The place of the poet-monk Ton'a in late medieval and early modern Japanese poetic history is well summarized by the mid Edo literatus Jiun, writing in 1739: “One should continually ponder the masterworks of poets of the past, and among these it is the poems of Ton'a most of all that one should continually savor.” For nearly five hundred years after his death, Ton'a's poems were regarded as the best models for poets writing in the traditional uta form.

Ton'a was born in 1289, the son of Nikaid Mitsusada, probably in Kyoto. Although of Fujiwara lineage, the chieftains of the Nikaid clan had served as administrators in the Kamakura shogunate since the time of Nikaid Yukimasa, holder of an assistant headship (shitsuji) in the administrative headquarters (mandokoro) under Minamoto no Yoritomo, first of the Kamakura shoguns. Little is known about Mitsusada except that he served for a time as governor...