Princess Nukata

Princess Nukata (額田王, Nukata no Ōkimi, c. 630-690 CE) (also known as Princess Nukada) was a Japanese poet of the Asuka period.

Born of Princess Kagami, Nukata became Emperor Temmu's favorite wife, and would bear him Princess Tōchi (who would become Emperor Kōbun's consort). It is a famous legend, that she later became one of the consorts of Emperor Tenji, Emperor Temmu's elder brother, but there is no evidence.

As one of the great female poets of her time, a total of thirteen of her poems appear in the Man'yōshū: #7-9, 16-18, 20, 112, 113, 151, 155, 488, and 1606. (#1606 is a repeat of #488.) Two of these poems are reprinted in later poetry collections Shinchokusen Wakashū and Shinshūi Wakashū. Poem #9 is well known as one of the most difficult poems within the Man'yōshū to interpret.

References

• Kubota, Jun (2007). Iwanami Nihon Koten Bungaku Jiten [Iwanami dictionary of Japanese classical literature] (in Japanese). Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 978-4-00-080310-6.
• Nihon Koten Bungaku Daijiten: Kan'yakuban [A Comprehensive Dictionary of Classical Japanese Literature: Concise Edition]. Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten. 1986. ISBN 4-00-080067-1.
• Satake, Akihiro (2004). Shin Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei, Bekkan: Man'yōshū Sakuin (in Japanese). Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 4-00-240105-7. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Mamiya, Atsushi (2001). Man'yō Nankunka no Kenkyū (in Japanese). Tōkyō: Hōsei Daigaku Shuppankyoku. ISBN 4-588-46007-2.
• pg 140 of Woman poets of Japan, 1977, Kenneth Rexroth, Ikuko Atsumi, ISBN 0-8112-0820-6; previously published as The Burning Heart by The Seabury Press.
• pg 103 of Seeds in the Heart