The first poetry gathering of the Reizei family, a school of waka poetry that has inherited the tradition of waka poetry since the Heian period, was held on January 18, 2025, at the Reizei family residence in Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City. Nomura Nagisa, the successor to the Reizei family, served as the reader for the first time. In a festive atmosphere, about 100 students from all over the country recited poems with the joy of the New Year.

The Reizei family's New Year poetry gathering, where participants dressed in court attire and read out waka poems (Reizei family home, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City)

At the New Year's event of the Reizei family, whose distant ancestors are Fujiwara Shunzei and Teika Fujiwara, five women dressed in kimono and hakama, including Nomura Nagisa, took part in the recitation. They recited poems in their unique style, and the students then chanted along. The theme for this year's event was "Spring Breeze." Seven poems were presented, including "The spring breeze sways the threads of the young willows by the riverside of Kamo waiting for the flowers" by the 25th head of the family, Reizei Tamehito.

The Reizei family's New Year poetry gathering featured traditional waka poems. Nagisa Nomura (second from the right) served as a reader for the first time (Reizei family, Kamigyo Ward, Kyoto City)

Nomura Nagisa took over from Reizei Tamehito, who had been the reader until last year. "I've served as a reader before, but doing it at a New Year's event gives me a new feeling," he said.

The theme for the impromptu poem was "Looking forward to a snowy morning." Participants carefully crafted the poems and wrote them down on washi paper.