Otagaki Rengetsu (大田垣蓮月)
Rengetsu OTAGAKI (February 10, 1791 - December 10, 1875) was a nun cum woman waka poet in the late Edo period. She was born in Kyoto. Her father was Yoshikiyo TODO, castle keeper's chief retainer of Ueno in Iga Province. Ten days after her birth, she became an adopted daughter of Teruhisa OTAGAKI, bokan (a priest who served for the Monzeki families) for the Monzeki family of Kyoto Chion-in Temple. Her secular name was Nobu. She was also called Bosatsuni or Intokuni.
She remained aloof throughout her life as she lost her parents, husband and children consecutively and spent her last years in seclusion at Kyoto Jinko-in Temple.
While she learned waka (Japanese poem) from Yoshika MUTOBE, Akinari UEDA and Kageki KAGAWA, she was also deeply influenced by Roan OZAWA. Tadamasa MURAKAMI, TACHIBNA no Akemi, Nomura moto-ni, Shikibu TAKABATAKE, Chikako UEDA and Sakuragi tayu were her friends in waka circle. She also excelled in the art of pottery and her works of pottery were called Rengetsu-yaki.
"Amano Karumo" is her personal collection of waka.