Hachijō-in Takakura

Hachijō-in no Takakura (八条院高倉, c. 1176 - c. 1248) (believed to be the same person referred to as Takakura-dono, and Kunyo) was a waka poet and Japanese noblewoman active in the early Kamakura period.^[1] She is designated as a member of the New Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry (新三十六歌仙, Shinsanjūrokkasen).^[2]

Originally, she served as a lady in waiting to Hachijo-in, who was the third of Emperor Go-Toba's daughters.^[3] When Emperor Go-Toba read one of Takakura's poems, he was struck by it, and encouraged her to write poems for various competitions and events in the court.^[3] It was noted that she was able to read Japanese and Chinese, and she was known for her intelligence.

Rumour - and some documents - suggested that Takakura was the secret daughter of Princess Yoshiko (who was both a daughter of Go-Toba and the widow of Emperor Nijo) and a Buddhist priest, Choken.^[1] Princess Yoshiko died very soon after Takakura's birth, and Takakura's aunt, Hachijo-in, may have sent the young child to be raised by the poet Fujiwara no Shunzei. Once Takakura was old enough, she came to be a lady in waiting to Hachijo-in.^[1]

After the death of her mistress Hachijo-in, Takakura took religious vows and became a nun. She took the name Kunyo, and resided primarily at Shokutei-in on the grounds of the Daigoji temple complex at Kyoto, later moving to live at Hokkeji.^[1]^[2] She formed a close relationship with a fellow nun - and fellow former lady in waiting - Jizen.^[1]

References edit

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Meeks, Lori R. (2010-04-30). Hokkeji and the Reemergence of Female Monastic Orders in Premodern Japan. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3394-7.
^ ^a ^b Tonomura, Hitomi; Walthall, Anne; Wakita, Haruko (1999). Women and Class in Japanese History. Center for Japanese Studies, the University of Michigan. ISBN 978-0-939512-91-1.
^ ^a ^b Huey, Robert N. (2020-03-23). The Making of Shinkokinshū. BRILL. ISBN 978-1-68417-365-5.

External links edit

E-text of her poems in Japanese

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[:0-1] Meeks, Lori R. (2010-04-30). Hokkeji and the Reemergence of Female Monastic Orders in Premodern Japan. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3394-7.

[:1-2] Tonomura, Hitomi; Walthall, Anne; Wakita, Haruko (1999). Women and Class in Japanese History. Center for Japanese Studies, the University of Michigan. ISBN 978-0-939512-91-1.

[:2-3] Huey, Robert N. (2020-03-23). The Making of Shinkokinshū. BRILL. ISBN 978-1-68417-365-5.

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