Princess Nukata - Princess Nukata

Dates of birth and death unknown. A representative female poet of the early period of the Manyoshu. Her works include three long poems and nine short poems. The Nihon Shoki (Tenmu Ki, part 2) states that "The first emperor married Princess Nukatahime, daughter of Princess Kagami, and gave birth to Princess Toichi." The identity of her father, Princess Kagami, is unknown, but she was a member of the imperial family, as she was a princess (a princess, meaning a queen of the second to fifth generations, as opposed to an imperial princess). Considering the age of Princess Toichi, whom she gave birth to when she was called by Prince Oama (Emperor Tenmu) at a young age, she was probably born around the middle of the reign of Emperor Jomei (629-641). As she wrote works during the reign of Jitō (686-697), she lived until she was about 60 years old and continued to compose waka poetry for a long period of time, but her main works are concentrated in the 14 years during the reigns of both Saimei and Tenchi. She first served Empress Saimei, and is said to have composed Juka (praying songs expressing congratulations or wishes) on behalf of the emperor, and she wrote some powerful and elegant works (see example poems). She seems to have left the court for a time after Saimei's death, but was summoned again around the time Emperor Tenchi moved the capital to Omi, and joined the harem. Probably as a poet. During the Tenchi era, she introduced the world of continental elegance into waka poetry under an enlightened spirit, and became a star in the court salon with her elegant and delicate new style. He is famous for his poem "Fuyumori, Haru sari koreba, Nakazashi tori mo korinu... Akiyama ware wa," which judges the beauty of the seasons of spring and autumn. He is highly regarded not only for his position as a singer representing the people, but also for being a pioneer who evoked the next generation, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro. Based on his career and works, some people believe that he had a serious love triangle with Emperor Tenchi and Emperor Tenmu over the king, but this is probably incorrect.

[Tatsuo Hashimoto]

I was waiting for the moon to come out to Nikitazu, but the tide had turned and I had to set sail.

"Prince Nukata" by Tani Kaoru (1960, Waseda University Press)" ▽ "A Comparative Literary Study of the Manyoshu" by Nakanishi Susumu (1963, Ohfusha)" ▽ "Queens of the Early Manyoshu" by Kanda Hideo (1969, Hanawa Shobo)" ▽ "Study of Manyo Court Poets" by Hashimoto Tatsuo (1975, Kasama Shoin) " ▽ "Poets and Works of the Manyoshu, Vol. 1" by Ito Hiroshi (1975, Hanawa Shobo)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

生没年未詳。『万葉集』初期の代表的女流歌人。作品は長歌三、短歌九首。『日本書紀』（天武(てんむ)紀下）に「天皇初メ鏡王ノ女(むすめ)額田姫王ヲ娶(め)シテ、十市皇女(とをちのひめみこ)ヲ生ム」とある。父の鏡王は伝未詳だが、姫王（皇女＝内親王に対して2世～5世の女王を示す）とあるので皇族である。若いころ大海人皇子(おおあまのおうじ)（天武天皇）に召されて生んだ十市皇女の年齢などから推して、舒明(じょめい)朝（629～641）なかばごろの生まれか。持統(じとう)朝（686～697）の作があるので、60歳ぐらいまで生存し、長期の作歌活動を続けたが、主要作品は斉明(さいめい)・天智(てんじ)両朝の14年間に集中する。初め斉明天皇に仕え、主として天皇の意を代弁して呪歌(じゅか)（祝意あるいは願望などを込めて祈る歌）を詠じたらしく、雄渾(ゆうこん)で格調高い作がある（例歌参照）。斉明の崩御で一時宮廷を離れていたらしいが、天智天皇の近江(おうみ)遷都のころ、ふたたび召されたようで後宮に列した。おそらく歌人としてであろう。天智時代は、開明的気風のもとに大陸的みやびの世界を和歌に導入し、優美、繊細な新風で宮廷サロンの花形的存在となった。春秋の美の優劣を判定する歌「冬こもり　春さり来れば　鳴かざりし　鳥も来鳴きぬ……秋山われは」は有名であり、衆を代表して歌う立場などとともに、次代の柿本人麻呂(かきのもとのひとまろ)を呼び起こす先駆をなす点で評価が高い。その経歴および作品から、天智、天武両天皇との間に、王をめぐって深刻な三角関係があったとする見方が一部にあるが、おそらく誤りであろう。

［橋本達雄］

　熟田津(にきたづ)に船乗りせむと月待てば潮(しほ)もかなひぬ今は漕ぎ出(い)でな

『谷馨著『額田王』（1960・早稲田大学出版部）』▽『中西進著『万葉集の比較文学的研究』（1963・桜楓社）』▽『神田秀夫著『初期万葉の女王たち』（1969・塙書房）』▽『橋本達雄著『万葉宮廷歌人の研究』（1975・笠間書院）』▽『伊藤博著『万葉集の歌人と作品　上』（1975・塙書房）』

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