''Koshikibu'' (小式部) is a Japanese ''

otogi-zōshi are a group of about 350 Japanese prose narratives written primarily in the Muromachi period (1392–1573). These illustrated short stories, which remain unattributed, together form one of the representative literary genres of the Japanese med ...

'' from the late

Muromachi period The is a division of Japanese history running from approximately 1336 to 1573. The period marks the governance of the Muromachi or Ashikaga shogunate (''Muromachi bakufu'' or ''Ashikaga bakufu''), which was officially established in 1338 by t ...

. It is also known as ''The Tale of Izumi Shikibu'' (和泉式部の物語 ''Izumi Shikibu no monogatari'').

Title

''Koshikibu'' is also known in some incomplete manuscripts as ''Izumi Shikibu no monogatari''. The primary title ''Koshikibu'' refers to

Koshikibu no Naishi was a Japanese ''waka'' poet of the early eleventh century.''Britannica Kokusai Dai-hyakkajiten'' article "Koshikibu no Naishi". 2007. Britannica Japan Co.'' Mypaedia'' article "Koshikibu no Naishi". 2007. Hitachi Systems & Services.''Digital Daij ...

, but the work is actually about three generations in the family, including her mother

Izumi Shikibu was a mid-Heian period Japanese poet. She is a member of the . She was the contemporary of Murasaki Shikibu, and Akazome Emon at the court of empress Joto Mon'in. She "is considered by many to have been the greatest woman poet of the Heian pe ...

and grandmother

Murasaki Shikibu was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court in the Heian period. She is best known as the author of '' The Tale of Genji,'' widely considered to be one of the world's first novels, written in Japanese between abou ...

Genre and date

''Koshikibu'' is a work of the ''

'' genre. It is also classified as a ''kajin-densetsu-mono'' (歌人伝説物), a work that recounts a legend about a '' waka'' poet, and a ''katoku-setsuwa'' (歌徳説話), a tale about the virtues of ''waka'' poetry (see ''

Setsuwa Setsuwa (, ja, 説話, setsu wa) is an East Asian literary genre. It consists of myths, legends, folktales, and anecdotes. ''Setsuwa'' means "spoken story". As one of the vaguest forms of literature, setsuwa is believed to have been passed down ...

''). The work incorporates a number of folk-tales that were apparently in circulation about its various character, and shares several elements in common with other ''otogi-zōshi'' such as ''

'', ''

Shuten-dōji Shuten-dōji (, also sometimes called , or ) is a mythical ''oni'' or demon leader of Japan, who according to legend was killed by the hero Minamoto Raikō. Although decapitated, the demon's detached head still took a bite at the hero, who avoid ...

'' and the other ''Koshikibu''. It was composed in the late

Plot

The work portrays Murasaki Shikibu, Izumi Shikibu and Koshikibu no Naishi as three generations of the same family. Murasaki, an ingenious lady-in-waiting at the imperial court, one night has a strange dream and becomes pregnant. She gives birth to a baby girl, who from a young age displays a prodigious ability to compose ''waka'' poetry. Murasaki goes to Ishiyama-dera and composes the sixty-book ''

Tale of Genji Tale may refer to: * Narrative, or story, a report of real or imaginary connected events * TAL effector (TALE), a type of DNA binding protein * Tale, Albania, a resort town * Tale, Iran, a village * Tale, Maharashtra, a village in Ratnagiri distri ...

''. In the spring of her thirteenth year, Murasaki's daughter falls ill and is thought to be approaching death, but she puts her faith in the virtue of poetry and her disease is cured. Both mother and daughter serve Jōtōmon-in, and the daughter becomes known as Izumi Shikibu. At around this time there is a demon in the capital called

, who every night steals people away. The demon is defeated by

Minamoto no Raikō , also known as Minamoto no Raikō, served the regents of the Fujiwara clan along with his brother Minamoto no Yorinobu, Yorinobu, taking the violent measures the Fujiwara were themselves unable to take. He is one of the earliest Minamoto clan, Min ...

and , and Yasumasa becomes Izumi's lover. There are also rumours of Izumi having an affair with , a famous poet in the capital, but these rumours are dispelled by the power of Izumi's poetry. In the spring of her seventeenth year, she gives birth to a baby girl, but is so ashamed of how she will be thought of at court that she abandons her child. Her daughter is found by an old couple in

Kawachi Province was a province of Japan in the eastern part of modern Osaka Prefecture. It originally held the southwestern area that was split off into Izumi Province. It was also known as . Geography The area was radically different in the past, with Kawachi ...

, who raise her. Her daughter, too, grows into a ''waka'' and '' renga'' prodigy, and is a filial daughter. Izumi Shikibu grows to a lonely old age, but is reunited with her daughter through poetry. Her daughter comes to the capital and is such a brilliant poet that she moves the people there greatly, and is given the title Koshikibu no Naishi.

Textual tradition

The work is in one volume. There is a copy in the holdings of the Tenri Central Library, and a ''Nara e-hon''. There is a scroll dating to around the end of the Muromachi period that includes only the latter half of this text, which bears the title ''Izumi Shikibu no monogatari''.

References

Works cited

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koshikibu Otogi-zōshi Muromachi-period works