Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 5
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
when I hear the voice
of a crying stag
stepping through red leaves
deep in the mountains:
then I feel the desolation of autumnokuyama ni
momiji fumiwake
naku shika no
koe kiku toki zo
aki wa kanashiki
奥山に
紅葉ふみわけ
鳴く鹿の
声きく時ぞ
秋は悲しき
Sarumaru 猿丸 (late 9th c.?)
This poem presents a combination (kumiawase) of two natural images of the autumnal season: maple leaves (momiji) and deer (shika). It is a straightforward poem, without any kakekotoba etc., but there are nevertheless some difficulties in interpretation. The first point is: who is stepping through the autumn leaves? Modern commentators of the poem take this to be the poet, and that also seems to be the meaning in the Shinsen Manyoshu (and Kokinshu) in which it is first collected, but the traditional interpretation (also of Teika) is that it is the deer - and that is the one I have followed in my translation.
The second point is: what type of autumn leaves? As Mostow remarks, in another edition of this poem, "momiji" is written with characters that mean "yellow leaves" rather than "scarlet leaves," so originally the yellow leaves of the bush clover may have been meant. But in the medieval and early modern period, it was believed to be set in late autumn and the momiji to refer to fallen (red) maple leaves.
It should be noted that the view that autumn is a season of sadness is a typical view of city dwellers. For peasants it is a season of harvest and gladness; one has to live at a remove from the agricultural cycle to be able to see autumn as a season of decay and so as a symbol of the transitoriness of human existence.
There are 18 poems containing names of plants and trees in the Hyakunin Isshu. 6 about momiji (red autumn leaves, poems 5, 17, 24, 26, 32 and 69); 6 about cherry blossoms (poems 9, 33, 61, 66, 73 and 96); 2 about pine trees (16 and 34); and one each about juniper (maki, 87), oak (nara, 98), chrysanthemums (29) and plum blossoms (35). Momiji are often compared to rich brocade. The interest in cherry blossoms is new since the Kokinshu, before that plum blossoms were more popular.
Talking about the seasons, the Hyakunin Isshu contains (among 32 seasonal poems) 16 poems about autumn (by far the most popular season for poets), 6 about spring, 6 about winter and 4 about summer. However, the category love poems without specific season is largest: 43 poems. Besides that, we have 20 mixed poems, four poems about travel and one about parting.
The second point is: what type of autumn leaves? As Mostow remarks, in another edition of this poem, "momiji" is written with characters that mean "yellow leaves" rather than "scarlet leaves," so originally the yellow leaves of the bush clover may have been meant. But in the medieval and early modern period, it was believed to be set in late autumn and the momiji to refer to fallen (red) maple leaves.
It should be noted that the view that autumn is a season of sadness is a typical view of city dwellers. For peasants it is a season of harvest and gladness; one has to live at a remove from the agricultural cycle to be able to see autumn as a season of decay and so as a symbol of the transitoriness of human existence.
There are 18 poems containing names of plants and trees in the Hyakunin Isshu. 6 about momiji (red autumn leaves, poems 5, 17, 24, 26, 32 and 69); 6 about cherry blossoms (poems 9, 33, 61, 66, 73 and 96); 2 about pine trees (16 and 34); and one each about juniper (maki, 87), oak (nara, 98), chrysanthemums (29) and plum blossoms (35). Momiji are often compared to rich brocade. The interest in cherry blossoms is new since the Kokinshu, before that plum blossoms were more popular.
Talking about the seasons, the Hyakunin Isshu contains (among 32 seasonal poems) 16 poems about autumn (by far the most popular season for poets), 6 about spring, 6 about winter and 4 about summer. However, the category love poems without specific season is largest: 43 poems. Besides that, we have 20 mixed poems, four poems about travel and one about parting.
Notes
- zo is an intensifier.
- The situation of the deer crying for his mate as a symbol for the poet calling for his beloved occurs often in poetry since the Manyoshu.
The Poet
About the poet, Sarumaru Dayu (Dayu is an official title, "Senior Assistant Minister") nothing further is known and he is probably a fantasy figure. Some believe him to have been the son of Prince Yamashiro (who was the son of Prince Shotoku) but there is nothing to substantiate this, and there are also other hypotheses, which are just as unfounded. Philosopher Umehara Takeshi has speculated that Sarumaru and Hitomaro were the same person, but that is just another wild idea without basis. Significant is that the present poem is included in the Kokinshu as an anonymous poem. Also, no other poems have been ascribed to Sarumaru. From the headnote in the Kokinshu we know that this poem in fact was written "at the poetry contest at Prince Koresada's house," which puts it in the late 9th c. At that poetry contest many conventions of what became the "Kokinshu-style" were established.
[Sarumaru Shrine]
Visiting
Despite Sarumaru's unreality, he, too, has a shrine to his name: Sarumaru Jinja in Ujitawaracho (in Uji near Kyoto). The origins of this small, hidden shrine are unknown - it was probably set up by literary admirers of Sarumaru, at a not too long ago time. The shrine is usually closed and stands far away in a lonely forest; it only comes to life on its monthly festival day (the 13th), and especially when it has its matsuri on April 13 and September 13. On these days a temporary Keihan bus runs from Keihan Uji Station to Ichu-mae bus stop (Google maps).
The most famous deer in Japan are those in Nara Park near Todaiji temple and the Kasuga shrine (deer are also the messengers of the Kasuga deity). The deer roam free and are so much used to tourists that they can be quite aggressive, for example as snatching handbags away. The best way to see them is during the Deer-Antler-Cutting Ceremony, held around the 2nd Week in October, in Rokuen near the Kasuga Shrine. See the Visit Nara website.
The most famous deer in Japan are those in Nara Park near Todaiji temple and the Kasuga shrine (deer are also the messengers of the Kasuga deity). The deer roam free and are so much used to tourists that they can be quite aggressive, for example as snatching handbags away. The best way to see them is during the Deer-Antler-Cutting Ceremony, held around the 2nd Week in October, in Rokuen near the Kasuga Shrine. See the Visit Nara website.
References: Pictures of the Heart, The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image by Joshua S. Mostow (University of Hawai'i Press, 1996); One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each, by Peter MacMIllan (Penguin Classics); Traditional Japanese Poetry, An Anthology, by Steven D. Carter (Stanford University Press, 1991); Hyakunin Isshu by Inoue Muneo, etc. (Shinchosha, 1990); Genshoku Hyakunin Isshu by Suzuki Hideo, etc. (Buneido, 1997); Chishiki Zero kara no Hyakunin Isshu, by Ariyoshi Tamotsu (Gentosha); Hyakunin Isshu Kaibo Zukan, by Tani Tomoko (X-Knowledge); Ogura Hyakunin Isshu at Japanese Text Initiative (University of Virginia Library Etext Center); Hyakunin Isshu wo aruku by Shimaoka Shin (Kofusha Shuppan); Hyakunin Isshu, Ocho waka kara chusei waka e by Inoue Muneo (Chikuma Shoin, 2004); Basho's Haiku (2 vols) by Toshiharu Oseko (Maruzen, 1990); The Ise Stories by Joshua S. Mostow and Royall Tyler (University of Hawai'i Press, 2010); Kokin Wakashu, The First Imperial Anthology of Japanese Poetry by Helen Craig McCullough (Stanford University Press, 1985); Kokinshu, A Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern by Laurel Rasplica Rodd and Mary Catherine Henkenius (University of Tokyo Press, 1984); Kokin Wakashu (Shogakkan, 1994); Shinkokin Wakashu (Shogakkan, 1995); Taketori Monogatari-Ise Monogatari-Yamato Monogatari-Heichu Monogatari (Shogakkan, 1994).
Photo at the top of the page is my own.
Sarumaru Shrine: Wikimedia Commons