Izumi Shikibu

Izumi Shikibu (和泉式部?, b. 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 Joto Mon'in.

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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. At the age of 20 Izumi was married to Tachibana no Michisada, who soon became governor of Izumi. 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?). Izumi Shikibu accompanied Michisada to the provinces for a time, but found life there disagreeable and returned to the capital. Their daughter Koshikibu no Naishi was also a poet.

Affairs, marriages

Izumi Shikibu 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 with Emperor Reizei's third son, Prince Tametaka (977–1002) and had a public affair. As a result of the scandal her husband divorced her and her father disinherited her. One legend accounts that Tametaka died soon after visited her during a plague outbreak in Kyoto.

After Tametaka's death, she was courted by Prince Atsumichi (981–1007), Tametaka's half-brother, born to another mother. The first year of this affair is described in her semi-autobiographical diary Diary of Izumi Shikibu (和泉式部日記 izumi shikibu nikki?). As is customary for a diary (日記 nikki?) of the period, Izumi wrote in the third person her Izumi Shikibu Nikki and sections may have been fictionalized. It is believed that Shikibu's motive in writing the diary was partly to explain her affair to her fellow courtiers. When her affair with Atsumichi became public, his wife left him in anger. 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.

The following year, Izumi Shikibu joined the court of Fujiwara no Shōshi, who was the daughter of Fujiwara no Michinaga, as well as a chūgū consort of Emperor Ichijō.

Diary

Izumi Shikibu Nikki was actually written around this time, along with most of her important work that 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. Her poetry is characterized by passion and sentimental appeal. Her style was the direct opposite of that of Akazome Emon, even though both served in the same court and were close friends. At the court she also nursed a growing rivalry with Murasaki Shikibu, who had a similar poetic style, though this rivalry pales in comparison with Murasaki Shikibu's spirited competition with Sei Shōnagon. Izumi Shikibu's emotional poetry won her the praise of many at the court, including Fujiwara no Kinto.

Later years

While at the court, she married Fujiwara no Yasumasa, a military commander under Michinaga famous for his bravery, and left the court to accompany him to his charge in Tango Province. She is said to have lived long, outliving her daughter Koshikibu no Naishi, but the year of her death is unknown. The last Imperial correspondence from her was in 1033.

Opera

In contemporary arts, the National Opera of Paris and the Grand Theater of Geneva 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 by the Grand Theater of Geneva with the Chamber Orchestra of Geneva.

Poetry examples

References

External links