the way to Jakkoin, Ohara by jtabn99
“Historically known for their abundance of nuns from noble lineages, the temple is most famous for being the nunnery where Taira no Tokuko, (later known as Kenreimon-in), mother to the last Taira clan emperor, spent her last days in cloistered solitude during the 12th century. Her tragic tale is related in The Tale of Heike, which depicts her marriage to Emperor Takakura as part of her powerful father, Taira no Kiyomori’s, schemes to tie his bloodline to the Imperial one. She bore a son who would become the Emperor Antoku, but the family was forced to flee the capital when the clan’s political power was threatened by the revenge-seeking Minamoto (Genji) clan. At the final confrontation, the naval battle of Dan no Ura in 1185, her male relatives were killed or took their own lives, and her own mother leapt into the sea holding the child Emperor in her arms. The Empress Dowager tried to follow them in death, but was fished from the waves by her hair. Taken back to the capital, Kenreimon-in followed in the tradition of widows at the time and took the tonsure as a Buddhist nun. She later moved further into seclusion by entering Jakkō-in nunnery in Ōhara alongside a fellow court lady, where she served as a nun praying for the repose of her family.
There, in a hermit’s hut, the former Empress is said to have composed this famous poem. Did I ever dream That I would behold the moon Here on the mountain The moon that I used to view In the sky o'er the palace? Kenreimon-in lived simply in the rural mountains and Ōhara Valley, though she received a visit in 1186 from her adopted father, former Emperor Go-Shirakawa, who was shocked to find her living in poverty as a nun. Ashamed as she was to meet the prestigious man in her condition, Kenreimon-in nonetheless entertained him at Jakkō-in before they parted for the last time.”
History Source : DiscoverKyoto
