Kenreimon-in Ukyō no Daibu (建礼門院右京大夫) was Japanese noblewoman and waka poet of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods.
She was a daughter of Fujiwara no Koreyuki [1] and Yūgiri (夕霧), a daughter of Ōga no Motomasa and a renowned koto player. [1] It has been postulated that she was born in Hōgen 5 (1157). [1] In 1173, she entered the service of Taira no Tokuko, then empress to Emperor Takakura. [1] She may have come to court under the patronage of Fujiwara no Shunzei. [1] Her mother had previously given birth to a son, Son'en (尊円), by Shunzei, [1] before marrying Koreyuki and taking Son'en with her into Koreyuki's house, [1] and Ukyō no Daibu's nickname (literally " Ukyō High Steward") comes from the political post held by Shunzei at the time she came to court. [1] She served less than six years as a lady-in-waiting, [1] but during this time she began a love affair with Taira no Sukemori , [1] and also took Fujiwara no Takanobu as a lover. [1] Takanobu was the son of Fujiwara no Tametsune and Bifukumon-in no Kaga , [1] who later married Shunzei, [1] so it is possible that Takanobu's mother and foster-father were involved in the relationship. [1] In around the autumn of 1178, she left court and went to live with her mother, [1] but the following year her mother fell ill and died, [1] and Ukyō no Daibu went to live with her half-brother Son'en in the Nishiyama district of the Capital. [1] Her relationship with Takanobu came to an end around this time, [1] and she came to rely on the love of Sukemori. [1] With the growing tensions between the Taira and their rival Minamoto clan, however, their relationship was short-lived. [1] The Taira were driven from the Capital in the seventh month of 1183 (according to the traditional Japanese calendar), [1] and Sukemori left her, [1] before drowning at the Battle of Dan-no-Ura in 1185. [1] Ukyō no Daibu heard the news of her lover's death, [1] and later entered religious orders along with her brother at Hosshō-ji ( ja). [1] She went on treasuring the memory of her lover Sukemori, [1] but around a decade later, in 1196 or 1197, she went back to the court of Emperor Go-Toba, [1] and then entered the service of the empress dowager Shichijō-in. [1] She lived until at least 1233, [1] but her date of death is unknown. [1]
She left a personal anthology, the Kenreimon-in Ukyō no Daibu Shū (建礼門院右京大夫集). [2]
23 of her poems were included in imperial collections from the Shin-chokusenshū on, [1] and her poems were also included in the Fuboku Wakashō (夫木和歌抄), the Gyokuyōshū and others. [1] The ten poems by her that were included in the Gyokuyōshū are indicative of both her individual poetic style and the style of that anthology. [3] These poems can all duplicates of those in her personal collection, [4] but the two poems included in Jien's Shūgyokushū (拾玉集) and the Tsukimōde Wakashū (月詣和歌集) are not found in her personal anthology. [4]
It has been hypothesized that Yamaji no Tsuyu , the unofficial sequel to The Tale of Genji, was written by her. [4]
Kenreimon-in Ukyō no Daibu (建礼門院右京大夫) was Japanese noblewoman and waka poet of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods.
She was a daughter of Fujiwara no Koreyuki [1] and Yūgiri (夕霧), a daughter of Ōga no Motomasa and a renowned koto player. [1] It has been postulated that she was born in Hōgen 5 (1157). [1] In 1173, she entered the service of Taira no Tokuko, then empress to Emperor Takakura. [1] She may have come to court under the patronage of Fujiwara no Shunzei. [1] Her mother had previously given birth to a son, Son'en (尊円), by Shunzei, [1] before marrying Koreyuki and taking Son'en with her into Koreyuki's house, [1] and Ukyō no Daibu's nickname (literally " Ukyō High Steward") comes from the political post held by Shunzei at the time she came to court. [1] She served less than six years as a lady-in-waiting, [1] but during this time she began a love affair with Taira no Sukemori , [1] and also took Fujiwara no Takanobu as a lover. [1] Takanobu was the son of Fujiwara no Tametsune and Bifukumon-in no Kaga , [1] who later married Shunzei, [1] so it is possible that Takanobu's mother and foster-father were involved in the relationship. [1] In around the autumn of 1178, she left court and went to live with her mother, [1] but the following year her mother fell ill and died, [1] and Ukyō no Daibu went to live with her half-brother Son'en in the Nishiyama district of the Capital. [1] Her relationship with Takanobu came to an end around this time, [1] and she came to rely on the love of Sukemori. [1] With the growing tensions between the Taira and their rival Minamoto clan, however, their relationship was short-lived. [1] The Taira were driven from the Capital in the seventh month of 1183 (according to the traditional Japanese calendar), [1] and Sukemori left her, [1] before drowning at the Battle of Dan-no-Ura in 1185. [1] Ukyō no Daibu heard the news of her lover's death, [1] and later entered religious orders along with her brother at Hosshō-ji ( ja). [1] She went on treasuring the memory of her lover Sukemori, [1] but around a decade later, in 1196 or 1197, she went back to the court of Emperor Go-Toba, [1] and then entered the service of the empress dowager Shichijō-in. [1] She lived until at least 1233, [1] but her date of death is unknown. [1]
She left a personal anthology, the Kenreimon-in Ukyō no Daibu Shū (建礼門院右京大夫集). [2]
23 of her poems were included in imperial collections from the Shin-chokusenshū on, [1] and her poems were also included in the Fuboku Wakashō (夫木和歌抄), the Gyokuyōshū and others. [1] The ten poems by her that were included in the Gyokuyōshū are indicative of both her individual poetic style and the style of that anthology. [3] These poems can all duplicates of those in her personal collection, [4] but the two poems included in Jien's Shūgyokushū (拾玉集) and the Tsukimōde Wakashū (月詣和歌集) are not found in her personal anthology. [4]
It has been hypothesized that Yamaji no Tsuyu , the unofficial sequel to The Tale of Genji, was written by her. [4]