伊呂波歌

色は匂へど散りぬるを、我が世誰ぞ常ならむ。有為の奥山今日越えて、浅き夢見じ
酔ひもせず。

空海

Can be found here

いろはにほへとちりぬるをわがよたれそつねならむうゐのおくやまけふこえてあ
さきゆめみしゑひもせす

最近、私は伝統的な日本語の教科書を買い、本当に伝統的な日本語を勉強し始め
た。この教科書の始めで「伊呂波歌」という歌を見つけた。みんな日本人の学生
はこの歌が知ると思うけど、私はこの歌を読んだことがなかった。「伊呂波歌」
は全部の仮字を一回だけあるのに、面白い歌だから好きである。歴史によると、
とっくに空海(真言宗の開祖)はこれを書いた。

以下、私の英語の翻訳がある。

The colors of our world are brilliant and yet, they will inevitably fade into obscurity. Is there anybody immortal in this world of ours? Today I venture over the far away mountains of illusion. I wish not to be intoxicated with superficial dreams.

Kukai

Minamoto no Sanetomo: Samurai with Pathos

Yoritomo no Minamoto
Can be found here

Minamoto no Sanetomo lived from 1192-1219 A.D., and was a son of the famous Minamoto no Yoritomo: founder of the Kamakura Shogunate. The Kamakura Shogunate was the first samurai controlled government (bakufu) in Japanese history. 

After Yoritomo's death, Hōjō Tokimasa, Sanetomo's grandfather, usurped all shogun powers and would then designate a figurehead Seii Taishogun as the head of state. Sanetomo assumed the role as Seii Taishogun  in 1203 at age eleven. His mother, Hōjō Masako was in fierce competition with Hōjō Tokimasa for power and influence. She used her son as a political tool to further her interests and protect herself. In 1204 his older brother Yoriie was murdered by a member of the Hōjō clan.

Minamoto no Sanetomo
Can be found here

Sanetomo realized early on that there was no hope to beat the powerful Hōjō clan and so devoted his life to poetry. He was tutored by the renowned Fujiwara no Teika. He studied poetry diligently as a way to escape the vulgar political reality he was forced into. 

Unfortunately, at the age of 28 Sanetomo was assassinated outside the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū shrine by his own nephew, son of Yoriie. The exact reasons behind of all this appear to be a mystery but it is clear there was something shady going on.

Sanetomo's poetry is very different from Fujiwara no Teika's and he flouted most of the poetic conventions ironed out before him. His waka has a very honest tone and is very direct. 

Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū
Place of Sanetomo's Assassination
Can be found here

世の中は常にもがもな渚漕ぐ海人の小舟の綱手かなしも

源 実朝

Will this world of ours

Forevermore be the same?

Along the seashore

Seamen scull their tiny crafts,

Mooring rope...brings tears to m’eyes!

Minamoto no Sanetomo

This poem is from Fujiwara no Teika’s “100 Poems from 100 Poets” (hyakunin isshu). At first glance, the essentially mundane image of this poem seems undeserving of the strong emotional content. You would not expect this kind of outburst of pathos from a samurai. There are a lot of ways to interpret this poem. For most of his adulthood, Sanetomo feared for his life because of the political machinations of those around him. He may have projected his anguish on these fishermen as a cry for help, but I feel that this interpretation may be assuming too much.

            The structure of the poem reminds of how later haiku were written. Haiku are really just shortened waka, but there are conflicting theories on how exactly to interpret them. Some believe the value of haiku comes from the simplicity of a sudden “haiku moment”, which is then portrayed as a poetic “snapshot”, while others may appreciate the subtle pathos or literary allusions. In my opinion, some of the best haiku are merely depictions of simple scenes, be it from everyday life or snippets of nature. I mean, the most famous haiku of all time is about a frog jumping into a pond. The poem above has a simple scene, but Sanetomo explicitly adds the emotional content with a directness that is not characteristic of Japanese poetry.

秋はいぬ風に木の葉の散りはてて山さびしかる冬は来にけり

源 実朝

Can be found here

Autumn is no more,

The foliage of the trees,

Scattered by the wind,

The barren, lonely mountains

Beckon the coming winter.

Minamoto no Sanetomo

The interesting aspect of this poem is its directness. Sanetomo was a protégé of Fujiwara noTeika but apparently did not care much for his sensei’s ideas of yuugen (≈subtle beauty). This poem is quite simple and is anything but subtle. I do like it though precisely for its no nonsense approach to the nasty seasonal transition from autumn to winter.

Most Japanese poems describing the coming of winter will hint at “withered reeds” or “frosty dew” but certainly not “barren mountains”. Sanetomo apparently had little patience for the poetic conventions of his peers and I have to respect him for that. The other possibility is that he died too young to really develop a discerning aesthetic taste.

世の中は鏡に映る影にあれやあるにもあらずなきにもあらず

源 実朝

Buddhist art of Japan in 12th Century
Can be found here

Our existence

Is like a reflection

In a mirror.

It really does not exist,

But also doesn’t not exist.

Minamoto no Sanetomo

            This poem has a very Buddhist ring to it and demonstrates the heightened religiosity of the samurai in early medieval Japan. The paradox of our existence displayed in this poem is developed to a dizzying degree by later Zen philosophers. I like this poem, yet I’m not sure if it’s because I lack intellectual depth, but these kind of Buddhist paradoxes usually only bring forth in me a shallow “hmmmmm”.

空やうみ海や空とも見えわかぬ霞も波もたちみちにつつ

源 実朝

The sky, then the sea,

Or the sea on top of the sky,

I can no longer tell,

The mist and the waves rise

To an increasing crescendo.

Minamoto no Sanetomo

            I like this poem mainly for the nice imagery but also because the last line is just one word: tachimichinitsutsu. Try and say that five times fast.

大海の磯もとどろによする浪われてくだけて裂けて散るかも

源 実朝

From the wide sea,

Ocean waves boom and thunder

Across the coastline,

Smashing! Breaking! Cascading!

Then gently scattering.

Minamoto no Sanetomo

Can be found here

            This poem has very vibrant language which is again very uncharacteristic. The last two lines consist of three verbs in a row: warete (smash) kudakete (break) / sakete (≈break/ be smashed) chiru (scatter) ka mo. My translation shows a contrast between the waves “smashing” and then “gently scattering”, which may not be so obvious in the original poem. I did it this way because the final verb chiru does literally mean “to scatter” but it is usually used in the context of leaves or flower petals scattering, which I saw as a juxtaposition to the more violent verbs which preceded it. 

Fujiwara no Teika: Genius II

I came across a few more obscure poems from Fujiwara no Teika which I thought would be good to translate.  I devoted the last post to Teika and I will probably do several more to him since he more than deserves this iota of homage. 

Can be found here

One interesting thing about his life is that he began his poetic career a rebel and died a reactionary. He caused waves in the very rigid and hierarchical community of Japanese poetry with his audacity to break the norms and blaze his own path. He ruffled a lot feathers and it was during that period of his life that he showed the most creativity.

Towards the end of his life, his attitude changed greatly. He became more and more rigid with his proteges and became the same kind of person that he had tried to defeat during his ascendance to poetic artistry. I think there is a lesson here. The process of rebellion and thus creativity is essentially an ephemeral concept. The fallibility and weakness of the human spirit eventually will corrupt those deemed incorruptible. 

旅人の袖吹き返す秋風に夕べ寂しき山の架け橋

Can be found here

藤原定価

The traveler,

Sleeves flapping in the wind

On an autumn night,

How lonely the bridge

Across the gorge.

Fujiwara no Teika

I took a couple liberties when translating this poem but I believe the essential meaning has been preserved. The actual poem reads "秋風" or akikaze which literally means "autumn wind". It is a recurring image in waka and has a solemn connotation. I instead constructed a scene around an "autumn night" which in my opinion is better because "autumn wind" doesn't have the same feeling of loneliness like: "Wind blowing in an autumn night." 

招くとて草の袂の会もあらじとわれぬ里の古き籬は

藤原定価

Can be found here

Blades of grass, like sleeves

Futilely beckon to the house,

For this humble home

Has long been neglected,

A decrepit fence, roughly woven.

Fujiwara no Teika

This poem comes from a very obscure anthology called Shuuigusou which I could hardly find any mention of on the internet. This poem also has got a lonely tone and I think it fits well with the preceding poem. There is nothing to complicated or profound about it in my opinion, but I just like the imagery.

今宵ばかりや枕さだめぬ;

頼めこし夢のただちは現似て

藤原定価

Can be found here

Tonight, only tonight

Let us share this pillow,

I’ve always relied

On the honesty of my dreams

As though it was reality.

Fujiwara no Teika

This poem is actually part of renga sequence compiled after his death called Tsukuba-shuu. This is about as openly erotic poetry was at this time. You have to wait for the rebellious haiku and renga poets later for something more explicit. Anyway, I like this poem because of the juxtaposition of them "sharing a pillow" in real life and his mention of the fallibility of his sense of reality. It's like he might not even know that he is dreaming. 

Fujiwara no Teika: Genius

My next few posts will be dedicated to my favorite waka poet: Fujiwara no Teika. He lived from 1162-1241 A.D. and it is difficult for me to single out a more influential and important poet in the Japanese poetic tradition. He was the son of the illustrious Fujiwara no Shunzei, and he was keen to rebel against the established system, and chart his own poetic course. Teika created his own brand of poetry and utilized completely new and controversial techniques. He also compiled the famous Hundred Poems by a Hundred Poets which inspired the famous Japanese card game karuta.

Can be found here

He was very keen on honkadori which is when a poet uses allusions to previous great works. In essence it is a practice of "cutting and pasting" and I do think it is a bit vulgar, but one of my favorite poems utilizes this technique. He's also famous for using yoen which is a concept similar to Shunzei's yugen but with increased elegance. Teika also used another ideal known as ushin or "sincerity of feeling" which was a style marked with a strongly subjective tone. My understanding of it is that ushin really denotes a sense of poetic honesty combined with mellifluous language.
Overall Fujiwara no Teika was the most compelling waka poet and I think it's fitting that waka essentially declined as an art form after his death. He was the pinnacle and I will explore and translate as many poems from him that I have time for. 

まぼろしよ夢ともいわじ世の中は斯くて聞きみるはかなさぞこれ

藤原定家

A mere ghost!

I’ll not call it dream,

Idle chatter, and beauty

Faded in ephemerality,

Is what our world is made of.

Fujiwara no Teika

This is a beautiful poem and has an interesting syntax which comes of as adversarial. This was composed when he was younger and a bit of an iconoclast. 

Can be found here

ひととせを眺め尽くせる朝戸出にうすゆき氷る寂しさの果て

藤原定価

I’ve spent a year

Gazing at the outside world

One morning, I open the door,

The ground is frozen with light snowfall,

The bounds of loneliness...

Fujiwara no Teika

I like the solemness of this poem.

Can be found here.

わが身よにふるともなしの眺めして幾春風に花の散るらん

藤原定価

As I watched the long rains

I became less and less aware

Of my aging body,

I wonder, how many times

Have the blossoms been scattered by the spring wind?

Fujiwara no Teika

This poem is actually and allusion to a famous poem from Ono no Komachi. I translated the Komachi poem on this page.

Six Best Waka Poets

In Ki no Tsurayuki's preface to the Kokinshuu he listed six waka poets that he considered to be the best in history. They are Kisen, Ono no Komachi, Archbishop Henjo, Ariwara no Narihira, Fun'ya no Yasuhide, and Otomo no Kuronashi. 

The old geezer himself

Ki no Tsurayuki had a unique critique for each of these poets: 

Kisen: "The priest of Mt. Uji, Kisen, is obscure, and his beginnings and endings do not chime; he is like an autumnal moon, bright in the evening, dim at dawn."

Ono no Komachi: "As to Ono no Komachi, she has pathos but lacks power, like a fair but feeble woman."

Archbishop Henjo: "Sojo Henjo, whose manner is successful, but his work is deficient in truth, like the picture of a beautiful woman that excites emotion, but to no avail."

Ariwara no Narihira: "Arihara Narihira, very full of feeling but poor in diction; his poetry reminds one of a faded flower that yet preserves some of its perfume."

Fun'ya no Yasuhide: "Funya no Yasuhide, on the other hand, is an artist in words; with him form is better than substance. He is like a peddler dressed up in fine silks."

Otomo no Kuronashi: "Otomo no Kuronushi, lastly, has a pretty turn for verse, but his form is poor; he is like a faggot-bearing boor resting under a blossom-filled cherry-tree."

Source: http://www.humanistictexts.org/tsurayuki.htm

I don't entirely agree with all of what Ki no Tsurayuki says but you have to listen to him since he is the authority on this stuff. I think it's funny that Ki no Tsurayuki lists these guys as the Six Best Waka Poets and then ridicules them in preface and gives only lack-luster compliments. Maybe it's an extension of Japanese modesty. 

I translated one poem from each of the six poets. I'm not sure they all represent what Ki no Tsurayuki described but who really cares about that old geezer. 

Can be found here

わが庵は都のたつみしかぞすむ世をうぢ山と人はいふなり

喜撰法師

My hermitage lies

Southeast of the capital,

I dwell with the deer

On this mountain and yet

I still feel sadness for the lives of men.

Kisen

Kisen is a poet I know very little about but I have always enjoyed poetry from Buddhist monks. This poem is not bad and some interesting wordplay around the Japanese word for deer: "shika". 

花の色はうつりにけりないたづらにわが身世にふるながめせしまに

小野小町

Can be found here

The flower’s beauty

Has passed already,

Vacantly I gaze

At the unending spring rain

As my life vainly drips by.

Ono no Komachi

I really like this poem because Ono no Komachi really hits that note of transience the Japanese are so big on. Withering flowers or falling cherry blossoms are the images used so much by Japanese poets to express their sadness with the ephemeral world while simultaneously basking in its beauty.

Can be found here

あまつかぜ雲のかよひぢ吹きとぢよ乙女のすがたしばしとどめむ

遍照

The heavenly winds

Push drifting clouds across the sky,

Let the gale cease

So I might get a few more moments

With that celestial maiden.

Archbishop Henjo

Henjo is being his majestic self again. I do disagree with Ki no Tsurayuki in saying that Henjo's poetry is "deficient in truth". I would say Henjo's poetry has the depth and truth of other great poems. 

Can be fouund here

ちはやぶる神代もきかず龍田川からくれなゐに水くくるとは

在原 業平

From the age of Gods

When the Earth was torn asunder

I never heard of

Tatsuta River gleaming

With this deep, crimson hue.

Ariwara no Narihira

The first line of this poem is a reference to the Manyoushuu which is the first and quite ancient, famous Japanese poetry anthology. The Tatsuta River is depicted to the right and Tatsuta (the place) is famous for its autumn landscapes. During autumn this tree usually was red with the falling leaves but this poem uses a bizarre word for red or crimson. The term "karakurenawi" which is the fourth line in the Japanese, refers to a hue of crimson that had to be imported from continental Asia. So perhaps he is lamenting the influx of foreign influences in Japan.

Can be found here

草も木も色かはれどもわたつうみの波の花にぞ秋なかりける

文屋康秀

The trees and grasses

Have changed color and yet,

The bright, white blossoms

Of the ocean’s waves remain

Unchanged, as if autumn’ll never come.

 Fun'ya no Yasuhide

I like this poem because it is kind of cute. In this case I think Ki no Tsurayuki might be right when he says Fun'ya no Yasuhide "is an artist in words; with him form is better than substance. He is like a peddler dressed up in fine silks."

何せむにへたのみるめを思ひけむ沖つ玉藻をかづく身にして

大友黒主

Can be found here

She combs the beach

Looking for precious seaweed,

Waist deep in the sea,

She humbly scavenges,

Why do I love her so?

Otomo no Kuronashi

This poem was particularly difficult for me to translate and is more of a work in progress.

Fun'ya no Yasuhide: Tricky Dick

Can be found here

Fun’ya no Yasuhide is a less well-known waka poet but he is listed as one of Ki no Tsurayuki's Six Best Waka Poets. There are only a couple of details from Yasuhide's life that we know. First, he died in 885 A.D. which makes him one of the founding fathers of waka. He also apparently had an affair with Ono no Komachi. That's about all we know. He has only 5 poems featured in the Kokinshuu so even if he was so respected he may have only contributed a small amount of work. Ki no Tsurayuki described his poems as having style but lacking in content. I have neutral opinion on this. His poetry does have some nice wordplay but can also be quite deep. As always these are all my translations. Enjoy!

春の日の光にあたる我なれどかしらの雪となるぞわびしき

文屋康秀

The warming light

Of spring sunshine

Is not enough

To melt the frosty snow

Upon my head.

Fun’ya no Yasuhide

This poem contains the metaphor "かしらの雪" which literally means "head snow". Snow on one's head refers to gray hair which of course represent old age. The poem was apparently written as a reaction to a very young crown prince taking the reign as the emperor of Japan and even the blessing from a such a youthful emperor ("warming light of spring sunshine") was not enough to "melt" the gray hair from his head. 

吹くからに秋の草木のしをるればむべ山風をあらしといふらむ

文屋康秀

Suddenly the wind blows,

The trees and grasses wither

On this autumn day,

Indeed those mountain winds

Wreak havoc like a storm.

Fun’ya no Yasuhide

 This poem is interesting because of its intriguing wordplay and it is featured in Fujiwara no Teika's Hyakuninisshu or"Hundred Poems from a Hundred Poets.In the poem, "山風", yamakaze, literally means "mountain wind" but then look at the character for storm: "嵐" arashi. It is really a combination of the two characters. The last line of the poem reads: "arashi to ifuramu" which means something like "It is indeed called a storm." So the mountain wind alludes to a storm but then there is further wordplay because arashi also means "havoc" or "disaster". 

Otomo no Kuronushi: That Sad, Old Man

Can be found here.

There is little known about Otomo no Kuronushi but he is one of Ki no Tsurayuki's Six Best Waka Poets listed in the preface to the Kokinshuu. He apparently was from Omi in Shiga Prefecture. Since there isn't much information about him out there, there isn't a lot to say. He's a good poet but not as good as Archbishop Henjo. I looked through some of his poetry (it's not so easy to find) and I liked these three the best. I hope you enjoy my translations. 

春雨の降る涙か桜花散るを惜しまぬ人しなければ

大友黒主

Breezy spring showers

Feel like falling tears drops,

Sakura blossoms

Fall and scatter and yet

No one seems to care.

Otomo no Kuronushi

I like this poem because the "spring showers" can be read as rain drops or tear drops. The poem could be a lament for the end of spring and the falling cherry blossoms or could be a metaphor for something more interesting. The last line is ambiguous but I hope my translation is alright. 

鏡山いざ立ちよりて見てゆかむ年経ぬる身は老いやしぬると

大友黒主

This photo can be found here along with more pictures of Mt. Mikami

Kagami Mountain,

Well I believe it’s time for me

To pay a visit, but

Has this aged body of mine

Become too old and weak?

Otomo no Kuronushi

"Kagami Mountain" is present day Mikami Mountain in Shiga Prefecture. It was and remains a sacred place nowadays it's more of a tourist attraction. This poem is a lament for his old age.

思ひ出でて恋しき時は初雁のなきてわたると人知るらめや

大友黒主

When I dwell on

Our times of love and passion

The wild goose takes off

Crying, and I cry with it,

Do they know the way home?

Otomo no Kuronushi

This is apparently a sad lament for an old lover.

Archbishop Henjo: The Majestic

Archbishop Henjo (name at birth: Yoshimine no Munesada: 良岑宗貞) lived during the ninth century and is mentioned in the preface of the Kokinshuu (written by Ki no Tsurayuki) as one of the Six Best Waka Poets and one of the Thirty Six Poetry Immortals. 

Can be found here

The details of his life are pretty much unknown aside from the historical annals listing his positions at court. Since he was an "Archbishop", he did move up in the religious clergy. He was a priest at the Tendai school and lived just outside Kyoto. One interesting thing about him is that he apparently had a love affair with Ono no Komachi. They supposedly had lively exchange of of love poems which I will translate in the coming days.

As little as we know about Henjo, I think his poetry speaks for itself and he is one of my favorite waka poets. Here are only a few examples and as always these are all my translations. Enjoy!

たらちめはかかれとてしもむばたまの我が黒髪を撫でずや有りけん

遍昭

My dear mother,

Surely she wouldn’t have caressed

My long black hair,

If she had known

It would all be chopped off.

Henjo

I like this poem because he is recognizing the pain associated with becoming a Buddhist monk, not just for him but for his loved ones.

花の色は霞にこめて見せずとも香をだにねすめ春の山風

遍昭

The hues and shades

Of the flowers are obscured

By the heavy mist,

The spring breeze of the mountains

Allow me to steal a scent.

Henjo

  

I like the combination of imagery in this poem. He includes the colors of the flowers with the hazy mist, and the breeze from the mountains bringing the fragrance of the blossoms.

はちす葉のにごりにしまぬ心もてなにかは露を玉とあざむく

遍昭

はちす-蓮, Lotus Flower

Petals of lotus

Untainted, still pure,

Still have their hearts.

So then why do drops of dew

Pretend to be jewels?

Henjo

This poem was a bit harder to understand and it is surely metaphorical. There is a canonical understanding of what this poem means but it is important for you to come up with your own understanding for what a poem means. In my opinion, this poem could just be a nice image (it also helps that the Japanese word for "dew" : 露 can also mean "tears", it adds another layer of interpretation) or it could be a social commentary. 

散りねればのちは芥になる花を思ひ知らずまどふてふかな

遍昭

くたに=苦丹=牡丹 Peony

After the blossoms

Have fallen and scattered

They’ll become mere dust,

Yet it will never know,

That fluttering butterfly.

Henjo

This poem is interesting and was difficult to translate. I don't completely understand the subtleties of it since there seems to be a word play around "kuta ni". I think this poem is really a homage to a certain kind of peony but also comparing it to garbage. I need somebody to explain this to me.  

秋の野になまめき立てる女郎花あなかしがまし花もひと時

遍昭

おみなえし-女郎花-Golden Lace

In the autumn fields,

Golden lace, the maiden blossoms,

How lively they are!

They compete with beauty itself,

Even if for only a moment.

Henjo

This poem is nice because it seems like a spring poem but is not at all. I get the feeling that Henjo liked to write poems about particular flowers...

Akazome Emon: Daisy Among Roses

I decided to write about a less well-known female poet by the name of Akazome Emon. She was a contemporary of Murasaki Shikibu, Izumi Shikibu, and Sei Shonagon. Being surrounded by the previously mentioned poetic giants makes her easy to gloss over. She was a lady who served at court underneath some very influential people. Her poetry was featured in a few collections but she lacks the notoriety that her contemporaries still have. 

Can be found here

Her poetry is sound and interesting. I found a couple examples that I hope you enjoy and as always, these are my translations.

やすらはで寝なましものを小夜更けてかたぶくまでの月を見しかな

赤染衛門

I should’ve slept soundly,

Relaxed and carefree...

Late into the night,

I gazed at the moon

As it finally set.

Akazome Emon

This poem is from the Hyakuninisshu or Collection of a Hundred Poems from a Hundred Poets. The collection was compiled by Fujiwara no Teika and it is one of the most famous poetry collections in Japan. Every Japanese person is aware of it and practically every Japanese student knows the card game associated with it, karuta.

Can  be found here

This poem is about a lady who believed the promise of a man who said he would visit her in the night. She waited all night and watched the moon until finally dawn came. The poem is a bit bitter but is elegant in its own way. The normal conventions are all there: the moon as a harbinger of loneliness and the late night romantic visits depicted in the Tale of Genji and the Tale of Ise.  The poem exemplifies the boredom and restlessness of women at the time who spent countless hours waiting for visits from unreliable men. Considering that men at the time usually had several mistresses outside of their marriage and had 100% control over who they visited and communicated with, it’s an understandable sentiment.

Can be found here

秋の野の花見るほどの心をばゆくとやいはむとまるとやいはん

赤染衛門

Fields of autumn,

When I see the flowers,

My heart, it feels like

It’s completely content, or maybe

It yearns to leave me forever.

Akazome Emon

This poem was very difficult for me to translate because of the last two lines:

ゆくとやいはむ

とまるとやいはん

They both pertain to her heart which is introduced in the third line but have contrasting meanings. I had to consult this website to help with the translation. I’m still a beginner with traditional Japanese but I can notice that the two lines are practically identical except for the first word: ゆく(yuku) and とまる(tomaru). Yuku is an old fashioned way to write Iku which means “to go” and tomaru (same as modern Japanese) means “to stop”. From what I read, the first line has the meaning of complete satisfaction and contentment, and the second line has a similar meaning but means literally that her heart wants to stop or stay in this field.

So actually both lines have essentially the same meaning but she is contrasting two opposing verbs. Very tricky lady...