Ono no Komachi - Ono no Komachi

A poet of the early Heian period. Her birth and death years and origins are unknown. She was one of the Rokkasen or Thirty-six Kasen. She was of the Ono clan, but neither her parents nor her social status are clear. In the Ono clan genealogy and medieval poetry books, she is said to have been the daughter of Yoshizane (also known as Masazumi or Tsunezumi), but these are likely later additions, and in modern times, there have been theories that she was the daughter of Takamura, Takamura's granddaughter, the daughter of Ono no Takio, or Fujiwara no Tsunetsugu, but these have little basis. As for her status, there is a theory that she was a court lady, based on the "Daughter of the County Governor of Dewa Province" in the catalog of the Kokin Wakashu, and a theory that she was a concubine in the reign of Emperor Ninmyo or Emperor Montoku based on the name of the town. In recent years, the theory that she was a clan lady has also emerged, as the theory that she was a court lady is historically unfounded, and there is also a theory that she was a Churo woman's wife. The reason why the catalog of the Kokinshu states her as "Sotoorihime" is because of a corrupted version of the lineage of women's songs in the kana preface of the Kokinshu, "Ono no Komachi descended from Sotoorihime." The Komachishu can be broadly divided into two lines, but both were compiled in later times and seem to have expanded on the Komachi songs in the Kokinshu and Gosenshu, and the most reliable are the 18 poems in the Kokinshu. According to this, she had relations with her fellow clansmen Ono Sadaki and Abe Kiyoyuki, and Fun'ya Yasuhide, one of the Six Immortal Poets, and appears to have been active during the reigns of the Montoku, Seiwa, and Yozei (850-884). The poems she exchanged with these people show her in a variety of coquettish ways, lamenting the fickleness of love, blaming them for a lack of sincerity by picking on their words, and even swaying without resistance. On the other hand, her "untitled" poems show her as a pure and passionate woman, lamenting the futility and decline of life, and betting on a fleeting dream that will not come true in this world. The impressions created by these poems became the core of various Komachi legends, such as tales of lustful women, courtesans, fallen old women, and tragic love affairs with nobles and royalty. 64 imperially selected poems. The preface to the Kokinshu describes the style of the poem as "like a good woman's worries."

[Goto Shoko]

The colors of the flowers have faded away, I can only gaze upon them as if they were my own.

"Tracking Ono no Komachi" by Yoichi Katagiri (1975, Kasama Sensho)" ▽ "Ono no Komachi: The Poet of Neighborhood Grudge" by Hiroshi Yamaguchi (1979, Sanseido)" ▽ "A Study of Ono no Komachi" by Shigemi Kobayashi (1981, Ohfusha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

平安前期の歌人。生没年・伝未詳。六歌仙、三十六歌仙の一人。小野氏の出であるが、父母も身分もつまびらかでない。小野氏系図や中世歌書には、良真(よしざね)（当澄(まさずみ)・常澄とも）の女(むすめ)とするが、いずれも後世の付会らしく、また近代以後、篁(たかむら)の女、篁の孫女、小野滝雄の女、藤原常嗣(つねつぐ)の女説なども現れたが根拠に乏しい。身分も『古今和歌集』目録の「出羽(いでは)国郡司女」などから采女(うねめ)説があり、「町」名から仁明(にんみょう)、文徳(もんとく)朝の更衣(こうい)説、また采女説が歴史的に成り立たないところから近年氏女(うじめ)説も現れ、中﨟(ちゅうろう)女房説もある。『古今集』目録に「母衣通姫(そとおりひめ)」とするのは、『古今集』仮名序に女歌(おんなうた)の系譜を述べた「小野小町は衣通姫の流れなり」の訛伝(かでん)。『小町集』は大別して2系統あるが、いずれも後代の撰(せん)で、『古今集』『後撰(ごせん)集』の小町歌を核に増益されたらしく、もっとも信頼できるのは『古今集』の18首である。それによれば、同族の小野貞樹や安倍清行(あべのきよゆき)、六歌仙の文屋康秀(ふんやのやすひで)らと交渉があり、文徳・清和(せいわ)・陽成(ようぜい)朝（850～884）あたりを活躍期とするようである。彼らとの贈答歌には、愛のうつろいを怨(うら)んだり、ことばじりをとらえて誠意の足りなさを責めたり、無抵抗になびいたりなど千変万化の媚態(びたい)がみられる一方、「題しらず」歌には、人生のむなしさや衰えを嘆き、現世でかなわぬ恋をはかない夢に賭(か)けるなど、純粋で情熱的な女人像がうかがわれ、これらの歌から生まれる印象が、色好みな女や遊女、零落した老女、貴人王族との悲恋など、さまざまな小町伝説を生む核となっていった。勅撰入集(にっしゅう)歌64首。『古今集』仮名序はその歌風を、「よき女のなやめる所あるに似たり」と評する。

［後藤祥子］

　花の色はうつりにけりないたづらに我身(わがみ)よにふるながめせしまに

『片桐洋一著『小野小町追跡』（1975・笠間選書）』▽『山口博著『閨怨の詩人小野小町』（1979・三省堂）』▽『小林茂美著『小野小町攷』（1981・桜楓社）』

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