Born: 1149, Japan
Died: 1 March 1201
Country most active: Japan
Also known as: 式子内親王, Shokushi
The following bio was written by Emma Rosen, author of On This Day She Made History: 366 Days With Women Who Shaped the World and This Day In Human Ingenuity & Discovery: 366 Days of Scientific Milestones with Women in the Spotlight, and has been republished with permission.
Princess Shikishi was a Japanese classical poet of the late Heian and early Kamakura periods, recognized for contributing to the Shinkokinshū, a major anthology of waka poetry. The third daughter of Emperor Go-Shirakawa, she spent a part of her life serving at the Kamo Shrine before becoming a Buddhist nun. Her poetry, consisting of 49 poems in the Shinkokinshū, among others, reflects her deep immersion in the court culture of her time, blending personal emotion with the traditional aesthetics of Japanese literature.