Nakatsukasa

Date of birth and death unknown. A female poet of the mid-Heian period. Born to Prince Atsuyoshi, the fourth son of Emperor Uda, and the poet Ise. Her name was probably derived from her father's official title as Nakatsukasakyo, but there is no record of her serving at the palace, and it is unclear on what occasion she was given the title. She had many relationships with men, including Minamoto no Nobuakira, Taira no Kaneki, Fujiwara no Saneyori, and Prince Motoyoshi, but her relationship with Nobuaki seems to have been the longest and deepest, and many poems exchanged between the two remain. She was one of the Thirty-six Immortal Poets, and often participated in famous poetry contests, and over 60 of her poems were included in imperial anthologies such as the Gosen Wakashu. Her family anthology includes the Nakatsukasashu.

The moon is beautiful and often clouded with tears. [Tetsuo Kuboki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

生没年不詳。平安中期の女流歌人。宇多(うだ)天皇の第四皇子敦慶(あつよし)親王と歌人伊勢(いせ)との間に生まれた。名称はおそらく中務卿(きょう)であった父の官名によるのであろうが、彼女の確かな宮仕えの記録がなく、それがどういう機会に与えられたものであるかは不明。源信明(さねあきら)、平かねき、藤原実頼(さねより)、元良(もとよし)親王など、彼女と関係のあった男性は多いが、そのなかで信明との間がもっとも長く、深かったようで、2人の間には多数の贈答歌が残されている。三十六歌仙の1人で、有名歌合(うたあわせ)にしばしば参加し、『後撰(ごせん)和歌集』以下の勅撰集に六十数首入集。家集に『中務集』がある。

　さやかにも見るべき月をわれはただ涙に曇る折りぞ多かる
［久保木哲夫］

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