Short As A Reed: Poem Number 88

If you like word-play, you’ll enjoy this poem quite a bit:

Japanese	Romanization	Translation
難波え江の	Naniwa-e no	Due to that single night
あしのかりねの	Ashi no karine no	of fitful sleep, short as a reed’s joint cut at the root
一よゆゑえ	Hitoyo yue	from Naniwa Bay,
みをつくしてや	Mi wo tsukushite ya	am I to exhaust myself, like the channel markers
恋ひいわたるべき	Koi wataru beki	passing my days in longing?

This poem was composed by Lady Bettō (dates unknown), known in the Anthology as Kōkamon’in no Bettō (皇嘉門院別当). Lady Bettō served in the house of Empress Seishi, wife of Emperor Sutoku (poem 77). Lady Bettō was also the daughter of Minamoto no Yoshitaka.

Although the life of Lady Bettō is relatively unknown, and she doesn’t appear in many anthologies, Professor Mostow points out that her poem is quite a technical feat. There are not one, but three “pivot words”, or words that carry multiple meanings, and lend multiple interpretations to the poem:

1. karine can mean cutting a root (刈り根) or a brief nap (仮寝) such as when traveling.
2. hitoyo can mean either a single segment of a reed (一節) or a single night (一夜).
3. mi wo tsukushi can mean either to exhaust one’s body (身を尽くし) or one of the famous barriers in Osaka Bay (澪標, see also poem 20)

The poem itself uses many familiar themes too. We’ve seen a lot of poems that feature Osaka Bay, called Naniwa in ancient times, including poem 20, poem 19 and poem 72 among others. Similarly, we see references to reeds, just as we do in poem 39 and poem 19 (again).

What makes this poem stand out is the excellent use of word-play throughout. On the surface, it looks like just another love poem, but Lady Bettō knew what she was doing. 😌

P.S. Featured photo is of reeds (species Phragmites) in Amsterdam, photo by PersianDutchNetwork, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons