Taikenmon'in no Horikawa

Lady Horikawa, attendant to Empress Taiken (待賢門院堀河, Taiken-mon'in no Horikawa, dates unknown) was a waka poet and Japanese noblewoman active in the Heian period.

As a poet, her work is also included in the Kin'yō Wakashū.

In 1142, she ordained as a Buddhist nun in her own temple she built called Hōkongō-in. Most likely to have been occurred when Sutoku was exiled, with her included.

She was the consort of Emperor Toba when she was to be better known under the name of Taikenmon'in. She was a member of the Minamoto clan, as her father was Fujiwara no Kinzane, who was Dainagon "大納言" (Chief Chancellor of State) at the time.

She had one child named whom she named "Sutoku" who also is known as "Akihito."

Her other name "Horikawa" is assumed to be given to her when she served as a nun in the Convent of the Imperial Board of Ceremonies.

One of her poems is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu:

長からむ心もしらず黒髪の
     みだれてけさは物をこそ思へ
nagakaran kokoro mo shirazu kurokami no
midarete kesa wa mono o koso omoe

"I do not know how long my heart has been tangled... but, this late morning, my unruly black hair lay in a state of insanity, and now, I am thinking of another..."
     

• E-text of her poems in Japanese
  • Senzai Wakashū

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