Yuri (百合;1694 – ), also known as Gion Yuriko or Gion Yuri, was a Japanese poet and

calligrapher Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

. She was the adopted daughter of the poet and calligrapher Kaji and the mother of the painter

Ike Gyokuran was a Japanese Bunjinga painter, calligrapher, and poet. She was famous in Kyoto, Japan, during her lifetime, and she remains a celebrated artist in Japan. Gyokuran was born of a decade long affair between her mother, Yuri, and a high ranking ...

Life and career

Most of what is known about Yuri's life is from a short biographical sketch written by the philosopher and historian Rai San'yō. His source of information was the monk and painter Yamaoka Geppō, who studied under the painter

Ike no Taiga was a Japanese painter and calligrapher born in Kyoto during the Edo period. Together with Yosa Buson, he perfected the ''bunjinga'' (or '' nanga'') genre. The majority of his works reflected his passion for classical Chinese culture and painti ...

, the husband of Ike Gyokuran and son-in-law of Yuri. Yuri's origins are unknown; she may have been from Edo and had the family name Kimura. She was adopted by Kaji, who was the proprietor of a

teahouse A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...

in the

Gion is a district of Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, Japan, originating as an entertainment district in the Sengoku period, in front of Yasaka Shrine (Gion Shrine). The district was built to accommodate the needs of travellers and visitors to the shrine. ...

district of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

called Matsuya. Yuri later ran the teahouse herself and, also like her mother, composed ''waka'' poetry and wrote them at the request of customers. Among the luminaries who frequented the teahouse were the poet and noble Reizei Tamemura (1712-1774), who served as an artistic mentor for Yuri. Because of their ephemeral nature, few examples of her calligraphy are extant. According to ''Grove Art Online'', "both her poetry and her relaxed and fluid style of calligraphy reveal her strong personality". Rai San'yō had seen an example and wrote that "the writing is very vigorous and forceful, like the woman herself." Yuri had a lover who was from the noble Tokuyama family. They had a daughter named Machi (町), who later took the art name Ike Gyokuran. According to Rai San'yō, their relationship lasted a decade until her lover was called to take his place in the family after the death of his elder brother, Yuri insisted he abandon her to avoid loss of honor or station. 159 of her poems were published in 1727 as ''Sayuri ba'' ("Leaves from a small lily").

References

* {{Authority control Created via preloaddraft Japanese poets Japanese calligraphers 1694 births 1764 deaths