27 - Medieval women’s diaries: fromTamakiwarutoTakemukigaki

Summary

Among the many literary diaries of the medieval period, eight stand out as works by women: Tamakiwaru, Kenreimonin Ukyo no Daibu shu, Ben no Naishi nikki, Utatane, Izayoi nikki, Nakatsukasa Naishi nikki, Towazugatari, and Takemukigaki. Poetry also played a prominent role in women's works as a mode of a communication, a narrative strategy, and way of binding the author's life with those of other famous figures, whether historical or fictional. Poetic inspiration was one of the many motivations for medieval travel and the development of travel diaries was closely linked to the establishment of set literary routes and sites a writer was expected to visit. Medieval diaries by women have traditionally been represented as lesser examples of the court literature that flourished during the Heian era. The brief summaries that follow show the diversity of female-authored works from the Kamakura and Northern and Southern Court periods and highlight some of the many reasons these works deserve greater study.