Akazome Emon

File:Akazome Emon.png

Akazome Emon depicted in c. 1765 ink and color Kusazōshi by Komatsuken

was a Japanese waka poet and early historian who lived in the mid-Heian period. She is a member both of the and the Thirty-Six Immortal Women Poets.

Biography

Akazome Emon's year of birth is unknown,Template:Sfnm but she was likely born between Tentoku 1 (957) and Kōhō 1 (964).Template:Sfnm She was officially the daughter of Template:Ill,Template:Sfnm but the late-Heian karonsho (book of poetic criticism) Template:Interlanguage link records that her biological father was her mother's first husband, Taira no Kanemori.Template:Sfnm

A poetic exchange between Emon and Fujiwara no Michitaka, dating to around Ten'en 2 (974) to Jōgen 2 (977),Template:Sfnm when she was likely in her late teens, is the earliest dateable event in her life.Template:Sfnm At roughly this time, she went to serve in the household of Minamoto no Masanobu,Template:Sfnm and for a long time thereafter she served his daughter Rinshi (ja), the wife of Fujiwara no Michinaga.Template:Sfnm

It was also around this time (Ten'en–Jōgen) that she married Template:Interlanguage link,Template:Sfnm a Confucian scholar and poet of both waka and kanshi. They had a son, Template:Interlanguage link,Template:Sfnm a daughter, Gō Jijū (江侍従),Template:Sfnm and one more daughter.Template:Sfnm The couple were considered to be .

According to her personal waka collection, the Akazome Emon Shū (赤染衛門集), when Masahira was twice sent to serve in Owari Province, she accompanied him both times.Template:Sfnm The collection also indicates that she worked to ensure her son's professional success at courtTemplate:Sfnm and presented poems as offerings to Sumiyoshi ShrineTemplate:Clarification needed when he fell ill.Template:Sfnm The Fukuro-zōshi portrays her as gently supporting her husband when he was overwhelmed by his official duties.Template:Sfnm These works present Emon as a good wife and wise mother (良妻賢母 ryōsai kenbo).Template:Sfnm She also devoted much effort to her service as Rinshi's lady-in-waiting.Template:Sfnm

In Chōwa 1 (1012), her husband died,Template:Sfnm and a few years later Emon became a nun.Template:Sfnm She apparently lived a long and tranquil life from this point,Template:Sfnm living to see the birth of her great-grandson Ōe no Masafusa in Chōkyū 2 (1041).Template:Sfnm

Akazome Emon served Minamoto no Rinshi and Fujiwara no Shōshi, who were, respectively, the wife and daughter of Fujiwara no Michinaga, and she was present at the Imperial court at the same time as Izumi Shikibu. She was a contemporary of Murasaki Shikibu, who praised her writing, and Sei Shōnagon.

The year of her death is uncertain,Template:Sfnm but she probably lived until at least 1041.Template:Sfnm

Poetry and other writings

Emon remained active in waka composition until late in life,Template:Sfnm contributing poems to uta-awase competitions on the sixteenth day of the fifth month of Chōgen 8 (1035), the Kanpaku-Sadaijin-ke Uta-awase (関白左大臣家歌合),Template:Sfnm and 1041, the Kokiden no Nyōgo Uta-awase (弘徽殿女御歌合).Template:Sfnm She also contributed a screen poem (屏風歌 byōbu-uta) to celebrate Rinshi's seventieth year, in 1033.Template:Sfnm

She left a personal collection, the Akazome Emon Shū,Template:Sfnm and she is also believed to have been the writer of the first part of Eiga Monogatari.Template:Sfnm Her poetry was incorporated into court anthologies from the Shūi Wakashū on.Template:Sfnm She ranks fourth in the number of her poems that were included in the Goshūi Wakashū,Template:Sfnm with a total of 32.Template:Sfnm More than 60 of her poems were included in the Kin'yō Wakashū and later court anthologies.Template:Sfnm

In her article on Emon, Hiroko Saitō called her poetic style unexceptional.