Izumi Shikibu (Japanese:
She "is considered by many to have been the greatest woman poet of the Heian period". Her legacy includes 242 poems and two kashu.[1]
"Torn between worldly ties and physical desire, Izumi Shikibu left a wealth of passionate love poetry, fueling rumors that purported that she was a femme fatale with numerous lovers besides her two husbands and two princely lovers."[2]: 155
Early life
editIzumi Shikibu was the daughter of Oe no Masamune, governor of Echizen. Her mother was the daughter of Taira no Yasuhira, governor of Etchu. In 995, at the age of 20, Izumi was married to Tachibana no Michisada, governor of Izumi, the origin for her name. Their daughter was born in 997, Koshikibu no Naishi, who also became a poet. However, Izumi soon divorced, and her former husband died soon afterwards.[3]: 4, 7, 9 [4]
As is standard for Heian period women, her name is a composite of "Izumi" from her husband's charge (
Affairs and marriages
editShe had a sequence of affairs at the imperial court in Kyoto. In the beginning, before her marriage to Michisada, she is believed to have been the companion (some accounts say wife) of a man named Omotomaru at dowager Queen Shoko's court.
While still married to Michisada, she fell in love and had an affair with Emperor Reizei's third son, Prince Tametaka (Danjo no Miya Tametaka Shinnō:
After Tametaka's death, she was courted by Prince Atsumichi (
Soon after, probably in 1009, Izumi joined the court of Fujiwara no Shōshi, who was the daughter of Fujiwara no Michinaga, and the consort of Emperor Ichijō.[3]: 14
Further testimony of the scandal caused by her successive affairs with the Princes Tametaka and Atsumichi can be found in two historical tales (rekishi monogatari) about the period, A Tale of Flowering Fortunes (or Eiga Monogatari), c. mid-eleventh century, and The Great Mirror (or Ōkagami), c. late eleventh century.
Diary
editIzumi Shikibu Nikki was written at the beginning of Izumi's relationship with Prince Atsumichi and continues for about nine months (1003–1004). Written in a third person narrative, the diary contains waka poetry, with over one hundred poems including renga. The "plot" is one of "alternate ardor and indifference on the part of the Prince, and timidity and yearning on the part of Izumi."[3]: 25–26
Her important work is present in the Izumi Shikibu Collection (
Also at the court at the same time as Izumi were Akazome Emon, Murasaki Shikibu, and Ise no Taifu.[3]: 14
Later years
editWhile at the court in 1009, she married Fujiwara no Yasumasa (958–1036), a military commander under Michinaga famous for his bravery, and left the court to accompany him to his charge in Tango Province. She outlived her daughter Koshikibu no Naishi, but the year of her death is unknown. The last Imperial correspondence from her was a poem written in 1027. The Eiga Monogatari includes this poem, which accompanied Yasumasa's offering of jewels for a Buddha figure "made in memory of the Empress Dowager Yoshiko."[3][5][4]: 13 [2]
She later devoted herself to Buddhism, donning Buddhist robes that she wore for the rest of her life. Her Dharma name was Seishin Insei Hōni (
Legacy
editIn contemporary arts, the Opéra National de Paris and the Grand Théâtre de Genève jointly commissioned an opera based on her poems. Titled Da gelo a gelo by Salvatore Sciarrino and sung in Italian, the work draws on 65 poems from Izumi Shikibu Nikki that features her passion for Prince Atsumichi. It was performed in early 2008 in Geneva with the Chamber Orchestra of Geneva.[7][8]
Poetry
edit刈 藻 かき臥 猪 の床 のゐを安 み
さこそねざらめ斯らずもがな
karu mo kaki fusu wi no toko no wi wo yasumi sa koso nezarame kakarazu mo gana
loosely: Trampling the dry grass the wild boar makes his bed, and sleeps. I would not sleep so soundly even were I without these feelings.
(Goshūi Wakashū 14:821)黒髪 のみだれも知 らず打 臥 せば
まづかきやりし人 ぞ戀 しき
kurokami no midaremo shirazu uchifuseba madzu kakiyarishi hito zo kohishiki
loosely: My black hair is unkempt; unconcerned, he lies down and first gently smooths it, my darling!
(Goshūi Wakashū 13:755)長閑 なる折 こそなけれ花 を思 ふ心 の
うちに風 はふかねど
nodoka naru ori koso nakere hana wo omou kokoro no uchi ni kaze wa fukanedo
loosely: "There is not even a moment of calmness. In the heart that loves the blossoms, the wind is already blowing."
([1])- A large number of her poems are poems of lamentation (
哀傷 歌 , aishō no uta). A few examples, first to Tametaka:亡 人 のくる夜 ときけど君 もなし
我 が住 む宿 や魂 無 きの里
naki hito no kuru yo to kikedo kimi mo nashi wa ga sumu yado ya tamanaki no sato
loosely: They say the dead return tonight, but you are not here. Is my dwelling truly a house without spirit?
(Goshūi Wakashū 10:575)Upon seeing her daughter Koshikibu no Naishi's name on her Imperial robes she received after her death:
諸共 に苔 のしたには朽 ちずして
埋 もれぬ名 をみるぞ悲 しき
morotomo ni koke no shita ni ha kuchizu shite udzumorenu na wo miru zo kanashiki
loosely: Beneath the moss, imperishable, her name of high renown: seeing it is a great sadness.
(Kin'yō Wakashū 10:620)
References
edit- ^ McMillan, Peter (2008). One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each. Columbia University Press. p. 142. ISBN 9780231143998.
- ^ a b Mulhern, Chieko (1994). Japanese Women Writers: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook. Greenwood Press. p. 154. ISBN 0313254869.
- ^ a b c d e f g Cranston, Edwin (1969). The Izumi Shikibu Diary. Harvard University Press. p. 15,17,203,205. ISBN 978-0674469853.
- ^ a b c d Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan. Translated by Omori, Anne Shepley; Doi, Kochi. The Riverside Press Cambridge. 1920. p. 13. ISBN 9781515057383. Introduction by Amy Lowell.
- ^ Sato, Hiroaki (1995). Legends of the Samurai. Overlook Duckworth. p. 30. ISBN 9781590207307.
- ^
柴 佳世 乃「和泉式部 」 /小野 一之 ・鈴木 彰 ・谷口 榮 ・樋口 州 男 編 『人物 伝 小 辞典 古代 ・中世 編 』東京 堂 出版 2004年 26ページ - ^ "Adultery in Medieval Japan Gets Atonal Treatment at Paris Opera - Bloomberg". Bloomberg News. 2012-10-26. Archived from the original on 2012-10-26. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-12-22. Retrieved 2015-12-14.
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Bibliography
edit- Edwin Cranston. Izumi Shikibu. Kodansha.
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ignored (help) - Hiroaki Sato (2008). Japanese women poets: an anthology. M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
- Earl Miner; Hiroko Odagiri; Robert E. Morrell (1985). The Princeton Companion to Classical Japanese Literature. Princeton University Press. pp. 170–171. ISBN 0-691-06599-3.
- Shūichi Katō (October 1995). A History of Japanese Literature. Kodansha. ISBN 1-873410-48-4.
- Janet Walker (June 1977). "Poetic Ideal and Fictional Reality in the Izumi Shikibu nikki". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies. 37 (1). Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 37, No. 1: 135–182. doi:10.2307/2718668. JSTOR 2718668.
- Jane Hirshfield; Mariko Aratani (1990). The Ink Dark Moon: Love Poems by Ono no Komachi and Izumi Shikibu, Women of the Ancient Court of Japan. New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-72958-5.
Further reading
edit- Izumi Shikibu. (2019). The Izumi Shikibu nikki. TOYO Press. ISBN 978-9492722-225
External links
edit- Works by or about Izumi Shikibu at Wikisource
- Works by Izumi Shikibu at Project Gutenberg
- Works by Izumi Shikibu at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- "Izumi Shikibu Nikki online". University of Virginia Library Japanese Text Initiative. Archived from the original on 2012-01-23. Retrieved 2006-07-07.
- The Diary of Izumi Shikibu, by Izumi Shikibu (974- ) Publication: Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan. translated by Annie Shepley Omori and Kochi Doi, with an introduction by Amy Lowell. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1920, pp. 147–196.