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| Monk Tonna |
This next post is devoted to Monk
Tonna. He lived from 1289-1372. During his life, the poetry world in Japan was
split between the more conservative Nijō faction with the more liberal
Kyōgoku-Tamekane faction. These rival factions arose because of their differing
views on how to the poetic master Fujiwara no Teika. Pretty much all poets had
to align themselves with one of these competing groups.
Tonna on the other hand had a
different role model: Saigyō. Saigyō is definitely one of my favorite poets in
history, and I believe the Tonna showed good taste in choosing him. Saigyō was
a Buddhist monk who spent his time wandering around Japan, and Tonna tried to
follow in his footsteps. Unfortunately, I don’t believe Tonna was as deep and
profound as Saigyō was. Tonna adhered to the Nijō faction’s conservative
guidelines which was definitely a prudent thing to do considering that the Nijō
faction did dominate, but it shows to me that he lacked a backbone. He didn’t
blaze his own trails as Saigyō did.
Nevertheless, he was a very
gifted poet. His poetry has very strong sabi
(loneliness) vibes to it, very Buddhist. Sometimes the poetry extolling the
virtues and profundity of Buddhism can get on my nerves with its paradoxical
platitudes, but Tonna effectively utilized natural imagery to convey his
message. I think this adds depth.
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| Can be found here |
宮城野の木の下闇に飛ぶ蛍露に勝りて影ぞ乱るる
頓阿
In the forest’s gloom
At the hill’s of Miyagi,
Fireflies dart about,
Outshining the drops of dew,
A cacophony of light.
Tonna
I like this poem because the image is both
soothing and melancholy. There seems to me to be also an interesting
juxtaposition. I usually expect dew to be present at dawn, and fireflies at
dusk. So having them together makes me think that Tonna is trying to convey a
deeper message. I cannot think of an explicit meaning, but perhaps he wanted us
to meditate on something irrational (a fairly common practice by Zen monks) to
broaden our minds.
雲消えてみどりに晴るる空見れば色こそ軈て虚しかりけれ
頓阿
The clouds have vanished,
The sky takes on a greenish hue,
And yet, when I look,
The deep color, before long,
Seems to fade into nothing.
Tonna
This poem has a strong Buddhist ring to it
and I think the imagery of the sky adds a lot to it. I got a little confused
with the color word he used. He used midori
which literally means “green” but I’ve seen translations of this poem use “deep
blue” which would make more sense since it is the sky. The Japanese have a
weird relationship with the colors blue and green. The word for blue is aoi but it could also denote green, or
some sort of blue-green. So I never really know what color they are referring
to.
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| Dream |
憂き身には思ひ出ぞなき敷島の道に忘れぬ昔ならでは
頓阿
Of my wretched life
I have no memory at all.
The elegant path,
The path of poetry
Alone, I’ve not forgotten.
Tonna
A bit cheesy I think.
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| Mt. Fuji |
かぎりなき空もしられて富士のねの煙のうへにいづる月かげ
頓阿
In Fuji’s slumber
Smoke rises to distant heights,
Reaching and meeting
The light of the ascending moon.
Heaven truly has no bounds.
Tonna
I really like this poem’s imagery. The massiveness
of the sky this poem displays sabi
(loneliness) to instill in the reader a strong sense of worthlessness which
would be necessary to understand a Buddhist perspective on the world. This
perspective being that our individual lives are completely insignificant to the
turning of the wheel of time (samsara),
the cycle of birth and rebirth.
Or maybe he was just looking at Mt. Fuji.
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| Snipe |
月宿る沢田の面にふす鴫の氷より立つ明方の空
頓阿
The moon has made house
In the marsh’s chilly water.
Rising from the ice
Weary snipes retreat to home,
As the sky glows bright with dawn.
Tonna
This poem does exemplify sabi but I don’t hear a Buddhist tone in it. It seems to be merely
a nice, cold scene. Since those birds (snipes) are nocturnal, it makes sense
they would return to their roost at dawn.
