Imai Jikan (今井似閑)

Jikan IMAI (1657 - November 1, 1723) was a scholar of the Japanese classics in the first half of the Edo period. He used the pseudonyms Kengyu and Enso-Tei. He was a wealthy merchant who went by the name of Ichibei OJIYA.

He studied under Sanshi KISE and Choryu SHIMOKOBE at first, and then received instruction in "Manyoshu (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves)" under Keichu. After Keichu died, IMAI collected his favorite works and donated them to the Mite Bunko library in Kyoto Kamigamo-jinja Shrine, preserving them for future generations and preventing them from being scattered and lost.

His written works include 'Manyoi' (literally 'The Weave of Ten Thousand Leaves') and 'Kagurauta Chushaku' ('Notes on Kagura Songs').

[Original Japanese]