Awa no Naishi - Awa no nashi

Japanese: 阿波内侍 - あわのないし

Years of birth: Unknown. A woman from the end of the Heian period to the beginning of the Kamakura period. A wife of Kenreimon'in Tokuko, who appears in "The Tale of the Heike." In "The Tale of the Heike," some say she is the daughter of Shinzei (Fujiwara Michinori) and Ki Nii Asako, while others say she is the daughter of Shinzei's son Fujiwara Sadanori. There is also a theory that she was Shinzei's granddaughter, Shin'amidabutsu, but her existence cannot be confirmed. After the downfall of the Taira clan in 1185, Kenreimon'in shaved her head and spent her days in seclusion at Ohara Jakkoin, and it is said that she became a nun together with Dainagon Sa to serve her, and was with the Empress at her final moments. She acted as a moderator for the meeting between the two Emperors at the visit to Ohara by Cloistered Emperor Goshirakawa in 1189, and is said to have been related to Shinzei, and so there are indications that she is related to the creation of "The Tale of the Heike," as well as to Daigoji Temple and the Agoin school of chanting.

(Yoko Sakurai)

Source: Asahi Japanese Historical Biography: Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. About Asahi Japanese Historical Biography

Japanese:

生年：生没年不詳
平安末・鎌倉初期の女性。『平家物語』に登場する建礼門院徳子の女房。『平家物語』の中でも信西(藤原通憲)と紀二位朝子の娘とするものと,信西の子藤原貞憲の娘とするものがある。信西の孫真阿弥陀仏などの説もあるが,実在は確認できない。文治1(1185)年平家滅亡後剃髪し大原寂光院に遁世の日々を送る建礼門院に,大納言佐と共に尼となって仕え,女院の最期を看取ったという。文治2年の後白河法皇の大原御幸で両院の対面の司会者的役割を果たし,信西の縁者ともされるため,『平家物語』の成立との関係,醍醐寺および安居院流唱導との関連などが指摘されている。

(櫻井陽子)

出典　朝日日本歴史人物事典：（株）朝日新聞出版朝日日本歴史人物事典について　情報

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