Ōtagaki Rengetsu

was a Buddhist nun who is widely regarded to have been one of the greatest Japanese poets of the 19th century. She was also a skilled potter and painter and expert calligrapher.

Biography

She was the daughter of a courtesan and a nobleman. Born into a samurai family with the surname Tōdō, she was adopted at a young age by the Ōtagaki family. She was a lady in waiting at Kameoka Castle from age 7 to 16, when she was married. Rengetsu ware teapot for steeped tea (kyūsu) inscribed with a waka poem by Ōtagaki Rengetsu, stoneware with rice-straw-ash glaze. Late Edo period-early Meiji era, mid-19th century Though best known as a waka poet, Rengetsu was also accomplished at dance, sewing, some of the martial arts, and Japanese tea ceremony. She admired and studied under a number of great poets including Ozawa Roan and Ueda Akinari, and later in her life became a close friend and mentor to the artist Tomioka Tessai. A number of Tessai's works, though painted by him, feature calligraphy by Rengetsu.

Her ceramic work became so popular it was continued after her death as Rengetsu ware. Her work (both pottery and calligraphy) is held in several museums worldwide, including the Birmingham Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Harn Museum of Art, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the Walters Art Museum, the Harvard Art Museums, the British Museum, and the Maidstone Museum.