Background
Kujō was born in Kyoto as the daughter of Ōtani Koson (Myono), the 21st hereditary head of the of Jōdo Shinshū branch of Japanese Buddhism.
九条 武子
Kujō was born in Kyoto as the daughter of Ōtani Koson (Myono), the 21st hereditary head of the of Jōdo Shinshū branch of Japanese Buddhism.
She was educated at the predecessor to the Kyoto Women"s University.
Her elder brother, Ōtani Kōzui was the 22nd head of the sect, and a noted explorer of Central Asia, while another brother, was Ōtani Sonyu, was a politician who served in the House of Peers in the Diet of Japan. Her mother was a secondary wife, and the daughter of a samurai from Kii Domain. In 1909, she entered into an arranged marriage with Baron Kujō Yoshimasa, the brother of her sister-in-law.
The couple lived apart for most of their lives.
After the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake which devastated Tokyo and the surrounding Kantō region, Kujō 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. Kujō 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, Kinrei (金)鈴) in 1920, followed by a stage play Rakuhoku (洛北) in 1925. A second volume of poetry followed in 1928, Kunzen (薫染) and an autobiography, Shirokujaku (白孔雀) in 1930.
She died after contracting septicemia during her work in one of Tokyo"s poor districts.
She is commemorated through memorial services conducted by Jōdo Shinshū temples in Japan and the United States.