Sugawara no Takasue no Musume

Born around 1008, this Heian-period noblewoman is known in English as Takasue’s Daughter, a name drawn from her father, Sugawara no Takasue. She is remembered above all for the Sarashina Diary, a classic work of Japanese literature that follows her life from girlhood into later adulthood.

Her memoir is especially loved for its personal voice. She writes about an early passion for stories, the journey from the provinces to the capital, court life, religious feeling, dreams, disappointments, and the passage of time. That mix of emotional honesty and careful observation has made her one of the most distinctive women writers of the period.

Some scholars have also linked her to other literary works, but the Sarashina Diary is the writing most firmly associated with her. Exact details of her later life are uncertain, though she is generally thought to have lived beyond 1059.