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Shikibu, Izumi
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"Watching the moon
"at dawn,
"solitary, mid-sky,
"I knew myself completely:
"no part left out." (12/27/2023)
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Izumi Shikibu (Japanese: 和泉式部; born 976?) was a mid-Heian period Japanese poet. She is a member of the Thirty-six Medieval Poetry Immortals (中古三十六歌仙, chūko sanjurokkasen). She was the contemporary of Murasaki Shikibu, and Akazome Emon at the court of empress Joto Mon'in.
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
Izumi 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 (任国, ningoku) and her father's official designation of master of ceremony (式部, shikibu).
Affairs and marriages
She 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:弾正宮為尊親王 977–1002). As a result of the scandal her husband divorced her and her family disowned her. The Eiga Monogatari implies that Tametaka fell ill and died because of his "continual nocturnal escapades."[3]: 8–9, 11 [4]
After Tametaka's death, she was courted by Prince Atsumichi (敦道親王, Atsumichi Shinnō; 981–1007), Tametaka's brother. The first year of this affair is described in her semi-autobiographical Diary. Her motive in writing the diary "seems to have been written solely to appease her mind, and to record the poems which passed between them." Izumi then moved into Atsumichi's residence, and the two had a very public courtship until Atsumichi's death in 1007 at the age of 27.[3]: 12–13 [4]
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
Izumi 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 (和泉式部集, Izumi Shikibu-shū) and the imperial anthologies. Her life of love and passion earned her the nickname of The Floating Lady (浮かれ女, ukareme) from Michinaga.
Also at the court at the same time as Izumi were Akazome Emon, Murasaki Shikibu, and Ise no Taifu.[3]: 14
Later years
While 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 (誠心院専意法尼).[6]
Legacy
In 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
- A large number of her poems are poems of lamentation (哀傷歌, aishō no uta). A few examples, first to Tametaka:
Upon seeing her daughter Koshikibu no Naishi's name on her Imperial robes she received after her death:
References
- McMillan, Peter (2008). One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each. Columbia University Press. p. 142. ISBN 9780231143998.
- Mulhern, Chieko (1994). Japanese Women Writers: A Bio-Critical Sourcebook. Greenwood Press. p. 154. ISBN 0313254869.
- Cranston, Edwin (1969). The Izumi Shikibu Diary. Harvard University Press. p. 15,17,203,205. ISBN 978-0674469853.
- 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.
Bibliography
- Edwin Cranston (1969). The Izumi Shikibu Diary: A Romance of the Heian Court. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-46985-3.
- 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
- Izumi Shikibu. (2019). The Izumi Shikibu nikki. TOYO Press. ISBN 978-9492722-225
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The Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry (三十六歌仙, Sanjūrokkasen) are a group of Japanese poets of the Asuka, Nara, and Heian periods selected by Fujiwara no Kintō as exemplars of Japanese poetic ability. The oldest surviving collection of the 36 poets' works is Nishi Honganji Sanju-rokunin Kashu ("Nishi Honganji 36 poets collection") of 1113. Similar groups of Japanese poets include the Kamakura period Nyōbō Sanjūrokkasen (女房三十六歌仙), composed by court ladies exclusively, and the Chūko Sanjūrokkasen (中古三十六歌仙), or Thirty-Six Heian-era Immortals of Poetry, selected by Fujiwara no Norikane (1107–1165). This list superseded an older group called the Six Immortals of Poetry.
Sets of portraits (essentially imaginary) of the group were popular in Japanese painting and later woodblock prints, and often hung in temples.
Kintō's Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry
- Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
- Ki no Tsurayuki
- Ōshikōchi Mitsune
- Lady Ise
- Ōtomo no Yakamochi
- Yamabe no Akahito
- Ariwara no Narihira
- Henjō
- Sosei
- Ki no Tomonori
- Sarumaru no Taifu
- Ono no Komachi
- Fujiwara no Kanesuke
- Fujiwara no Asatada
- Fujiwara no Atsutada
- Fujiwara no Takamitsu
- Minamoto no Kintada
- Mibu no Tadamine
- Saigū no Nyōgo
- Ōnakatomi no Yorimoto
- Fujiwara no Toshiyuki
- Minamoto no Shigeyuki
- Minamoto no Muneyuki
- Minamoto no Saneakira
- Fujiwara no Kiyotada
- Minamoto no Shitagō
- Fujiwara no Okikaze
- Kiyohara no Motosuke
- Sakanoue no Korenori
- Fujiwara no Motozane
- Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu
- Fujiwara no Nakafumi
- Taira no Kanemori
- Mibu no Tadami
- Kodai no Kimi
- Nakatsukasa
Thirty-Six Female Immortals of Poetry
Nyōbō Sanjūrokkasen (女房三十六歌仙), composed in the Kamakura period, refers to thirty-six female immortals of poetry:[1]
- Ono no Komachi
- Ise
- Nakatsukasa
- Kishi Joō
- Ukon
- Fujiwara no Michitsuna no Haha
- Uma no Naishi
- Akazome Emon
- Izumi Shikibu
- Kodai no Kimi
- Murasaki Shikibu
- Koshikibu no Naishi
- Ise no Taifu
- Sei Shōnagon
- Daini no Sanmi
- Takashina no Kishi
- Yūshi Naishinnō-ke no Kii
- Sagami
- Shikishi Naishinnō
- Kunai-kyō
- Suō no Naishi
- Fujiwara no Toshinari no Musume
- Taikenmon'in no Horikawa
- Gishūmon'in no Tango
- Kayōmon'in no Echizen
- Nijōin no Sanuki
- Kojijū
- Go-Toba-in no Shimotsuke
- Ben no Naishi
- Gofukakusa-in no shōshō no naishi
- Inpumon'in no Tayū
- Tsuchimikado'in no Kosaishō
- Hachijō-in Takakura
- Fujiwara no Chikako
- Shikikenmon'in no Mikushige
- Sōhekimon'in no Shōshō
New Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry
There are at least two groups of Japanese poets called New Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry (新三十六歌仙, Shinsanjūrokkasen):
- One selected by Fujiwara no Mototoshi (Heian period, now lost)
- One including poets mainly of the Kamakura period; who selected this is unknown.
The term usually refers to the second, as this is still extant:[2]
- Emperor Go-Toba
- Emperor Tsuchimikado
- Emperor Juntoku
- Emperor Go-Saga
- Prince Masanari of Rokujō-no-Miya
- Prince Munetaka of Kamakura-no-Miya
- Prince Dōjonyūdō
- Princess Shikishi
- Kujō Yoshitsune
- Kujō Michiie
- Saionji Kintsune
- Koga Michiteru
- Saionji Saneuji
- Minamoto no Sanetomo
- Kujō Motoie
- Fujiwara no Ieyoshi
- Jien
- Gyōi
- Minamoto no Michitomo (Horikawa Michitomo)
- Fujiwara no Sadaie
- Hachijō-in Takakura
- Shunzei's Daughter
- Go-Toba-in Kunaikyō
- Sōhekimon'in no Shōshō
- Fujiwara no Tameie
- Asukai Masatsune
- Fujiwara no Ietaka
- Fujiwara no Tomoie
- Fujiwara no Ariie
- Hamuro Mitsutoshi
- Fujiwara no Nobuzane
- Minamoto no Tomochika
- Fujiwara no Takasuke
- Minamoto no Ienaga
- Kamo no Chōmei
- Fujiwara no Hideyoshi
Late Classical Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry
- Sei Shōnagon
- Izumi Shikibu
- Sagami
- Egyō
- Akazome Emon
- Fujiwara no Michinobu
- Nōin
- Taira no Sadafumi
- Kiyohara no Fukayabu
- Uma no Naishi
- Fujiwara no Yoshitaka
- Ōe no Chisato
- Fujiwara no Sadayori
- Jōtōmon'in no Chūjō
- Murasaki Shikibu
- Fujiwara no Michitsuna no Haha
- Fujiwara no Nagatō
- Ariwara no Muneyana
- Fujiwara no Michimasa
- Prince Kanemi
- Ise no Taifu
- Sone no Yoshitada
- Fun'ya no Yasuhide
- Fujiwara no Tadafusa
- Sugawara no Sukeaki
- Ōe no Masahira
- Anpō
- Ōe no Yoshitoki
- Minamoto no Michinari
- Dōmyō
- Zōki
- Ariwara no Motokata
- Fujiwara no Sanekata
- Fujiwara no Kintō
- Ōnakatomi no Sukechika
- Fujiwara no Takatō
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Izumi Shikibu — Selected Poetic Quotes
Izumi Shikibu (976–1030) was a celebrated Heian-period Japanese poet and court lady, renowned for her lyrical waka poetry. Her verses often explore themes of love, impermanence, beauty, and the fleeting nature of life. Here are some of her most famous and moving quotes:
“In this world love has no color yet how deeply my body is stained by yours.” — A poignant reflection on love’s purity and its deep, lasting mark on the soul Goodreads.
“Even when a river of tears courses through this body, the flame of love cannot be quenched.” — Expresses enduring love despite sorrow Goodreads.
“Watching the moon at dawn, solitary, mid-sky, I knew myself completely, no part left out.” — A moment of self-realization and oneness with the cosmos Goodreads.
“The one close to me now, even my own body — these too will soon become clouds, floating in different directions.” — A meditation on impermanence and separation Goodreads.
“Come quickly — as soon as these blossoms open, they fall. This world exists as a sheen of dew on flowers.” — Captures the fleeting beauty of life A-Z Quotes+1.
“In love longing I listen to the monk’s bell. I will never forget you even for an interval short as those between the bell notes.” — A delicate intertwining of love, time, and memory A-Z Quotes+1.
“Although the wind blows terribly here, the moonlight also leaks between the roof planks of this ruined house.” — A quiet acceptance of beauty amid hardship Goodreads.
“Things I Want: Which shouldn’t exist in this world, the one who forgets or the one who is forgotten? Which is better, to love one who has died or not to see each other when you’re alive?” — A philosophical inquiry into love, loss, and memory Goodreads.
“Nothing in the world is usual today. This is the first morning.” — A simple yet profound observation on the uniqueness of each moment Goodreads+1.
“Out of the dark, into a dark path I now must enter: shine on me from afar, moon of the mountain fringe!” — Often cited as her death verse, symbolizing the transition from life to the afterlife en.wikiquote.org.
These quotes reflect Izumi Shikibu’s mastery of waka form, her sensitivity to nature, and her ability to convey deep emotion with concise, evocative language. Her work remains a cornerstone of Japanese literary tradition.
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