Princess Nukata
Princess Nukata, also spelled Nukada, was a Japanese poet of the Asuka period.
The daughter of and supposed younger sister of Princess Kagami, Nukata became Emperor Tenmu's favorite wife and bore him a daughter, Princess Tōchi.
A legend claims that she later became consort to Emperor Tenji, Emperor Tenmu's elder brother, but there is no evidence to support this claim.
Poetry
Nukata was one of the great female poets of her time; thirteen of her poems appear in the Man'yōshū: 7–9, 16–18, 20, 112, 113, 151, 155, 488, and 1606. Two of the poems are reprinted in the later poetry collections Shinchokusen Wakashū and Shinshūi Wakashū.Poem 8
Nukata composed this poem in at the harbor of Nikita-tsu in Iyo Province as an imperial fleet invaded Kyushu:Poem 9
The ninth poem of the Man'yōshū is known as one of the most difficult poems within the Man'yōshū to interpret. Nukata composed this poem in 658 when Empress Saimei went to a hot spring in Kii Province:A common interpretation for the later part of the poem is by Keichū:, which translates to "...my beloved who stands at the foot of the sacred oak".
The first two lines has already defeated modern scholarship to date. Some theories include:
- , "I see clearly the country atop mount Kagu, o..."
- , "I went and crossed the mountains of Kii province to..."
- , "The hillside birds have covered the morning snow, o..."
- , "The inlet's once quietened waves have become noisy, o..."
- , "It's the once-declined trick of standing on one's toes, o..."
- , "The once quieted thunder has finally roared loudly, o..."
- , "Our calmed down meetings have widened, o..."
- , "I went and saw the twisted field-reeds, o..."
- , "It is by seeing mount Matsuchi that I walked with..."
- , "I gazed upon and went to the mountains of Mimuro, o..."
- , "I gazed upon and went to the mountains of Mimoro, o..."
- , "I gazed upon and went to the mountains of fair Yoshino, o..."
- , "The evening moon's light covers the clouds, o..."
- , "The evening moon's light stands in step, o..."
- , "As I looked up the evening moon, I asked..."
- , "As celebration dies down, I took mulberry rope to..."