Poet Ono no Komachi

This paper outlines Terry Kawashima's theory of discursive marginalization of women with regard to the female poet, Ono no Komachi. It compares her argument with the ways that Sarah M. Strong, B. Faure, and Michael Marra explicate the relationship of the image of female poets such as Komachi and Izumi Shikibu to the historical situation of women in medieval Japan.

Scholars and historians agree that Ono no Komachi was a poet in Japan sometime during the middle of the ninth century. The dates of her birth and death are not known, and most of the details of her life cannot be confirmed by any historical records. While historians believe that she served at court, they do not agree in what capacity. Of the six poets selected to represent the ninth century in an anthology commissioned by the emperor around 905, she is the only woman included. A little more than a hundred years later, she was included in the list of six rokkasen, a list of classic poetic genius/immortals.

By medieval times, she had become best known as the subject of a number of Noh plays. Strong ( ) observes, "The noh version of a particular famous character is often the one that has mattered most over the centuries, supplying the defining characteristics and preoccupations by which the character has been understood and know" (p. 391). The Komachi of these plays is a strong woman who has, in old age, lost both her beauty and her wealth. Yet how much of this characterization is based in fact cannot be k

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r story to suit their own purposes. The secular woman could be used to communicate a religious metaphor. Therefore, "the biographical detail was less important than the central paradigm of the courtesan who achieves bodhisattvahood in spite of her original defilement" (Marra, __, pp. 101-102). Ultimately, Komachi's specific history may be lost forever, but her power remains, defiant of every effort to keep her in the margins of Japanese cultural history. Faure ( ) observes, "There are today in Kyoto two temples dedicated to Ono no Komachi, in both of which her grave can be found" (p. 269), and the Komachi featured in the medieval Noh plays continues to fascinate and seduce modern audiences. Despite the best efforts of many men to rewrite history and paint her out of her rightful place in Japanese culture, Komachi remains a known name. Whether she has been effectively marginalized through the discursive efforts of medieval critics, made one with her own writing, been turned into a Buddhist cautionary tale, or achieved Buddhahood in spite of the inherent deficiencies of her gender, Komachi survives as a powerful woman and a significant poet. Despite the efforts of secular renovators and religious revisionists, Komachi remain

Category: Literature - P