Getting Old: Poem Number 34

A nice reminder about getting older is poem number 34:

The author, Fujiwara no Okikaze (藤原興風, dates unknown), was one of the Thirty-Six Immortals of Poetry according to Mostow, but few other details about his life are known. He is the great-grandson of nobleman Fujiwara no Hamanari, and is thought to have lived around the same time as Kii no Tsurayuki (poem 35) and Kii no Tomonari (poem 33).

Takasago is a famous city on Harima Bay in Japan, in what is now modern-day Hyōgo Prefecture. Since antiquity, Takasago was famous known for its pine forests. The featured photo above is a sacred pine tree at Takasago Shrine (photo by 弥, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons). Takasago is also mentioned in poem 71. The most famous sacred pine tree at Takasago Shrine is the Aioi no Matsu (相生の松), which has been growing since the temple’s foundation. The pine trunk splits into two, and thus has become a symbol of marital harmony between husband and wife.

Further, my new book states that Takasago was such a iconic place, associations were often drawn between it and Sumi-no-e Bay (poem 18), with Sumi-no-e being the “husband” and Takasago the “wife”.

Even so, this poem takes as different turn and reflects on the loneliness of growing older. Given that Fujiwara no Teika (poem 97) was 79 at the time of compiling the Hyakunin Isshu, perhaps he felt a sense of kindred spirits when selecting this poem?