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The Maiden of Forgetfulness & The Angel of Remembrance

Yamakawa Tomiko & Yosano Akiko.

More information about them below the cut!

Her nameless poem is dedicated to Yosano Akiko:

Yamakawa Tomiko was a fellow poet, however she was the total opposite of Yosano in the sense that she was obedient and modest. They were best friends (or perhaps even more? According to some sources!) for a long while, producing poetry magazines together, such as myōjo. Tekken — Yosano Akiko's husband — liked her for those reasons. Due to that, Yosano Tekken had destroyed their relationship by making them rivals for his affection. With poetry being published publicly on the matter, there was no privacy for them. Yamakawa, wanting the best for Akiko, decided to enter the arranged marriage her family prepared for her while Akiko married Tekken. She contracted tuberculosis from her husband, which led to an early death.

"I quietly surrender the red flowers to my friends, and weep and weave the forget-me-nots." (Source)

Which was also translated into English as,

I leave all the scarlet flowers

For the woman I love

And hiding my tears from her

I pick

The flowers of forgetfulness.

(Taken from Women Poets of Japan.)