Supernatural Longing in Yamakawa Tomiko's Tanka

Yamakawa Tomiko (1879-1909) was one of the 'leading ladies' of the Myōjō (Venus) circle of poets. In her decade of poetic productivity before her premature death from tuberculosis at age 29, Tomiko was known as the melancholy friend and rival of the more famous Yosano Akiko (1878-1942). No...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJapanese studies Vol. 39; no. 1; pp. 43 - 56
Main Author Albertson, Nicholas
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Melbourne Routledge 02.01.2019
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Age
Christian based education
Defiance
Gender
Guilt
Poetry
Poets
Politics
Premature mortality
Productivity
Religious education
Sadness
Supernatural
Symbolism
Tuberculosis
Yosano Akiko (1878-1942)
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Summary:Yamakawa Tomiko (1879-1909) was one of the 'leading ladies' of the Myōjō (Venus) circle of poets. In her decade of poetic productivity before her premature death from tuberculosis at age 29, Tomiko was known as the melancholy friend and rival of the more famous Yosano Akiko (1878-1942). Not only did the two vie for the romantic affections of the Myōjō leader, Yosano Tekkan (1873-1935), but they also collaborated on one of the great tanka collections of the era, Koigoromo (Robe of Love, 1905), and frequently employed supernatural symbolism in ways that were both traditional and strikingly modern. In this study, I draw Tomiko's poetry out from under Akiko's shadow. By examining the era's gender politics and poetic practices alongside Tomiko's Christian education and personal anguish, I show how she exquisitely compressed complex worlds of longing, guilt, and defiance into the 31-syllable tanka form.
ISSN:1037-1397
1469-9338
DOI:10.1080/10371397.2019.1588690