Ono no Takamura, in a book illustration by Kikuchi Yōsai.

Ono no Takamura also known as Sangi no Takamura (小野篁, ono/sengi no takamura^?, 802–February 3, 853) was an early Heian period scholar and poet. Kikuchi Yōsai, self-portrait. ... Events 31 October - Irene deposed as Emperoress of Byzantium and replaced by Nicephorus I. She is banished to Lesbos. ... February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events A Byzantine fleet destroys Damiette (in Egypt) Births Deaths Categories: 853 ... The following text needs to be harmonized with text in the article History of Japan#Heian Period. ...

He is a descendant of Ono no Imoko who served Kenzuishi, and his father was Ono no Minemori. He is the grandfather of Ono no Michikaze, one of the three famous calligraphers (三筆, sanpitsu^?). In 834 he was appointed to Kintōshi, 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 retired Emperor Saga, who sent him to Iki Province. Within two years he regained the graces of the court and returned to the capital where he was promoted to Sangi. Ono no Imoko (Japanese: 小野 妹子; ? - ?) was a male Japanese politican in the reign of Empress Suiko. ... Ono no Michikaze Ono no Michikaze or Ono no TōfÅ« (小野の道風 born in 894AD, Died in 966AD)is a prominent Shodoka (japanese calligrapher) who lived in the Heian Period (794-1185). ... Events First Viking raid of Dorestad. ... Events At Hingston Down, Egbert of Wessex beats the Danish and the West Welsh. ... Emperor Saga (嵯峨天皇, Saga tennō) (786–842) was the 52nd imperial ruler of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. ... Iki (壱岐国;, Iki no-kuni) was a province of Japan which occupied the entire area of Iki Island. ...

Takamura has a number of odd stories and legends about him. One of the most singular of these legends is the claim that every night he would climb down a well to hell and help the devil (閻魔大王, enma daiō^?) in his judgements (裁判, saiban^?). In Sataku, Kyoto, there is a grave said to belong to Takamura. Near that grave is a grave marked Murasaki Shikibu, with a legend that it was placed there by the devil himself as punishment for lust (愛欲, aiyoku^?) for which Murasaki Shikibu descended to hell. Medieval illustration of Hell in the Hortus deliciarum manuscript of Herrad of Landsberg (about 1180) A hell, according to many religious beliefs, is an afterlife of suffering where the wicked or unrighteous dead are punished. ... Kyoto )   is a city in the central part of the island of HonshÅ«, Japan. ... Murasaki Shikibu (紫 式部 Murasaki Shikibu, c. ... See also Lust (onomastics) for other uses Lust is any intense desire or craving, usually sexual, although it is also common to speak of a lust for life, lust for blood (bloodlust for short), or a lust for power or other goals. ...

In Ujishūi Monogatari there is the following story about Takamura to illustrate his wit. One day in the palace of Saga Tennō, someone erected a scroll with the writing "無善悪". No one in the palace was able to decipher its meaning. The emperor then ordered Takamura to read it, and he responded "Without evil there is no goodness (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. Takamura however 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, child^?): "子子子子子子子子子子子子". Takamura immediately responded: neko no ko no koneko, shishi no ko no kojishi (猫の子の子猫、獅子の子の子獅子, neko no ko no koneko, shishi no ko no kojishi^?), using the variant readings ne, ko and shi/ji for the character; this translates to "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 removed the accusation. Neko (wiktionary:猫, ねこ) is the Japanese word for the domestic cat. ...

Takamura is the main character in the tale Takamura Monogatari.

Descendants

While people like Ono no Michikaze and Ono no Komachi are Takamura's direct descendants, he also had several spiritual descendants among the Samurai. In particular, several Samurai names such as Notarō (野太郎, Notarō^?), Onota (小野太, Onota^?), Yatarō (弥太郎, Yatarō^?), Koyata (小弥太, Koyata^?) can be traced to Takamura. Ono no Michikaze Ono no Michikaze or Ono no TōfÅ« (小野の道風 born in 894AD, Died in 966AD)is a prominent Shodoka (japanese calligrapher) who lived in the Heian Period (794-1185). ... Ono no Komachi drawn by Kikuchi Yosai Ono no Komachi (from the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu) Ono no Komachi (小野 小町 おののこまち approximate dates 825–900 A.D.) was a famous Japanese Waka poet, one of the Rokkasen—Six best Waka poets, in the early Heian period. ... Japanese samurai in armour, 1860s. ...

Representative poems

One of his poems is included in the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu. Categories: Japan-related stubs | Poetry anthology | Japanese literature | Japanese poetry ...

わたの原 八十島かけて 漕ぎいでぬと
     人にはつげよ あまのつり舟
(Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, 11) Categories: Japan-related stubs | Poetry anthology | Japanese literature | Japanese poetry ...

Some of his waka also appeared in the Imperial anthologies.

泣く涙 雨と降らなむ わたり川
     水まさりなば かへりくるがに
(Kokin Wakashū) The Kokin Waka ShÅ« ), usually abbreviated as KokinshÅ« ), is an early Heian waka Imperial anthology, conceived by Emperor Uda (r. ...

Works related to Takamura

• Tatsumiya. Tales from the Realm of the Dead: Takamura's Well (冥界伝説:たかむらの井戸, meikai densetsu: takamura no ido^?). 
• Yūko Satsuma. Fudaya Ichiren! (札屋一蓮！, Fudaya Ichiren!^?). 
• Yū Itō (1997). Devil's Bridge (鬼の橋, oni no hashi^?). ISBN 4-8340-1571-8. 

See also

• Japanese literature

Japanese literature spans a period of almost two millennia. ...

References

• This article is based on material from the equivalent article from the Japanese Wikipedia.