Suō no Naishi

Suō no Naishi (周防内侍, dates unknown, but probably died around 1110; given name Taira no Nakako) was a Japanese waka poet of the late-Heian period. One of her poems was included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, and thirty-five in imperial collections. She also produced a private waka collection, the Suō no Naishi-shū.

Court Handmaid Suō (周防内侍, Suō no Naishi), from the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.

Biography

The daughter of Taira no Munenaka (平棟仲), the governor of Suō Province, her date of birth is unknown.[1][2][3] Her given name was Nakako (仲子).[1][2][3]

She served as handmaiden (内侍, naishi) in the courts of four emperors, Go-Reizei, Go-Sanjō, Shirakawa and Horikawa.[1][2][3]

In 1108, she took ordination as a Buddhist nun due to illness.

The date of her death is unknown,[1][3] but she probably died around 1110.[2]

Poetry

Thirty-five of her poems were included in imperial anthologies from the Goshūi Wakashū on.[1][2]

The following poem by her was included as No. 67 in Fujiwara no Teika's Ogura Hyakunin Isshu:

Japanese text[4]Romanized Japanese[5]English translation[6]
春の夜の
夢ばかりなる
手枕に
かひなく立たむ
名こそ惜しけれ
Haru no yo no
yume bakari naru
ta-makura ni
kai naku tatan
na koso oshikere
I would be sorry
to lose my good name
for laying my head
upon your arm
offered as a pillow
for a moment fleeting
as a spring night's dream.

She left a private collection, the Suō no Naishi-shū (周防内侍集).

References
  1. McMillan 2010 : 144 (note 67).
  2. Digital Daijisen entry "Suō no Naishi". Shogakukan.
  3. Daijirin entry "Fujiwara no Atsuyori". Sanseidō.
  4. Suzuki et al. 2009 : 86.
  5. McMillan 2010 : 168.
  6. McMillan 2010 : 69.

Bibliography
  • McMillan, Peter. 2010 (1st ed. 2008). One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Suzuki Hideo, Yamaguchi Shin'ichi, Yoda Yasushi. 2009 (1st ed. 1997). Genshoku: Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. Tokyo: Bun'eidō.
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