He was born in 1381 in a minor fortified town in the then province of Bitchū (now Okayama) to a samurai of middling rank named Komatsu Ysukiyo.
Shortly after his father's death in 1400 CE, Shōtetsu moved back to Kyoto, and sought out a fellow named Imagawa Ryōshun (b.
It was this Imagawa Ryōshun, retired military leader, lay priest, respected amateur poet, and accomplished author of polemic essays attacking the enemies of the Reizei poetic clan, who was apparently instrumental (the relevant passage gives an incorrect age for Ryōshun at the period it supposedly occurred, leading Inada Toshinori to believe that the passage conflates a number of events; thus it may be misleading as to the circumstances that introduced Shōtetsu to courtly poetry), in introducing the young Shōtetsu (whose personal name then still was Sonmyōmaru, given name Masakiyo) to poetic composition.
At that period of my life, I was still wearing my hair long in the manner of young children, and I felt embarrassed by my extreme youth, but nonetheless I went with the preceptor to the civil administrator's house.
It was during this period that the Reizei family and its poetic ideals (along with associated poets) flourished and received high titles and numerous grants of land.
By 1424, he had left his temple for a modest hut on the outskirts of Kyoto, as befitted a professional poet with the accompanying hosts of disciples, patrons, and invitations to head poetry gatherings at the most noble families' homes (and eventually at the residences of the Ashikaga shōguns themselves).
It ended between the second and third day of the fourth month of the year 1432: On the night of the second, I stayed over at the house of the Chief of Central Affairs, and awakened to a report that my hut, "Imakumano", had burned in a fire in the neighborhood in the middle of the night – a report that was to no avail, for the damage was already done, with all of the poems I had composed since my twentieth year, all 27,000 of them, in more than 30 volumes, gone up in smoke, not a single one escaping – and this along with all my books and hand-copied treasures.This was not an isolated setback for the 51-year-old Shōtetsu.
The second blow struck straight at his heart; he was denied inclusion in the 21st, and last ever, Imperial anthology of waka which was compiled and edited by the Asukai.
This exclusion from the Shinshokukokin Wakashū ("New Collection of Ancient and Modern Times Continued") meant that Shōtetsu could never achieve the final pinnacle of recognition for poetic merit, and that his name would be permanently diminished for all time; it is difficult to overstate how important inclusion in an Imperial anthology was to medieval poets.
In his later years, his greatest[citation needed] student was Shinkei (1406-1475), who, while he greatly admired his former teacher and Teika, worked not just in waka, but in renga as well, where he was known for his usage of the yugen and yōembi (ethereal beauty) styles.
They defeated the Nijō adherents close to the Ashikaga shogunate with six polemical treatises between 1403 and 1412, defending the Reizei's poetic doctrine and their cause.
Ryōshun used a number of quotations to bolster his case, including notably a quote of Teika, which was that all of the "ten styles" were licit for poetic use and experimentation, and not merely the Nijō's ushin.
With the aid Ryōshun afforded him, Tanemasa's politicking eventually succeeded in converting the shōgun, ending the matter – until the Asukai revived the dispute, that is.
His corpus is extremely difficult to critically examine due to the issues of incompleteness, a wide range of voices and style, and sheer size.
An example of one of his yūgen ("mystery and depth") poems (translation and format, Steven D. Carter), with the assigned topic preceding Shōtetsu's response: An Animal, in Spring The gloom of dusk.
Overgrown with moss, The eaves brighten with the blossoms Of the orange trees- Through the old boards to my mossy robe Comes the scent of sleeves of long ago.
[3] A number of his poems allude to his understanding of Zen Buddhism: Seeking Love With what harshness they come blowing towards me- the mountain winds from deep within the heart of one who asks no lodging.
As befitted a professional poet, a number of poems reflect on his chosen occupation: Famous Market Town They accumulate, but there is no one to buy them- these leaves of words piling up like wares for sale beneath the Sumiyoshi Pine.
In this art of poetry, those who speak ill of Teika should be denied the protection of the gods and Buddhas and condemned to the punishments of hell.
Instead, he ought to cherish the style and spirit of Teika, and strive to emulate him though he may never succeed.Now, a person might object to this kind of expression, saying that he would write instead, "Can it be that he has prayed / never to see me again?"