( fl. 936–966) was a Japanese poet of the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

. She was also a lady-in-waiting of Lady Onshi, consort of

Emperor Daigo was the 60th emperor of Japan, Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 醍醐天皇 (60)/ref> according to the traditional order of succession. Daigo's reign spanned the years from 897 through 930. He is named after his place of burial. Ge ...

Background

She belonged to the

Fujiwara Fujiwara (, written: 藤原 lit. "''Wisteria'' field") is a Japanese surname. (In English conversation it is likely to be rendered as .) Notable people with the surname include: ; Families * The Fujiwara clan and its members ** Fujiwara no Kamatari ...

clan. Her father was Fujiwara no Suenawa, the right lesser captain (Japanese: Ukon no Shosho).

Life

She was active as a great poet for 30 years. In 933 she composed the poem for the coming-of-age celebration of Princess Koshi. In 960 and 962 she took part in a poetry contests of the court. In 966 she took part in a poetry contest held at the garden of the court. She exchanged poems with

Prince Motoyoshi Prince Motoyoshi (元良親王, ''Motoyoshi shinnō'', 890-July 26, 943) was a poet and nobleman of the Heian period. One of his poems is included in the ''Ogura Hyakunin Isshu'' as number 20 in the anthology. Twenty of his poems were included in ...

Fujiwara no Atsutada was a mid- Heian ''waka'' and Japanese nobleman. He was designated a member of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals, and was also known as the and . Poetry Many of Atsutada's poems written in correspondence with court women remain, and some are i ...

Fujiwara no Morosuke , also known as Kujō-dono or Bōjō-udaijin, was a Japanese statesman, courtier and politician during the middle Heian period.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Fujiwara no Nakahira" in ; Brinkley, Frank ''et al.'' (1915). Considered a learne ...

, Fujiwara no Morouji,

Fujiwara no Asatada Fujiwara no Asatada (Japanese: 藤原朝忠, also 中納言朝忠, ''Chunagon Asatada'') (910 – January 19, 966) was a middle Heian ''waka'' and Japanese nobleman. He was designated a member of the Thirty-six Poetry Immortals and one of his po ...

and

Minamoto no Shitagō was a mid Heian '' waka'' poet, scholar and nobleman. He was also a male-line descendant of Emperor Saga. He was the original compiler of the ''Wamyō Ruijushō'', the first Japanese dictionary organized into semantic headings. He was designate ...

. Her name was included in the list of Thirty-six Female Poetry Immortals.

Work

Her poems are included in the anthologies ''

Hyakunin Isshu is a classical Japanese anthology of one hundred Japanese ''waka'' by one hundred poets. ''Hyakunin isshu'' can be translated to "one hundred people, one poem ach; it can also refer to the card game of ''uta-garuta'', which uses a deck compos ...

Gosen Wakashū The , often abbreviated as ''Gosenshū'' ("Later Collection"), is an imperial anthology of Japanese waka compiled in 951 at the behest of Emperor Murakami by the Five Men of the Pear Chamber: Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu (922-991), Kiyohara no Motosuke ...

'', and others. Here is Poem No.38 from ''

'': The Lady Ukon is supposed to have been deserted by her husband, and in this poem she regrets, not so much her own sorrow, as the fact that he has broken his sworn oath, and is therefore in danger of divine vengeance.

References

* Peter McMillan (2008) ''One hundred poets, one poem each: a translation of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu''. New York: Columbia University Press.

External links

Poems of Ukon
(in Japanese)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ukon (Poet) 10th-century Japanese women writers 10th-century writers Articles containing Japanese poems 10th-century Japanese poets Japanese women poets Hyakunin Isshu poets