Kojijū Explained
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]
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. Additionally, she took part in poetry contests organized by Emperor Go-Toba.[5] 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. Kojijū is designated a member of the . She left a private collection of poems titled the Kojijū-shū.
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.
Works cited
- Book: Morimoto
, Motoko
. Motoko Morimoto. Kojijū-shū. 607–608. Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten. ja:日本古典文学大辞典. Japanese. 1983. 2. Tokyo. Iwanami Shoten. 11917421.
External links
Notes and References
- Book: McAuley, Thomas E. . The Poetry Contest in Six Hundred Rounds (2 vols): A Translation and Commentary . 2019-12-02 . BRILL . 978-90-04-41129-6 . en.
- Book: Carpenter . John T. . The Tale of Genji: A Japanese Classic Illuminated . McCormick . Melissa . Bincsik . Monika . Kinoshita . Kyoko . Midori . Sano . 2019-03-04 . Metropolitan Museum of Art . 978-1-58839-665-5 . en.
- Book: Laffin, Christina . Rewriting Medieval Japanese Women: Politics, Personality, and Literary Production in the Life of Nun Abutsu . 2013-01-31 . University of Hawaii Press . 978-0-8248-3785-3 . en.
- Book: Shinkokinshū (2 vols): New Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern . 2015-02-24 . BRILL . 978-90-04-28829-4 . en.
- Book: Huey, Robert N. . The Making of Shinkokinshū . 2020-03-23 . BRILL . 978-1-68417-365-5 . en.
- Book: Pandey, Rajyashree . Perfumed Sleeves and Tangled Hair: Body, Woman, and Desire in Medieval Japanese Narratives . 2016-01-31 . University of Hawaii Press . 978-0-8248-5355-6 . en.
