Fukuda Chiyo-ni

Chiyo-ni standing beside a well. This woodcut by Utagawa Kuniyoshi illustrates her most famous haiku: finding a bucket entangled in the vines of a morning glory, she will go ask for water rather than disturb the flower.

Fukuda Chiyo-ni (福田 千代尼, 1703 - 2 October 1775) or Kaga no Chiyo (加賀 千代女) was a Japanese poet of the Edo period and a Buddhist nun.[1] She is widely regarded as one of the greatest poets of haiku (then called hokku). Some of Chiyo's most notable works include "The Morning Glory", "Putting up my hair", and "Again the women".

Being one of the few women haiku poets in pre-modern Japanese literature, Chiyo-ni has been seen an influential figure. Before her time, haiku by women were often dismissed and ignored. She began writing haiku at seven years old, and by age seventeen she had become very popular all over Japan. Chiyo-ni continued writing throughout her life. Influenced by the renowned poet Matsuo Bashō but emerging and as independent figure with a unique voice in her own right, Chiyo-ni's dedication not only paved a way for her career but also opened a path for other women to follow. Chiyo-ni is known as a "forerunner, who played the role of encouraging cultural exchange with Korea".[2]

She is perhaps best known for this haiku:

morning glory!
 the well bucket-entangled,
 I ask for water[3]

Today, the morning glory is a favorite flower for the people of her home town, because she left a number of poems on that flower.[4] Shokouji temple in Hakusan contains a display of her personal effects.

  1. ^ Patricia Donegan (2010). Haiku Mind: 108 Poems to Cultivate Awareness and Open Your Heart. Shambhala Publications. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-8348-2235-1.
  2. ^ "About Chiyo-Jo Haiku Museum - Chiyo-Jo Haiku Museum". haikukan.city.hakusan.ishikawa.jp. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  3. ^ trans. Donegan and Ishibashi, 1996 p172
  4. ^ Patricia Donegan and Yoshie Ishibashi. Chiyo-ni: Woman Haiku Master, Tuttle, 1996. ISBN 0-8048-2053-8 p256