Ono no Takamura

, also known as , was a Japanese calligrapher and poet of the early Heian period. Life Takamura was a descendant of Ono no Imoko who served as Kenzuishi, and his father was Ono no Minemori. He was the grandfather of Ono no Michikaze, one of the . In 834 he was appointed to Kentōshi, but in 838 after a quarrel with the envoy, Fujiwara no Tsunetsugu, he gave up his professional duties pretending to be ill, and attracted the ire of retired Emperor Saga, who sent him to Oki Province. Within two years he regained the graces of the court and returned to the capital where he was promoted to Sangi. Takamura is the subject of a number of odd stories and legends. One of the most singular of these legends is the claim that every night he would climb down a well to hell and help in his . In Sataku, Kyoto, there is a grave said to belong to Takamura. Near that grave is a grave marked Murasaki Shikibu, with a legend that it was placed there by the devil himself as punishment for for which Murasaki Shikibu descended to hell. Takamura in later literature