Michitsuna's mother
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Fujiwara no Michitsuna no Haha | |
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Born | 935 |
Died | 995 |
Nationality | Japanese |
Parents | Fujiwara no Tomoyasu (father) |
Fujiwara no Michitsuna no Haha (
Name
[edit]While her true name is unknown to history, she is known by the name "Fujiwara no Michitsuna no Haha," that translates to "Fujiwara clan's Michitsuna's Mother".
Life
[edit]She was the daughter of a provincial governor, Fujiwara no Tomoyasu, a member of the middle-ranking aristocracy of the Heian period (794–1185) from which were drawn men who served as provincial governors. Due to her lesser nobility, she became a concubine at the age of nineteen and then married Fujiwara no Kaneie who was later promoted to Sesshō. Michitsuna's Mother was Kaneie's second wife and mother of only one child. Her strained relationship with Kaneie made her consider becoming a nun; however, her son and others in her family persuaded her not to.
Career
[edit]Mitchitsuna's Mother was a very influential and well-established poet. She is a member of the Thirty-six Medieval Poetry Immortals (
Michitsuna's Mother was also credited with expanding the potential of kana prose writing with the creation of a newfound form of psychological exploration and self-expression, becoming an influence for the very popular work, The Tale of Genji.[3]
She wrote the Kagerō Nikki, a classic of Nikki bungaku; the diary recorded her unhappy marriage to Fujiwara no Kaneie who served as Sesshō and Kampaku. The diary contains an emphasis on Michitsuna's mother's social relationships in particular. An autobiography of 20 years of her life (from 954 to 974). The journal was written in three volumes and further sub-divided by year; nothing is known about her relationship with Kaneie in the last decades of her life.
Court marriage
[edit]Heian court marriages were arranged and often polygamous. A man could have several wives, though a woman could have only one husband. A formal ceremony was not required; rather, the details of the marriage were privately agreed upon between the father of the bride and her suitor. Women usually lived apart from their husbands after marriage and raised any heirs of their union. Divorce was common and uncomplicated, requiring nothing more than cessation of marital visits, since the couple were not bound by any legal contract. Both parties were free to remarry afterward.[4] A woman's marriage value depended on the social status of both her father and mother: women of suitable standing were rare and prized.
Relations
[edit]- Fujiwara no Tomoyasu (
藤原 倫 寧 ) (d. 977): Father of Michitsuna's Mother. He was a court official during the mid-Heian Period. He held the title of Shoshiinoge (Senior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade). At the time of Michitsuna's Mother's marriage, he was serving under Kaneie in the Office of the Left Military Guard.[5] - Fujiwara no Nagato (
藤原 長 能 ) (949–c. 1009): A waka poet in the mid-Heian period, also known as Fujiwara no Nagayoshi. Younger half-brother of Michitsuna's Mother.[6] - Fujiwara no Kaneie (
藤原 兼 家 ) (929–990): Husband of Michitsuna's Mother. - Michitsuna (
道 綱 ) (955–1020) son of Fujiwara no Kaneie and Michitsuna's Mother.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Mulhern, Chieko Irie, ed. (1994). Japanese Women Writers: A Bio-critical Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing. pp. 61–69. ISBN 9780313254864.
- ^ Bundy, Roselee (1991). "Japan's first woman diarist and the beginnings of prose writings by women in Japan". Women's Studies. 19 (1): 79–97. doi:10.1080/00497878.1991.9978855.
- ^ Shirane, Haruo, ed. (2007). Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600. New York: Columbia UP.
- ^ Kumagai, Fumie (2015). Family Issues on Marriage, Divorce, and Older Adults in Japan (1 ed.). Singapore, Springer. pp. XIX, 184. doi:10.1007/978-981-287-185-5. ISBN 978-981-287-184-8. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ^ "Fujiwara no Tomoyasu". Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ^ "Fujiwara no Nagato". Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ^ "Fujiwara no Michitsuna". Retrieved 3 December 2021.
External links
[edit]- Works by or about Fujiwara no Michitsuna no Haha at Wikisource