Otagaki Rengetsu (1791-1875)
大田垣蓮月
Otagaki Rengetsu, Lotus Moon, was a Buddhist nun, poet, calligrapher, potter and painter. A renowned beauty, she led a life of adversity, self-reliance and undesired notoriety. She was born in 1791, probably to a courtesan – perhaps a geisha – and a samurai, and was later adopted by a lay priest of Chion’in, a Pure Land Buddhist temple in Kyoto.
As a child she studied waka poetry, calligraphy, dance, needlework and martial arts at Kameoka castle. On her return to Kyoto Rengetsu married. She was 17 when her first child, a son, died after only twenty days; two daughters followed but also died young. Taking the unusual step of divorcing her husband, she remarried happily only to be widowed at 33. Rengetsu then became a nun, taking the children from her second marriage to live at Chion’in. Tragically, within a decade her children and beloved adoptive father had died, and Rengetsu was forced to leave the temple and support herself.
She began creating simply-made ceramics adorned with her poetry. Rengetsu’s ceramics soon attracted a popular following and widespread imitation. She also painted poem sheets and scrolls, often collaborating with renowned artists. In 1865 Rengetsu settled at Jinkoin, Temple of Divine Light. Ten years later, aged 84, she died in the simple temple tearoom where she had lived and worked. Today, Rengetsu is still celebrated as one of Kyoto’s famous citizens in the annual Jidai Matsuri or Festival of the Ages parade. (NGA)
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