Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 20
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
I feel so miserable,
that it's all the same to me:
floating without a buoy on Naniwa's waves,
even if it costs my name and my life,
I must see you again!
wabinureba
ima hata onaji
Naniwa naru
mi o tsukushite mo
awamu to zo omou
わびぬれば
今はた同じ
難波なる
身をつくしても
逢はむとぞ思ふ
Prince Motoyoshi 元良親王 (890-943)
.jpg)
[A channel marker near Tenpozan, Osaka]
In 929, during the 40th birthday celebrations of his wife the imperial princess Shushi, he asked Ki no Tsurayuki to compose a poem. In 936, he contributed financially to the construction of the central pillar of the Daigoji temple pagoda.
In the Tales of Yamato (Yamato Monogatari, mid-tenth c.) he appears as a suave and famous lover.
In the Gosenshu (951) and other anthologies he has twenty poems.
A passionate love poem that can be read in two ways: "I want to meet you, even if it costs me my life," or "I want to meet you, as it doesn't make a difference anymore - our reputation is anyway ruined!" I have combined them in my translation.
The present poem has an interesting head-note in the Gosenshu: "Sent to the Kyogoku Lady of the Wardrobe after their affair had come out." The lady in question was Fujiwara no Hoshi, daughter of Tokihira, and concubine in the service of Emperor Uda whom she bore three sons. But she also had an affair with Prince Motoyoshi which became public knowledge. To have a relation with one of the wives of the Emperor was a form of sacrilege - as is shown in the Genji, where Genji makes the Emperor's wife Fujitsubo (who was also his stepmother) pregnant with a son, such relations could well break up the "unbroken line" of Imperial succession! Piquantly, one of the wives of Motoyoshi was a daughter of Emperor Uda, demonstrating how near-incestuous relations among Heian aristocrats often were when seen from a modern point of view - again, exactly as is described in the Genji. It was a small world, indeed.
The present poem has an interesting head-note in the Gosenshu: "Sent to the Kyogoku Lady of the Wardrobe after their affair had come out." The lady in question was Fujiwara no Hoshi, daughter of Tokihira, and concubine in the service of Emperor Uda whom she bore three sons. But she also had an affair with Prince Motoyoshi which became public knowledge. To have a relation with one of the wives of the Emperor was a form of sacrilege - as is shown in the Genji, where Genji makes the Emperor's wife Fujitsubo (who was also his stepmother) pregnant with a son, such relations could well break up the "unbroken line" of Imperial succession! Piquantly, one of the wives of Motoyoshi was a daughter of Emperor Uda, demonstrating how near-incestuous relations among Heian aristocrats often were when seen from a modern point of view - again, exactly as is described in the Genji. It was a small world, indeed.
Notes
- wabinureba: "wabu" is "to worry"
- hata: yahari. "it's all the same"
- Naniwa naru: as the name "Naniwa" indicates, we are again at the coast in Osaka.
- miotsukushi: this poem works with a pivot word (kakekotoba): mi wo tsukushite mo means "even if it consumes my body," but also refers to a kind of channel-marker indicating the waterway for boats (miotsukushi).
- awamu to zo omou: -mu indicates intention.
An
important question is what "ima hata onaji," "now
it's (all) the same (to me)," refers to. One interpretation is that it refers to mi wo tsukushite mo:
the poet doesn't mind whether he lives or dies, so great is his
distress. A second interpretation links it to "na" in "Naniwa" (which
then also has to be a pivot word): "na" is "name" in the sense of
"reputation." The whole poem then should be understood as worrying about further damage to their reputation, and
therefore reluctant to meet again. This last interpretation is
the most convincing according to Mostow as it fits in with the
anecdotes about Motoyoshi and the Fujitsubo story in the Genji, and also accords with the pictures and illustrations in later ages based on this poem. P.S. I assume this poem is written in the voice of the man.
The Poet
The poet, Prince Motoyoshi (Motoyoshi Shinno) was the eldest son of Emperor Yozei (poem 13). Born after his father's forced abdication, his mother was the daughter of Fujiwara no Tonaga and his brother (on his mother's side) was Prince Motohira. His wives are the imperial princess Shushi, daughter of Emperor Daigo; the imperial princess Kaishi, daughter of Emperor Uda; and a daughter of the chief of the Jingikan belonging to the Fujiwara clan.In 929, during the 40th birthday celebrations of his wife the imperial princess Shushi, he asked Ki no Tsurayuki to compose a poem. In 936, he contributed financially to the construction of the central pillar of the Daigoji temple pagoda.
In the Tales of Yamato (Yamato Monogatari, mid-tenth c.) he appears as a suave and famous lover.
In the Gosenshu (951) and other anthologies he has twenty poems.
Visiting
There are no places to visit this time, but the channel makers have become the enblem of modern Osaka as shown here:
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); 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).
Illustrations from Wikipedia