Otagaki Rengetsu, best known as a famous Japanese poet, was also a calligrapher, potter, and painter.Born into a samurai family with the surname Todo in 1791 , she was soon adopted by the Otagaki family and given the name Nobu. Having lost her mother and brother at a young age, she served as lady-in-waiting at Kameoka Castle (in present-day Kyoto Prefecture) from the age of 7 until returning home at the age 9 years later to marry. In 1823, after the death of her husband and three young children, she became a Buddhist nun, adopting the name Rengetsu, which means "Lotus Moon".
Life in the Mountains
Living deep in the mountains
I've grown fond of the
Solitary sound of the singing pines;
On days the wind does not blow
How lonely it is!
Longing in the Wind
I await my beloved
who is not yet here.
The moon in the pines
and voice of the wind
provoke my longing
