We know almost nothing about Ono no Komachi (f. c. 850) save that she was a ninth-century aristocrat who likely served in the Heian imperial court. There her poetry and beauty earned her such acclaim that only fifty years later, she was already considered one of Japan’s six so-called Poetic Immortals (Rokkasen), the only woman to win the distinction. This alone was enough to earn her infamy in the centuries to follow, and there are several legends about her vanity and cruelty, though they have no basis in historical evidence.
In addition to Komachi’s poems, this selection includes one poem by Abe no Kiyoyuki and one poem by Ono no Sadaki. The relationships these aristocrats had with Komachi is unclear. They may have been suitors or lovers, and some scholars have suggested Sadaki was Komachi’s husband, but there is no evidence to verify this claim.