The Sinitic Poetry of the Zen Abbess Taisei Shōan (1668-1712)

Abstract

This dissertation is the first-ever in-depth study of the collection of Sinitic poetry composed by the Japanese Zen nun Taisei Shōan 大成聖安 (1668-1712). She was an imperial princess, an abbess of a prestigious Zen convent called Donkein 曇華院, and a skilled poet. In the previous scholarship, Taisei’s life is written only in summaries, but this work provides the most comprehensive chronological account of her life, in which the imperial court, Zen Buddhism, and literature are complexly intertwined. 276 Sinitic poems of her survive, but, except for one poem, no others have been translated, annotated, or analyzed in publication. Her Sinitic poetry incorporates various literary and religious materials learned from classical Japanese literature, classical Chinese literature, and Buddhist literature, specifically in the Zen tradition, reflecting the intersectionality of her life. She acquired multiple poetic voices of a Zen abbess, a Japanese female poet, a Chinese poet, and a Zen poet. Taisei inherited the courtly literary tradition and Gozan poetry tradition, which makes her stand out among other Edo-period Sinitic poets because links to these two literary traditions are not readily visible in the works of other poets of the time. This dissertation reveals how gender, class, religion, and language are intricately intersected in Sinitic poetry by this understudied yet significant Japanese female poet. One of the most important contributions of this work is the excavation and interpretation of the poetic voice of a female poet who was marginalized both in Buddhist literature and Sinitic poetry study in Japan. This historical and literary analysis of the life and poetry of Taisei provides novel perspectives on religious, historical, and literary frameworks surrounding Sinitic poetry composition in Edo period Japan.