Early Life, Family and Training

Tagami Kikusha was born Michi in 1753 in the village of Tasuki, located in the Toyoura District of Nagato Province. Her father, Tagami Yoshinaga, worked as a doctor, while her mother was named Taka. When she was sixteen, the family moved to Innaichô, Chôfu, in Shimonoseki. During this same year, she married Murata Rinosuke, who came from a farming family in her home village.

Her path into the world of the literata began through the study of haikai. She became a disciple of the Chôfu haikai poet Goseian Shizan. It was through this training that she received her poetic name, Kikusha. This early immersion in verse marked the beginning of her life as a practitioner of the arts.

Travels and Artistic Pursuits

In 1781, she set out to retrace the paths taken by Matsuo Bashô and the founder of the Jôdo Shinshû sect, Shinran. Her movement through the landscape was marked by a search for deeper understanding. In Hagi, she visited the Seikôji temple, a site tied to the Hongan-ji, where she took the tonsure and received the Buddhist name Myôi. This period of wandering led her through Kyoto and Osaka, moving toward the Mino Province. There, she sought out the haikai master Chôboen Sankyô and became his disciple.

The path continued through the regions of Hokuriku, Shinano, and Michinoku. This long trek eventually brought her to Edo, where she remained for four years. Even after returning to Chôfu, her movements did not cease. She continued to travel frequently, reaching as far as Kyûshû. These movements were not merely for transit; they were tied to her practice of haikai poetry and her presence in various religious and social circles.

Artistic Skills and Versatility

Her reputation was built upon the precision of her haikai poetry. She moved through the world with a pen that could capture the essence of a moment in verse, whether through the structured rhythm of haiku or the more formal patterns of waka poetry. This literary skill extended into her writing of verse in Chinese, showing a command over different linguistic textures. Her hand was as active on paper as it was in thought, as she practiced calligraphy to complement her written words.

Beyond the written word, she applied herself to the visual and the tactile. She practiced ink painting, using brush and ink to translate her observations onto paper. This same hand moved to the strings of the seven-string koto, finding a different kind of rhythm in music. In the quiet spaces of her life, she was also practiced in the tea ceremony, a discipline of precise movements and focused presence.