Month: May 2011

A Short Parting: Poem Number 16

I thought this was a cool, simple poem:

JapaneseRomanizationTranslation
立ち別れTachiwakareEven if I depart
いなばの山のInaba no yama noand go to Inaba Mountain,
みねにおふうるMine ni ōruon whose peak grow
まつとし聞かばMatsutoshi kikabapines, if I hear you pine for me,
今帰かえり来むんIma kaeri konI will return straightaway to you.
Translation by Dr Joshua Mostow

This poem is a great example of the word-play you often see in Japanese poetry of the time. The word “matsu” in the fourth line can mean a pine tree (松) or to wait (待つ), which are both applicable here. It even works in the English translation! You see this kind of thing a lot in Japanese because homonyms are so common compared to English. In particular the author is talking about the pine trees on Inaba Mountain (稲羽山) in Inaba Province as explained below.

As for the author, this was composed by Chūnagon Yukihira (中納言行平, 818-893), or “Middle Counselor Yukihira”, who was the older brother of Narihira (poem 17). Like all nobles who served in the Heian Court at the time, he was assigned to a post in a remote province for a term of service. In Yukihira’s case, he served a term as governor in Inaba Province (inaba no kuni 因幡の国), modern-day Tottori Prefecture, for two years, but this poem is his parting words at his farewell party.

The word inaba is a great example of a “pivot word” (kakekotoba, 掛け言葉) because it is both word-play and an central to the meaning of the poem. Inaba is the name of the province that Yukihira is assigned to, but it also means, according to Mostow, “(Even) if I leave”. Pretty clever.

Like many nobles of his time caught up in political intrigues, Yukihira was later exiled, and his exile along with his poetic association with pine trees became the subject of famous Nō dramas and in literature as well. According to Mostow, his exile was the inspiration behind part of the Tales of Genji.

Sleeping Alone: Poem Number 3

This is one of my favorite poems as of late:

JapaneseRomanizationTranslation
あしびきのAshibiki noMust I sleep alone
山鳥の尾のYamadori no ō nothrough the long autumn nights,
しだり尾のShidari no ō nolong like the dragging tail
ながながし夜をnaga nagashi yo woof the mountain pheasant
ひとりかもねむhitori kamo nenseparated from his dove?
Translation by Dr Joshua Mostow

The author of this poem Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (柿本人麻呂, dates unknown), was one of the pre-eminent poets of the Asuka Period in Japan, and contributed to the Manyoshu anthology as well. According to my new book, he served in the courts of emperors Tenmu, Jitō (poem 2), and Monmu as a kind of “court poet” (kyūtei-kajin, 宮廷歌人). During official outings, or former occasions, the court poet was relied upon to compose a fitting poem for the occasion. So revered was Hitomaro at his job that he, alongside his contemporary Yamabe no Akahito (poem 4), were later called kasei (歌聖, “saints of poetry”).

Hitomaro is also possible candidate for authorship of the famous iroha poem: a poem that uses every hiragana letter only once.

While the poem above looks like any other love poem, the composition, imagery, rhythm and such, make this one really stand out. 😁

The yamadori (山鳥) is actually a species of bird called the Copper Pheasant, known for its long tail, and is our featured photo for today (photo by KKPCW, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons). There’s a great photo here as well. Traditionally, it was thought that the male and female birds slept separately at night, hence Hitomaro was comparing this to his own feeling of loneliness.

One thing I like about this poem, and why I have a particular interest in it, is the repetitive sounds using の (no) throughout. If you recite the poem out loud, it has a particularly nice rhythm to it, and for me it is thus easy to memorize/recite. Try it out and you’ll see what I mean. The frequent use of の also links various words together in a way that stretches out the verse. Thus, Hitomaro isn’t sleeping alone, it feels like a looooooong night alone.

According to the Hyakunin Isshu Daijiten, there are certain birds in Japanese culture that are frequently used to represent autumn. In addition to the Copper Pheasant, other birds include:

  • The wild goose (kari, 雁)
  • The quail (uzura, うずら)
  • The bull-headed shrike, or Lanius bucephalus (mozu, もず)

More on seasonal birds in this post.

The opening verse of this poem is also a nice example of pillow words in the Hyakunin Isshu, originally taken from the Manyoshu.

Finally, one thing to note is that my new book about the Hyakunin Isshu suggests the authorship of this poem is doubtful. In the original Manyoshu anthology, this poem was listed as “author unknown”, poem number 2802, and looked noticeably different:

Original ManyoganaModern JapaneseRomanizationRough Translation1
念友思へどもOmoedomoEven as I try not to think about it,
念毛金津思ひもかねつOmoi mo kanetsuI can’t help but think
足桧之あしひきのAshihiki nohow long this night will
山鳥尾之山鳥の尾のYamadori no ō nobe, like the tail of a
永此夜乎長きこの夜をNagaki kono yo wocopper pheasant.
1 Rough translation by me, apologies for any mistakes.

… but by the time of Fujiwara no Teika (poem 97, こぬ) who compiled the Hyakunin Isshu, it was probably assumed to be Hitomaro. Teika might know something we don’t today though, so it’s quite possibly Hitomaro’s poem, but sadly we’ll never know for sure. But this mystery of how the poem came to be will be covered in a future post someday.