Takashina no Takako

Takako, mother of the Honorary Grand Minister, from the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

Takashina no Takako (高階貴子, sometimes read Takashina no Kishi; died 996), also known as the mother of the Honorary Grand Minister (儀同三司母, Gidōsanshi no haha) or as Kō no Naishi (高内侍), was a Japanese waka poet of the mid-Heian period. One of her poems was included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

Biography

She was the daughter of Takashina no Naritada (高階成忠).[1]

By her husband Fujiwara no Michitaka, she was the mother of Takaie, Empress Teishi and Korechika, who was known as the Honorary Grand Minister (儀同三司, Gidōsanshi).[2][3] She is accordingly frequently referred to as the mother of the Honorary Grand Minister.

Her other nickname, Kō no Naishi, is a combination of the first character of her patronymic family name — taka or kō — and her position serving Emperor En'yū, naishi.[3]

She died in 996.[2][3]

Poetry

Five of her poems were included in imperial anthologies from the Shūi Wakashū onwards.[1]

The following poem by her was included as the 54th in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu:

忘れじの行く末まではかたければ
     けふを限りの命ともがな[4]
wasureji no yuku-sue made wa katakereba
kyō o kagiri no inochi to mogana[5]
You promise you'll never forget, but to the end of time is too long to ask. So let me die today―still loved by you.[6]
(Shin Kokin Wakashū 13:1149)

References

1. Daijirin entry "Gidōsanshi no haha". Sanseidō.
2. McMillan 2010:141 (note 54).
3. Digital Daijisen entry "Gidōsanshi no haha". Shogakukan.
4. Suzuki et al. 2009 : 69.
5. McMillan 2010:166.
6. McMillan 2010:56.

Sources

• Keene, Donald (1999). A History of Japanese Literature, Vol. 1: Seeds in the Heart — Japanese Literature from Earliest Times to the Late Sixteenth Century. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-11441-7.
• McMillan, Peter. 2010 (1st ed. 2008). One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each. New York: Columbia University Press.
• Suzuki Hideo, Yamaguchi Shin'ichi, Yoda Yasushi. 2009 (1st ed. 1997). Genshoku: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. Tokyo: Bun'eidō.

External links

• Takashina no Takako (also listed as Gidōsanshi no haha) on Kotobank.