Category: History
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The Diary of Lady Murasaki
Of all the poets of the Hyakunin Isshu anthology, arguably the most famous, especially overseas is Lady Murasaki (poem 57), who in Japanese is called Murasaki Shikibu (紫式部). She is the author of the Tales of Genji, which epitomized life in Japanese antiquity, and is arguably the first novel in history. But another work by…
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New Blog Page
Hello, I’ve been making small updates to the blog apart from the poems themselves. The main change is that I’ve added a new “page” that talks about the history of Imperial poetry anthologies. Poetry collections were very popular in the “classical age” of Japanese history, when Court nobles cultivated the finer arts and wrote lots…
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Lamentations: Poem Number 86
Another Autumn moon poem, but with an interesting twist: Japanese Romanization Translation なげけとて Nageke tote “Lament!” does it say? 月やは物を Tsuki ya wa mono wo Is it the moon that makes me 思はする Omowasuru dwell on things? —No, and yet, かこちがほなる Kakochi gao naru look at the tears flowing down わがなみだかな Waga nami dakana my…
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Not Quite Done Yet: Poem Number 68
This poem is something that touches on an important theme here on the blog, but first, let’s take a look: Japanese Romanization Translation 心にも Kokoro ni mo Though it is not what’s in my heart, あらで浮世に Arade ukiyo ni if in this world of pain ながらへば Nagaraeba I should linger, then 恋しかるべき Koishikaru beki no…
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The Hyakunin Isshu as a Rough Historical Tour
As you may have started to notice, the Hyakunin Isshu anthology provides a subtle historical overview of the classical period in Japanese history. This may have been intention on the part of Fujiwara no Teika, or just reflects the sentiment of his time. Either way, it’s an interesting tour of Japan from the 8th to…
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An Offering To The Gods: Poem Number 24
Hi folks, after a long break due to work obligations, I am back and happy to post this excellent poem by my favorite author in the Hyakunin Isshu: Japanese Romanization Translation このたびは Kono tabi wa This time around 幣もとりあへず Nusa motori aezu I couldn’t even bring the sacred streamers 手向山 Tamuke yama —Offering Hill— 紅葉のにしき…
The Hyakunin Isshu 