Ōtagaki Rengetsu 大田垣蓮月 (1791-1875)

Ōtagaki Rengetsu is perhaps Japan's most famous 19th-century poet, renowned for her exceptional skills in calligraphy and pottery. She composed numerous tanzaku poems, which admirers and collectors later mounted as hanging scrolls. Trained in classical poetry, Rengetsu often utilized the tanka structure, a Japanese poem composed in 5-7-5-7-7 meters. Infused with her extensive literary knowledge, her poetry seamlessly blends traditional elements with modern touches of humor.

A distinctive feature of Rengetsu's work is her preference for writing in the Japanese syllabary (hiragana) rather than the more complex Chinese characters (kanji). This choice made her poetry accessible to people of all social classes, significantly boosting her popularity in the latter half of the 19th century. Despite their accessibility, her poems are rich with layers of meaning and references to the vast corpus of Japanese literature.

In the poem, First Frost, Rengetsu captures a serene and introspective moment in nature. The cry of the plovers and the rising mist along the riverbank set a melancholic tone as the full moon shines bright in the sky, and frost gathers on the poet's sleeves in the deep of night. This imagery evokes a sense of solitude and reflection, highlighting the transient beauty of nature and the quiet moments of contemplation it inspires. Rengetsu's delicate portrayal of this scene invites readers to appreciate the ephemeral nature of such moments and the introspective tranquility they bring:

ちどり鳴

かもかはつつみ

月更て

そでにおほゆる

よはの初しも

Plovers cry

Along the Kamo riverbank.

While the moon is high,

gathering on my sleeves

the deep night`s first frost.

What makes this tanzaku even more extraordinary is its material. The paper is delicately sprinkled with cut-leaf silver, whose shimmering reflections evoke the softly glittering hoarfrost under the glow of the full moon. This interplay between the poem and its material enriches its meaning, drawing us deeper into Rengetsu’s world of seasonal beauty and poetic introspection. This exquisite work invites us to embrace the ephemeral beauty of nature and find tranquility in its fleeting moments.

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