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| Can be found here |
Kyōgoku Tamekane ( also known as Fujiwara no Tamekane) lived
from 1254 to 1332 A.D. He was the grandson of Fujiwara no Teika and had a very
strong personality. His life was tumultuous and lived a big chunk of his life
in exile.
After the death of his grandfather, there was a split
between his followers. Some considered Teika’s later, more conservative years
to be the ones to emulate. They were known as the Nijō faction.
Kyōgoku Tamekane and his supporters felt that Teika’s earlier,
more rebellious years were superior. In the end, the Nijō faction won out
because of their political connections, and they controlled the content of the
final ten imperial poetic anthologies.
Kyōgoku Tamekane was pushed to the margins, but he never
gave up his belief that he was right. He suffered because of his irascibility
and stubbornness (namely, exile), but his poetry is considered by most later
scholars to be superior to the conservative Nijō faction. He was a sensitive
and emotional man. His poetry reflects his love of natural beauty, and he liked
to couple natural scenes with human sentimentality. His poetry was influential
but not as respected as it should have been due to his refusal to back down to
his more powerful adversaries. Overall, I consider him a kick-ass waka poet.
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| Can be found here |
梅の花紅にほう夕暮れに柳靡きて春雨ぞ降る
京極為兼
Glowing bright crimson,
Those plum blossoms intrigue me.
Bending and yielding,
The willow sways back and forth
In the evening spring showers.
Kyōgoku Tamekane
This poem contains
only natural imagery and he leaves the emotional content to the imagination.
枝にもる朝日の影のすくなさに涼しさふかき竹のおくかな
京極為兼
Drops of dawn sunshine
Leak through branches above,
Yet, only a few.
Such a profound coolness here...
Lost in the bamboo thicket.
Kyōgoku Tamekane
This is one of
those poems that refreshes me, and lets me imagine myself relaxing underneath
bamboo trees.
浪のうへにうつる夕日の影はあれど遠つ小島は色暮れにけり
京極為兼
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| Can be found here |
The waning sunlight
Is reflected in the waves,
There’s a silhouette,
But, that far away island
Has been engulfed in darkness.
Kyōgoku Tamekane
沈みはつる入日のきはにあらはれぬ霞める山のなほ奥の峰
京極為兼
As the evening sun
Sinks ever so slowly,
In the distance
Yet another lonely peak
Appears in the hazy hills.
Kyōgoku Tamekane
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| Can be found here |
さびしさもしばしは思ひ忍べどもなほ松風のうすくれの空
京極為兼
In my loneliness
Sentiments of love appear
Only for a moment,
The pines rustle in the wind
Under the pinkish sky.
Kyōgoku Tamekane
I like this poem
because there is no obvious connection between the two parts. I like how he
combines a natural scene with a fleeting emotion.
