Background
Kujo was born in Kyoto as the daughter of Otani Kison (Myonyo), the 21st hereditary head of the Jodo Shinshu branch of Japanese Buddhism. Her mother was a secondary wife, and the daughter of a samurai from Kii Domain.
Kujo was born in Kyoto as the daughter of Otani Kison (Myonyo), the 21st hereditary head of the Jodo Shinshu branch of Japanese Buddhism. Her mother was a secondary wife, and the daughter of a samurai from Kii Domain.
Kujo Takekо was educated at the predecessor to the Kyoto Women's University.
In 1903, on the death of her father, Kujo Takekо came into the care of her brother Kozui. Her public life began during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, when she co-founded the Buddhist Women's Association, which was active in sending care packages to soldiers at the front, and to helping families who had lost their sons in combat.
In 1909, Kujo Takekо entered into an arranged marriage with Baron Kujo Yoshimasa, the brother of her sister-in-law, came to reside in Tokyo, where she became a member of the Chikuhakukai (waka society) and studied under Nobutsuna Sasaki. She went to England where her husband attended Cambridge University. Kujo Takekо returned to Japan after one year, leaving her husband behind. The couple lived apart for most of their lives. There was an air of tragedy round her personality and for many years she lived alone.
After the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake which devastated Tokyo and the surrounding Kanto region, Kujo Takekо sponsored various humanitarian efforts, which let to the reconstruction of the Tsukiji Hongan-ji temple, and the foundation of Asoka Hospital, one of Japan's first modern medical centers.
Kujo Takekо was also a noted poet, having studied under Nobutsuna Sasaki. She wrote numerous poems and gathas about her Nembutsu faith, publishing her first volume of poetry, "Kinre" in 1920, followed by a stage play "Rakuhoku" in 1925. A second volume of poetry followed in 1928, "Kunzen" and an autobiography, Shirokujaku in 1930.
Kujo Takekо died after contracting septicemia during her work in one of Tokyo's poor districts. She is commemorated through memorial services conducted by Jodo Shinshu temples in Japan and the United States.