[Biographies of Famous Women of Past and Present] Princess Tamateru
|Princess Tamateru| was the daughter of a certain |Governor of Mino|, but after her |family| |fell|, she |sought| |refuge| with a |wealthy man| in |Narumi|, |Owari Province|. Because her |appearance| was |exceptionally| |beautiful|, the |wealthy man's| |wife|, |fueled| by |jealousy|, |made| her |work| |hard| |every day|, |making| her |mow| |grass| in the |fields| and |draw| |seawater|, and |did not| even |let| her |wear| a |hat| |even| on |rainy days| in the |summer| |sky|.
|Someone| |took pity| on her and |gave| her |a| |hat|. On a |rainy| |day|, as she was |returning| from |planting rice|, she |passed| in front of the |Eleven-faced| |Kannon| |statue| that |stood| in this area. The |temple| was |dilapidated| and the |hall| was |crumbling|, and the statue was |standing| in the |rain|. |Comparing| it to her own |situation|, she felt |pained|, and |offered| her |hat| to |Kannon|, |dedicating| it with the prayer, "|May| |my| |deceased| |parents| and |myself| |receive| |blessings| in this |life| and the |next|," and |returned| home.
Such |merit| was not in vain.
A |nobleman| of |Lord Shosen|, the |Middle Counselor| |Kanehira|, |unexpectedly| |fell in love| with her when he was |traveling| to the |Eastern Provinces|. |Lord| |Kanehira| |immediately| |took| |Tamateru| with him, and after |returning to the capital|, |made| her his |legal wife|. |Because of this|, to |repay the favor|, he |rebuilt| the |temple|. The |present-day| |Kasadera| |is| |this|.
In the |linked verse| of the |Kasen| |Kakei| in "|Winter| |Days|":
|Taking off the hat| |even if| |unreasonable| |getting wet| |winter drizzle|
* "Middle Counselor Kanehira" refers to the court noble Fujiwara no Kanehira, who lived from the early to mid-Heian period.
* "Made her his legal wife" means he took her as his wife.
* "Winter Days" is a collection of linked verse from the early Edo period. The compiler is Kakei.
* "Kakei" is the haiku poet Yamamoto Kakei. He was a disciple of Basho and a native of Nagoya.
* "Kasen" refers to a specific form of linked verse.
* Reference: "Basho-o Zenshu ({Winter Days)}", "{Annotations on Winter Days}" (National Diet Library Digital Collections)
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Princess Tamateru was a woman who lived during the Heian period.
Dates of birth and death unknown (Heian period)
She was born the daughter of a certain person (*1) who was the Governor of Mino, but her family fell, and she sought refuge as a maid with a wealthy man (*2) in Narumi, Owari Province.
*1 According to "Nagoya Annai," she was the daughter of Ukyo Zenshi (former official) and Governor of Mino, Shigemitsu (Zenshi refers to a former provincial governor).
*2 The wealthy man of Narumi, Taro Naritaka. In "Nagoya Annai," it is read as Shigetaka.
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One rainy day, while the young woman was returning from planting rice, she noticed a Kannon statue exposed to the rain. Feeling deeply pained by this, she took off her own hat and placed it over the Kannon statue.
This Kannon statue was the principal image of Komatsu-dera, which was built on this site during the era of Emperor Shomu, and was an Eleven-faced Kannon statue carved by the founding monk, Zenko (Zenko). Later, the temple fell into ruin, and only the principal Kannon statue remained exposed to the wind and rain.
Just as the young woman was placing her hat on this Kannon statue, Fujiwara no Kanehira, who was on his way from the capital to the East, happened to pass by.
Source: National Diet Library Digital Collections "Owari Meisho Zue, Part 1, Vol. 5"
Fujiwara no Kanehira was the third son of Fujiwara no Mototsune, who solidified the power of the Northern Fujiwara clan, and his mother, Princess Soshi, was the daughter of Prince Tadayoshi, the fourth son of Emperor Saga, making him a person of impeccable power and lineage.
Captivated by the beautiful young woman placing her hat on the Kannon statue, Kanehira named her Princess Tamateru, took her back to Kyoto, and made her his wife.
It is a picture-perfect Cinderella story. 💍
In the eighth year of Encho (930), Fujiwara no Kanehira and Princess Tamateru visited this place, restored the temple, and changed its name to Ryufukuji (Kasadera).
Source: National Diet Library Digital Collections "Tokaido Meisho Zue, Vol. 6 [3]"
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The 'Owari Meisho Zue' (Illustrated Guide to Famous Places in Owari), published toward the end of the Edo period, depicts the temple with magnificent temple buildings, but this does not represent the state of the temple when the two restored it; it appears to be the main hall built in 1763 (the 13th year of Horeki) after subsequent periods of decline and restoration.
Source: National Diet Library Digital Collections, 'Owari Meisho Zue, Part 1, Vol. 5, Aichi District'
To the left of the main hall, the hall of 'Princess Tamateru' can be seen.
Entering the Meiji era, the temple declined again due to the Haibutsu Kishaku (anti-Buddhist movement), but it regained its prosperity in the Showa era and continues to this day.
Source: National Diet Library Digital Collections, 'Famous Places and Historic Sites of Nagoya'
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Taking off my hat, I am forced to get wet in the northern autumn rain.
* References: 'Owarishi 5 Aichi District (Kasaderadera)', 'Nagoya Guide (Kasaderadera)', 'Edo Sosho: Vol. 12, Book 7 (Hoshizaki-no-sato Kasadera Kanzeon Kaicho)', 'Owari Meisho Dokuannai (Kasadera)', 'Imperial Place Name Dictionary, Vol. 1 (Kasadera)', 'Aichi Prefecture Bulletin (Kasaderadera)', 'Choshu Fushi, Part 2 (Site of Residence)', 'Oshin Hokan (Rich Man's Mansion) (Narumi Rich Man Naritaka)', 'Dictionary of Surnames and Family Lineages, Vol. 3 (Narumi)', 'Basho Haiku Collection New Lectures, Vol. 1 (Kasadera)' (National Diet Library Digital Collections)
Author's note: ● indicates characters that could not be deciphered. I will update this as I decipher new characters or notice typos and misreadings. For details, please read the 'About Me / Disclaimer' section. 📖
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