There are several versions of the anecdote of a love affair between Fujiwara-no-Teika and Princess Shokushi. “Teika-no-kutsukamuri” is about the acrostic poem which Teika wrote for the princess to send his encoded message “Don't love any other guy. I will never marry.” The poem, which first appeared in Teikin-ōrai-chū, was incorporated into the anecdote in early modern times. Although the love story was originally fiction playfully circulated in the literary circle of the ex-Emperor Go-Mizuno, it came to be known as a true story in the course of such popularization.

Kasanoyadori is a historical narrative by Arakida-Reijo which is narrated from the viewpoint of an old man after the style of the four historical narratives. The preface and the afterward, both lost to the extant text, are reprinted in the second volume of Reijo-bunshū. In the preface it is told how a traveler came to listen to the narrator at Rendai-ji Temple. Ken Senda concluded from the editorial arrangement of Reijo-bunshū that it was written in the author's later career, but it is unlikely because the volume was re-edited at the time of transcription. In the preface and the afterward the traveler is implicitly and explicitly identified as the author's alter ego. This points to the possibility that, after completing her historical epics Ike-no-mozuku and Tsuki-no-yukue, Arakida casually wrote Kasanoyadori for her acquaintances in Ise with no intention of publishing it.

Deba-no-Shōjō-Fujiwara-Nobukatsu, a jōruri narrator and playwright, took a sympathetic interest in the predicaments of defeated warriors and other social minorities. This led to the original plot of his old jōruri drama Hitachibō-kaizon that the descendants of Minamoto-no-Yoshitsune and Taira-no-Kagekiyo banded together to fight against those of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo. In the drama written in the style of “kinpira” jōruri which was then popular, the playwright successfully managed to highlight the tragic fate of the Heike Family represented by the old helpless figure of Taira-no-Kagekiyo.

In my kokugo class each group of students is given a waka poem and then required to find other poems which have something in common with it. Their achievements reported on the posters seem to indicate that students can improve their interpretive skills through the work of selecting and comparing poems. By analyzing their viewpoints from which they understand and have interest in classical works, we teachers may see what the purpose and possibility of learning classical literature should be.