Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 22
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
as soon as it blows
autumn grasses and shrubs
whither - this must indeed be
why the mountain wind
is called "the wrecker"
fuku kara ni
aki no kusaki no
shiorureba
mube yamakaze wo
arashi to iuramu
吹くからに
秋の草木の
しをるれば
むべ山風を
あらしといふらむ
秋の草木の
しをるれば
むべ山風を
あらしといふらむ
Fun'ya no Yasuhide 文屋康秀 (? - 885)
[Grasses of autumn]
This is a rather artificial poem, written at a poetry contest ("at Prince Koresada's Residence"), playing upon the fact that the kanji for "arashi" 嵐 (storm) is written by combining two other kanji, that for "mountain" written above that for "wind."
Various kanji and word games were popular in Chinese poetry of the Six Dynasties period (220-589), and became known in Japan through the authoritative anthology of Chinese literature, the Wenxuan ("Selections of Refined Literature," ca. 530, Monzen in Japanese), which was required reading for the Japanese aristocracy of the Heian period. By the time of the compiler of the Hyakunin Isshu, however, such playful poetry had completely lost favor and a greater seriousness was expected from poets, so probably on purpose in the Hyakunin Isshu version of this poem the word "arashi" is not written in kanji, but in hiragana script, and moreover, Fujiwara no Teika interpreted "arashi" as the noun of the verb "arasu," "to wreck, to ravage." In that way, a poem that originally was based on a rebus-like ideograph play, was transformed into a lament about the desolate feeling of weather-beaten autumn fields. My translation follows this second meaning.
Various kanji and word games were popular in Chinese poetry of the Six Dynasties period (220-589), and became known in Japan through the authoritative anthology of Chinese literature, the Wenxuan ("Selections of Refined Literature," ca. 530, Monzen in Japanese), which was required reading for the Japanese aristocracy of the Heian period. By the time of the compiler of the Hyakunin Isshu, however, such playful poetry had completely lost favor and a greater seriousness was expected from poets, so probably on purpose in the Hyakunin Isshu version of this poem the word "arashi" is not written in kanji, but in hiragana script, and moreover, Fujiwara no Teika interpreted "arashi" as the noun of the verb "arasu," "to wreck, to ravage." In that way, a poem that originally was based on a rebus-like ideograph play, was transformed into a lament about the desolate feeling of weather-beaten autumn fields. My translation follows this second meaning.
Notes
- kara ni: as soon as, immediately
- shiorureba: from shioru, to wilt, to whither
- mube: truly, indeed
- yamakaze: wind blowing down from the mountains
- arasu: to ruin, to devastate
[Fun'ya no Yasuhide]
The poet
Only 6 poems by Fun'ya no Yasuhide have been transmitted to us. He lived around the same time as Narihira (poem 17) and legends have it that he was involved in a relationship with Ono no Komachi (poem 9) - in reality, nothing is known about his life. The preface to the Kokinshu criticizes his word games as "Yasuhide used words skillfully, but his words do not match the content. His poetry is like a merchant dressed up in elegant clothes."Visiting
Arashiyama is of course the famous scenic area along the Hozu River west of Kyoto, which since the Heian period has attracted princes and poets. It is a place of verdant lanes and bamboo groves, hoary temples, and country retreats. The mountain that rises above the south bank of the Hozu river literally is called "Storm Mountain," but it is beautiful to see in all seasons, despite its name!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).
Photos from Wikipedia