Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 15
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
for your sake
I went into the springtime fields
to pick young greens
while on my robe-sleeves
the snow kept falling
kimi ga tame
haru no no ni idete
wakana tsumu
waga koromode ni
yuki wa furitsutsu
Emperor Koko 光孝天皇 (830-887, r. 884-887)
Notes
The poet, Emperor Koko, was the third son of Emperor Ninmyo and placed on the throne at the age of 55 by the Fujiwara regent Mototsune to replace Emperor Yozei (see Poem 13). It was in his reign that the politically powerful system of the Fujiwara regency was instituted. He has 14 poems in imperial anthologies.
haru no no ni idete
wakana tsumu
waga koromode ni
yuki wa furitsutsu
| 君がため 春の野に出でて 若菜つむ わが衣手に 雪はふりつつ |
[Fields in early spring at the foot of Mt Nijo, Nara]
The Kokinshu includes a head note for this poem, stating that it
"was sent together with young greens to someone when the emperor was
still a prince." The addressee is unknown. Sending such greens formed a
wish for good luck and longevity to the receiver in the new year. This is a very straightforward poem that poses no difficulties.
Picking young greens in the fields and eating these was a romantic custom of the palace that formed part of the New Year festivities. It was considered to guarantee good health in the new year and is the predecessor of the modern custom the eat Seven Herb Porridge (nanakusa-gayu) on January 7. In the modern case, small amounts of seven different herbs are added to the porridge and these may well have been similar to the greens picked in the Heian period: nazuna or shepherd's purse, hakobe or chickweed, seri or water dropworth, gogyo or cudweed, hotokenoza or henbit, suzuna or turnip and daikon or white radish. See my post about Nanakusa gayu at this blog: https://adblankestijn.blogspot.com/2017/01/nanakusa-or-seven-herb-festival.html
Picking young greens in the fields and eating these was a romantic custom of the palace that formed part of the New Year festivities. It was considered to guarantee good health in the new year and is the predecessor of the modern custom the eat Seven Herb Porridge (nanakusa-gayu) on January 7. In the modern case, small amounts of seven different herbs are added to the porridge and these may well have been similar to the greens picked in the Heian period: nazuna or shepherd's purse, hakobe or chickweed, seri or water dropworth, gogyo or cudweed, hotokenoza or henbit, suzuna or turnip and daikon or white radish. See my post about Nanakusa gayu at this blog: https://adblankestijn.blogspot.com/2017/01/nanakusa-or-seven-herb-festival.html
[The modern Nanakusa herbs]
Notes
- kimi ga tame: normally this would mean "for the sake of my lord (kimi)," but here it points at the beloved of the author, "for your sake."
- wakana: young greens
- koromode: sode, sleeves of the robe
The Poet
The poet, Emperor Koko, was the third son of Emperor Ninmyo and placed on the throne at the age of 55 by the Fujiwara regent Mototsune to replace Emperor Yozei (see Poem 13). It was in his reign that the politically powerful system of the Fujiwara regency was instituted. He has 14 poems in imperial anthologies. 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 (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).
Photos my own work.