Koshikibu no Naishi (The Koshikibu Handmaid)
Item
Author
Koshikibu no Naishi (The Koshikibu Handmaid)
Location
Heian-kyo (modern day Kyoto)
Dates
d. 1025
Biography
Koshikibu no Naishi is named after her mother, the famous poet Izumi Shikibu. Her name is a combination of her position at court -- handmaid, or naishi -- and a tribute to her mother, for the 'ko' in her name means 'little shikibu.' Koshikibu has four poems included in imperial anthologies, as well as a contribtion in the Hyakunin Isshu (One hundred poems by one hundred poets.) She died tragically in her late twenties. [Source: Mostow, Joshua S. Pictures of the Heart: The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image. Honolulu: Hawai'i UP, 1996.]
Languages
Japanese
Genres
Poetry
Editions and Translations
McMilan, Peter. One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each: A Translation of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. New York: Columbia UP, 2010; Mostow, Joshua S. Pictures of the Heart: The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image. Honolulu: Hawai'i UP, 1996. ; Brower, Robert H., and Earl Miner. Japanese Court Poetry. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 1961.
