Early Women Writers

Kenreimon'in Ukyo no Daibu (Lady Daibu)

Heian-kyo (modern day Kyoto)

1157 - after 1232

Though little is known of Lady Daibu, she is believed to the daughter of Fujiwara no Yukinari, a mid-ranking noblewoman of an artistically prodigious family. Her poetry and memoirs, compiled by herself in the Kenreimon'in Ukyo no Daibu Shu is valued as a particularly sincere account of the tumultous Genpei War. [Source: Wagner, James G. "The Kenreimon'in Ukyo no Daibu Shu: Introduction and Partial Translation." Monumenta Nipponica. Vol. 31.1 (Spring, 1976): 1-27.]

Kenreimon'in Ukyo no Daibu Shu, Poetry

Japanese

Diary/Memoir, Poetry

Wagner, James G. "The Kenreimon'in Ukyo no Daibu Shu: Introduction and Partial Translation." Monumenta Nipponica. Vol. 31.1 (Spring, 1976): 1-27. ; Harries, Phillip. tr. The Poetic Memoirs of Lady Daibu. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 1980. ; Sato, Hiroaki. Japanese Women Poets: An Anthology. New York: Routledge, 2015.