Kojijū
Kojijū (小侍従; 1121–1202 CE) (also Matsuyoi no Kojijū)[1] was a waka poet and Japanese noblewoman active in the late Heian period.[2][3]
Her father was Ki no Mitsukiyo, and her mother was the poet Hanazono Sadaijinke no Kodaishin.[4][5]
As a lady-in-waiting, she served the twice-empress Fujiwara no Tashi (who was wife, successively, to Emperor Konoe and Emperor Nijō), as well as in the court of the retired Emperor Takakura.[5] Additionally, she took part in poetry contests organized by Emperor Go-Toba.[6][4] During this time, courtiers were expected to be skilled poets, and a great deal of court life involved composing and exchanging poetry, as well as participating in poetry contests.[1][4] Kojijū is designated a member of the Female Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry (女房三十六歌仙, Nyōbō Sanjūrokkasen). She left a private collection of poems titled the Kojijū-shū.[7]
Contemporaries noted her for her especial skill in composing poems that exactly suited the situation, particularly when writing a verse as a response to someone else's verse.[6]
In 1179, she became a Buddhist nun.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b McAuley, Thomas E. (2019-12-02). The Poetry Contest in Six Hundred Rounds (2 vols): A Translation and Commentary. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-41129-6.
- ^ Carpenter, John T.; McCormick, Melissa; Bincsik, Monika; Kinoshita, Kyoko; Midori, Sano (2019-03-04). The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-1-58839-665-5.
- ^ Laffin, Christina (2013-01-31). Rewriting Medieval Japanese Women: Politics, Personality, and Literary Production in the Life of Nun Abutsu. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3785-3.
- ^ a b c Huey, Robert N. (2020-03-23). The Making of Shinkokinshū. BRILL. ISBN 978-1-68417-365-5.
- ^ a b c Shinkokinshū (2 vols): New Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern. BRILL. 2015-02-24. ISBN 978-90-04-28829-4.
- ^ a b Pandey, Rajyashree (2016-01-31). Perfumed Sleeves and Tangled Hair: Body, Woman, and Desire in Medieval Japanese Narratives. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-5355-6.
- ^ Morimoto 1983, p. 608.
Works cited
[edit]- Morimoto, Motoko (1983). "Kojijū-shū". Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten 日本古典文学大辞典 (in Japanese). Vol. 2. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. pp. 607–608. OCLC 11917421.
External links
[edit]- E-text of her poems in Japanese
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