Contesting the “Classical,” Creating Communities

On December 6, 2022, the authors convened the first virtual “Intercollegiate Classical Japanese Poetry Contest”—also known as Reiwa yonen sankō jūsanban utaawase 令和四年三校十三番歌合 (Three-Schools Poetry Contest in Thirteen Rounds in the Fourth Year of Reiwa)—between our first-semester students of classical Japanese language (bungo). The contest is shaping up to be an annual event, with sequels involving a new set of institutions held in 2023 and 2024. This paper presents our reflections on this project, including its genesis, its outcomes, and its prospects. In addition to exploring the value of creative composition in classical language education, we argue that such approaches challenge the perception of bungo as “dead,” and we outline the process we undertook to incorporate this particular assignment into coursework and class time. Within the landscape of bungo pedagogy in North America, experimental approaches such as our contest promise to foster community, enrich understanding of bungo, and bolster student interest in classical language and culture.