Hey all, it’s me, Akie your Akita bijin in one of my funky moods. I am lying here on my futon after my ofuro (bath) thinking about one of my favorite historical figures, the legendary Ono no Komachi. Now, if you look back at my past blogs, you’ll notice that I mentioned her and told you that I would be talking more about her again. So here we go! It is said that Ono no Komachi was born in Akita, which we are very proud to boast. Much so, that our delicious renowned rice is named after her. Our baseball stadium and our local Shinkansen also bear her name. The area, which she is said to have come from, is called Ogachi and she was born in a small village called Ono around 834, during the Heian period in Japanese history. Little is really known of her life outside her poetry, but legend has it, she was a woman of amazing beauty and grace; no one compared to her. Wow! In her youth she was said to have had many suitors but was often cruel and nasty towards them.

I read somewhere that she was punished for this by living to become an old, ugly, lonely and poor woman! Better watch out girls! So the legend goes. What is known about her is that she was a major poet of the time. Some say she is the greatest poetess of erotic and passionate love in any language. She often wrote waka (Japanese poetry) about the solitude of love, nights dreaming and anticipating the arrival of her lover…. hey, that sounds like me! So this is the heritage we Akita bijins are graced with! A very long linage of beauty passed down from Ono no Komachi. Now, let me see if I can compose a really erotic poem like hers. “Roses are red, violets are blue………hehehehe mata ne!….