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Kojijū

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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]

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b c Huey, Robert N. (2020-03-23). The Making of Shinkokinshū. BRILL. ISBN 978-1-68417-365-5.
  5. ^ a b c Shinkokinshū (2 vols): New Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern. BRILL. 2015-02-24. ISBN 978-90-04-28829-4.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Morimoto 1983, p. 608.

Works cited[edit]

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