Mitsuhashi Takajo or Takajo Mitsuhashi (三橋鷹女; born ''Fumiko Matsuhashi'' (三橋たか) near

Narita, Chiba is a city in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 131,852 in 63,098 households and a population density of 620 persons per km². The total area of the city is . It is the site of Narita International Airport, one o ...

on 24 January 1899; died 7 April 1972) was a haiku poet of the Shōwa period.

Biography

Mitsuhashi Takajo was born near Narita. She was an admirer of Akiko Yosano and her father wrote tanka. In 1922 she married Kenzō (東謙三), a dentist who wrote haiku and that influenced her to switch to haiku herself. By 1936 she became part of a group that founded the short-lived ''Kon'' (dark blue) publication and in 1940 had the collection ''Himawari'' or ''Sunflowers'' published. The war proved difficult for her family and in 1953 she became involved in a progressive magazine of avant-garde poets who allowed experimental haiku. Her last collection, in 1970, dealt somewhat with death as she had been ill for years.

Legacy and image

She has been referred to as a religious ascetic or one who led a life of

asceticism Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...

and spiritual concentration. She is said to have written works of self-alienation and the Void. A statue of her is at Shinshoji Temple. She is also placed as one of the "4 Ts" of Japanese female haiku poets. The other three are

Tatsuko Hoshino was a Japanese ''haiku'' poet active in Shōwa period Japan. Early life Hoshino was born in Kōjimachi, Tokyo, as the daughter of the poet and novelist Takahama Kyoshi. She attended the preparatory school for Tokyo Woman's Christian Universit ...

Nakamura Teijo Teijo Nakamura (中村汀女, なかむらていじょ, April 11, 1900 - Sept. 20, 1988) was the pen name of Japanese haiku poet Hamako Saitō (斎藤破魔子, さいとうはまこ). She was a prolific poet and one of the founding leaders ...

, and

Hashimoto Takako is a Japanese name meaning 'base of bridge', from 'bridge' and 'base'. It may refer to: *Hashimoto (surname) * Hashimoto, a place in the city of Sagamihara, Kanagawa, Japan *Hashimoto, Wakayama, a city in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan *Hashimoto-sa ...

References

Japanese women poets Writers from Chiba Prefecture 1899 births 1972 deaths 20th-century Japanese poets 20th-century Japanese women writers Japanese haiku poets {{japan-poet-stub