Otagaki Rengetu - Otagaki Rengetu

A poet from the end of the Edo period to the early Meiji period. Born in Kyoto on January 8, 1790 (Kansei 3). His given name was Nobu, and Rengets was his Buddhist name. His biological father was Todo Shinshichiro Yoshikiyo, a castle lord and chief retainer of Iga Ueno (Mie Prefecture), and his foster father was Otagaki Banzaemon Teruhisa, a priest at Chion-in Temple. At the age of 7 or 8, he entered the service of the Matsudaira family, lords of Kameyama (Kameoka) Castle in Tanba. He later married Mochihisa, the adopted son of Teruhisa, but they later divorced. In 1819 (Bunsei 2), he remarried Hisatoshi, the adopted son of Teruhisa. When Rengets was 33, Furui died of an illness, so he shaved his head. She moved to places such as Makuzugahara in Higashiyama, Okazaki in Rakuto, Shogoin Village, near the Great Buddha of Hokoji Temple, Shinshoji Temple in Kitashirakawa, and Nishigamo Village, and passed away on December 10, 1875, at the age of 85, at Jinkouin Temple in Nishigamo. During that time, she made pottery with her own poems carved into it, which became known to the world as Rengetsu ware. She became interested in the art of waka poetry from a young age, and studied under Ueda Akinari and Kagawa Kageki, and became a disciple of Mutobe Yoshika. Her style of poetry was simple and gentle, and one of her family anthologies is "Amano Karumo." Along with Takabatake Shikibu, she is one of the leading female poets of Kyoto in the late Edo period. Tomioka Tessai also visited her residence when he was young, and he also had connections with Tachibana Akemi and Nomura Motoni, among others.

[Munemasa Isoo]

Among the falling leaves, a chestnut cries out from the earth.

"Complete Works of Rengetsuni, edited by Sodo Murakami, 1 volume (1927, Dosho Hanpukai, reprinted with additions, 1980, Shibunkaku Publishing)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

江戸末期から明治初期の歌人。寛政(かんせい)3年1月8日京都に生まれる。名は誠(のぶ)、蓮月は法名。実父は伊賀(いが)上野（三重県）の城代家老藤堂新七郎良聖(とうどうしんしちろうよしきよ)、養父は知恩院の坊官大田垣伴左衛門光古(てるひさ)。7、8歳で丹波(たんば)亀山(かめやま)（亀岡）城主松平家に奉公。のち光古の養子望古(もちひさ)と結婚したが、のち離別。1819年（文政2）光古の養子古肥(ひさとし)と再婚。蓮月33歳のとき、古肥が病死したので剃髪(ていはつ)。東山真葛(まくず)が原、洛東(らくとう)の岡崎、聖護院(しょうごいん)村、方広寺大仏のそば、北白川の心性寺、西賀茂村などに転住し、西賀茂の神光院(じんこういん)で明治8年12月10日、85歳で没した。その間、自詠の歌を彫った陶器をつくり、蓮月焼として世に知られた。若年から歌道に親しみ、上田秋成(あきなり)、香川景樹(かげき)に教えを受け、六人部是香(むとべよしか)に入門。歌風は平明温雅で、家集に『海人の刈藻(あまのかるも)』がある。高畠式部(たかばたけしきぶ)と並んで幕末京都女流歌人の代表。富岡鉄斎も若年のときに彼女の庵居(あんきょ)に遊び、また橘曙覧(たちばなあけみ)、野村望東尼(もとに)などと交わりがあった。

［宗政五十緒］

　はらはらと落つる木の葉にまじりきて栗(くり)の実ひとり土に声あり

『村上素道編『蓮月尼全集』全1巻（1927・同書頒布会／増補復刻・1980・思文閣出版）』

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