried it takes on a burnished, russet color.
Parallels in other cultures
Utamakura can be described as "descriptive epithets" or "circumlocutions designating geographical sites" in poetry of other languages that conjure a memory, thought, image or association with the place referred to. In Dante's Inferno there is a poetic place name in reference to the river Styx.
A lake is form'd, By this sad stream, when downward it hath run Neath the grey rocks that hem the baleful hold.
The adjective Stygian means "of or relating to the River Styx". In Ancient Greek literature, the River Styx forms the boundary between Earth and Hades, the Underworld. In contemporary Western cultures, parallels to the Japanese utamakura can be found in many popular songs. Musicians use place names in their lyrics to invoke certain conformed thoughts. California is a common reference for artists in that it invokes thoughts of excess, splendor, wealth, and a sense of fakeness in body and spirit. Weezer references the excessiveness of Beverly Hills in their hit song "Beverly Hills", while the Red Hot Chili Peppersrefer to the sense of things not being "real" in their song "Californication" by including lyrics about plastic surgery and the use of Hollywood sets in government conspiracy.
