Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 8
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
my simple hermitage
stands southeast of the capital
and this is how I live -
it seems that people call this
"Uji, Hill of World-weariness"
waga iho wa
miyako no tatsumi
shika zo sumu
yo wo Ujiyama to
hito wa iunari
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
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
Kisen 喜撰 (early 9th c.)
[Scenery in Uji]
A contented life as hermit in Uji. ”My cottage stands (in Uji) to the southeast of the capital (Heiankyo), and I spend my days tranquilly. Nevertheless, people think I live here because the world is irksome to me."
Notes
The Poet
[Manpukuji]
[Ujigami Jinja]
Uji is connected to Kyoto by frequent trains along the Keihan (leaving from Sanjo and Shijo in the center of Kyoto) and JR Nara lines (leaving from Kyoto Station). Both lines take about half an hour, Keihan to Keihan Uji Station (note that you have to transfer in Chushojima to the Keihan Uji line), and the JR line directly to JR Uji. Both stations are convenient for Byodoin, about 10 min on foot. JR Uji Station lies south of Uji River, while Keihan Uji Station is across Uji Bridge to the north of the river. Keihan UJi is more convenient for the Ujigami Shrine and the Genji Museum. The Uji Keihan line is the only option for Manpukuji, which stands just next to Obaku Station on that line. In addition, Mimurotoji (another well-known temple) is a 15 min walk from Keihan Mimuroto Station.
[Uji River]
A contented life as hermit in Uji. ”My cottage stands (in Uji) to the southeast of the capital (Heiankyo), and I spend my days tranquilly. Nevertheless, people think I live here because the world is irksome to me."
Notes
- tatsumi: southeast
- shika zo: the same as shikari, "so, like this". However, it is ambiguous what that refers to - the general interpretation is, that it refers to his life as a hermit, and that it therefore must mean something like "tranquilly, peacefully."
- Thanks to the use of an intricate kakekotoba (pivot word), this poem is almost impossible to translate. In the last two lines ("yo wo Ujiyama to / hito wa iu nari") in fact two different sentences have been overlaid, playing with the fact that the "u" in the name Uji (or Ujiyama, Mt Uji) can also mean "irksome." So the poet says "yo wo u," "the world is irksome," and at the same time "Ujiyama to hito wa iu nari," "it seems people call it Ujiyama." So: "people say that I, finding the world irksome, live in Ujiyama."
By the way, with this poem we leave the Asuka and Nara periods (of which 7 poems have been included) and enter the early Heian period, which is usually dated from 794 to about 900 (poems 8 to 25).
Uji
Uji is a place name and utamakura that is often used in waka poetry. "Uji" can also be read as "ushi" (in early poetry no kana vocalization markers were used) and ushi means "sad," or "sorrowful." Both the Uji River and Uji Mountain were associated with gloom, as many now famous scenic spots were in the past, as they were more lonely and distant than at present. The meaning of the poem, however, is contrary to that: the poet says that he lives contentedly in his hermitage in Uji, southeast of Kyoto. People of the world (or worldly people) may think that he leads a life of bitterness and difficulty, without the amenities of the capital, but on the contrary, to him life in the world is full of bitterness.
Uji is a place name and utamakura that is often used in waka poetry. "Uji" can also be read as "ushi" (in early poetry no kana vocalization markers were used) and ushi means "sad," or "sorrowful." Both the Uji River and Uji Mountain were associated with gloom, as many now famous scenic spots were in the past, as they were more lonely and distant than at present. The meaning of the poem, however, is contrary to that: the poet says that he lives contentedly in his hermitage in Uji, southeast of Kyoto. People of the world (or worldly people) may think that he leads a life of bitterness and difficulty, without the amenities of the capital, but on the contrary, to him life in the world is full of bitterness.
The Poet
Master of the Law (Hoshi) Kisen is a legendary figure, just like Sarumaru of Poem 5 and Semimaru of poem 10. Although his name is mentioned in the preface to the Kokinshu (Ki no Tsurayuki, the compiler, choose him as one of the Six Poetic Geniuses, Rokkasen), only this one poem is attributed to him and nothing is known about his life - but that fits a hermit, of course.
[Byodoin, Uji, Kyoto Pref.]
Visiting
For modern eyes, Uji (a city in southern Kyoto Prefecture) boasts a striking natural setting, with attractions as the scenic Uji riverside, but also several famous temples, as Byodoin with its Phoenix Hall built in 1053 and its wonderful Amida statue, or Manpukuji, the head temple of the Obaku Zen sect built in Chinese Ming style in 1661.
For modern eyes, Uji (a city in southern Kyoto Prefecture) boasts a striking natural setting, with attractions as the scenic Uji riverside, but also several famous temples, as Byodoin with its Phoenix Hall built in 1053 and its wonderful Amida statue, or Manpukuji, the head temple of the Obaku Zen sect built in Chinese Ming style in 1661.
[Manpukuji]
Famous is also
the Ujigami Shrine built in 1060. The last ten chapters of the classical
novel The Tale of Genji have been situated in Uji as well and that has led to the establishment of the very pleasant Tale of Genji Museum (in line with the negative view of Uji, this final part of The Tale of Genji is particularly gloomy and dramatic).
And, finally, Uji is famous for its green tea ("Uji cha") - you'll find many shops selling tea along the road leading to the gate of Byodoin.
And, finally, Uji is famous for its green tea ("Uji cha") - you'll find many shops selling tea along the road leading to the gate of Byodoin.
[Ujigami Jinja]
[Uji River]
References: Pictures of the Heart, The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image by Joshua S. Mostow (University of Hawai'i Press, 1996); 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); Ogura Hyakunin Isshu at Japanese Text Initiative (University of Virginia Library Etext Center); Hyakunin Isshu wo aruku by Shimaoka Shin (Kofusha Shuppan); 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 (Staford 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).
The photos in this article are my own work. Illustration of Kisen from Wikipedia.