Ono no Takamura (小野 篁, 802 – February 3, 853), also known asSangi no Takamura (参議篁), was a Japanese calligrapher and poet of the earlyHeian period.
Ono no Takamura | |
|---|---|
小野 篁 | |
 Ono no Takamura, in a book illustration byKikuchi Yōsai | |
| Born | 802 |
| Died | (853-02-03)February 3, 853 |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Other names | Sangi no Takamura (参議篁) |
| Occupation(s) | Calligrapher, poet |
| Era | Heian period |
Takamura was a descendant ofOno no Imoko who served asKenzuishi, and his father wasOno no Minemori. He was the grandfather ofOno no Michikaze, one of the three famous calligraphers (三筆,sanpitsu). In 834 he was appointed toKentōshi, but in 838 after a quarrel with the envoy,Fujiwara no Tsunetsugu, he gave up his professional duties pretending to be ill, and attracted the ire of retiredEmperor Saga, who sent him toOki Province. Within two years he regained the graces of the court and returned to the capital where he was promoted toSangi.
Takamura is the subject of a number of odd stories and legends. One of the most singular of these legends is the claim that every night he would climb down a well tohell and helpYama (閻魔大王,enma daiō) in his judgements (裁判,saiban). InSataku,Kyoto, there is a grave said to belong to Takamura. Near that grave is a grave markedMurasaki Shikibu, with a legend that it was placed there by the devil himself as punishment forlust (愛欲,aiyoku) for which Murasaki Shikibu descended to hell.
Takamura features in several latersetsuwa works such as theUjishūi Monogatari and theTakamura Monogatari.
InUjishūi Monogatari there is the following story about Takamura that illustrates his wit. One day in the palace ofSaga Tennō, someone erected a scroll with the writing "無悪善"(NO EVIL GOODNESS). No one in the palace was able to decipher its meaning. The emperor then ordered Takamura to read it and he responded:
"It will be good if there is no evil (悪無くば善からん,saga nakuba yokaran),"
reading the character for evil (悪,aku) as "Saga" to indicate Saga Tennō. The emperor was incensed at his audacity and proclaimed that because only Takamura was able to read the scroll, he must have been the one who put it up in the first place. However, Takamura pleaded his innocence, saying that he was simply deciphering the meaning of the scroll. The emperor said, "Oh, so you can decipher any writing, can you?" and asked Takamura to read a row of twelve characters for child (子):
"子子子子子子子子子子子子".
Takamura immediately responded:
neko no ko koneko, shishi no ko kojishi (猫の子子猫、獅子の子子獅子),
using the variant readingsne,ko,shi, ji for the character (子). This translates to "the cat's young kitten, the lion's young cub" or with annotations:
"the young of cat (猫,neko), kitten (子猫,koneko) and the young of lion (獅子,shishi), cub (子獅子,kojishi)."
The emperor was amused by Takamura's wit and withdrew the accusation.
Takamura is the main character in the taleTakamura Monogatari, where he has a romantic affair with his half-sister. The work's date is heavily disputed, and few scholars take it to be historically reliable.[citation needed]
While people such asOno no Michikaze are Takamura's direct descendants, he also had several spiritual descendants among theSamurai. In particular, several Samurai names such asNotarō (野太郎),Onota (小野太),Yatarō (弥太郎),Koyata (小弥太) can be traced to Takamura.
One of his poems is included as No. 11 inFujiwara no Teika'sOgura Hyakunin Isshu:
| Japanese text[1] | Romanized Japanese[2] | English translation[3] |
わたの原 | Wata no hara | Fishing boats upon this sea! |
Takamura contributed six poems to theKokin Wakashū: #335, 407, 829, 845, 936, and 961.
| Japanese text[4] | Romanized Japanese[5] | English translation |
泣く涙 | naku namida | Let the tears I cry |
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