Shikikenmon-in no mikushige

, after also known as Ankamon'in Sanjo, was a Japanese poet and lady-in-waiting during the Kamakura period. She is listed as one of the prestigious Thirty-Six Immortal Women Poets of Classical Japan, and is also known by her posthumous Buddhist name of Kisaragi. She is believed to have been a daughter of Grand Minister of State Kuga Michimitsu, and thus may be the same person as a daughter of Michimitsu who is known to have died in 1304.

Lady Nijō, the author and protagonist of the diary Towazugatari, claimed Shikikenmon-in no Mikushige as her aunt, based on the genealogy cited in her diary.

Biography

Shikikenmon-in no Mikushige was born on an unknown date in the early 13th century. She served Imperial Princess Toshiko (Shikikanmon'in) and accompanied her on the Ise procession as saigū in 1228. It is believed that she continued to serve at Kitashirakawa-in even after she retired from her position as saigū. After Princess Toshiko's death in 1251, Shikikenmon-in no Mikushige served her sister, Princess Kuniko (Ankamon'in). She is also known to have had a close relationship with poet and nun Abutsu-ni (Ankamon'in Shijō), who also served Princess Kuniko.

Work

Shikikenmon-in no Mikushige's work appears in the Gyokuyō Wakashū (Collection of Jeweled Leaves), an imperial anthology of Japanese waka poetry compiled by Fujiwara no Tamekane. The collection was completed somewhere between 1313 and 1314, two or three years after the Retired Emperor Fushimi ordered it. Tamekane was the leader of the Kyōgoku branch of the Fujiwara family, which, along with the more junior Reizei branch, advocated for innovation and freedom in poetry, rather than the emphasis on form and tradition preferred by the senior Nijō branch.

From the Gyokuyō Wakashū, Vol. 17, Miscellaneous Poems 4:

The Gyokuyō Wakashū also contains a poem mourning the death of Shikikenmon-in no Mikushige, suggesting she had died before its completion.

Anecdote

Poet and nun Abutsu-ni, a colleague of Shikikenmon-in no Mikushige in the service of Princess Kuniko, arrived in Kamakura in 1279 and frequently exchanged letters with acquaintances in Kyoto. She wrote in her Sixteenth Night Diary:

The one in Shikikenmon'in's Gokasodono Hall is said to be the daughter of the Grand Minister of State of Kuga. She has also been included in numerous collections since the Zokugosen era, and has also been heard in [Imperial] household interviews. Her name is therefore not hidden. She now serves Ankamon'in as a lady-in-waiting. and held in great esteem by her peers.

Works Anthrology Wakashū Author Poem Wakashū Author Poem Wakashū Author Poem Shokugosen WakashūShikikenmon'in no Mikushige 2 Shokukokin WakashūShikikenmon'in no Mikushige 7 Shokushūi WakashūShikikenmon'in no Mikushige10 Shingosen WakashūShikikenmon'in no Mikushige 8 Gyokuyō WakashūShikikenmon'in no Mikushige 3 Shokusenzai WakashūShikikenmon'in no Mikushige 5 Shokugoshūi WakashūShikikenmon'in no Mikushige 3 Fūga Wakashū Shinsenzai WakashūShikikenmon'in no Mikushige 2 Shinshūi WakashūShikikenmon'in no Mikushige 4 Shingoshūi WakashūShikikenmon'in no Mikushige 1 Shinshokukokin WakashūShikikenmon'in no Mikushige 5

Notes and references

Other work cited Inoue and Fukuda, Shuichi, Medieval Poetry Collections and Their Research, Vol. 1, September 1968, unpublished Japanese literature materials