Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 28
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
in the mountain village,
it is in winter
that my loneliness increases most,
when I think how both have dried up.
people's visits and grasses
yamazato wa
fuyu zo sabishisa
masarikeru
hitome mo kusa mo
karenu to omoeba
fuyu zo sabishisa
masarikeru
hitome mo kusa mo
karenu to omoeba
山里は
冬ぞさびしさ
まさりける
人めも草も
かれぬとおもへば
冬ぞさびしさ
まさりける
人めも草も
かれぬとおもへば
Minamoto no Muneyuki 源宗于 (d. 939)
[Wintry fields near Kameoka, north of Kyoto]
This is a very clear and straightforward poem. What makes the poem more interesting is what Mostow mentions about the setting in its time. He says that it functions in an elegant debate about which season is sadder, autumn or winter. Muneyuki's poem is then written in response to the assumption that autumn is saddest, as he argues for winter. Another point is that in Muneyuki's time mountain villages were regarded as desolate places, but in Teika's time they had become places to appreciate nature (Mostow 226).
The courtier Lord (Ason) Minamoto no Muneyuki was a grandson of Emperor Koko (Poem 15). He had a rather checkered official career. When, according the Yamato Monogatari, he once complained to Emperor Uda about his lack of promotion via a deft poem, the Emperor said he didn't understand the meaning of the poem, and Muneyuki had no success. He participated in several important waka contests and has 15 poems in various imperial anthologies, of which six in the Kokinshu.
This is a very clear and straightforward poem. What makes the poem more interesting is what Mostow mentions about the setting in its time. He says that it functions in an elegant debate about which season is sadder, autumn or winter. Muneyuki's poem is then written in response to the assumption that autumn is saddest, as he argues for winter. Another point is that in Muneyuki's time mountain villages were regarded as desolate places, but in Teika's time they had become places to appreciate nature (Mostow 226).
Notes
- yamazato wa: after "wa" one has to think "also in other seasons...(it is lonely in mountain villages, but especially in winter"
- masaru: to grow, to increase. "-keru" indicates an unavoidable situation.
- hitome: "people's visits"
- karenu to: "kare" is a pun on "to be isolated" and "to wither."
The poet
The courtier Lord (Ason) Minamoto no Muneyuki was a grandson of Emperor Koko (Poem 15). He had a rather checkered official career. When, according the Yamato Monogatari, he once complained to Emperor Uda about his lack of promotion via a deft poem, the Emperor said he didn't understand the meaning of the poem, and Muneyuki had no success. He participated in several important waka contests and has 15 poems in various imperial anthologies, of which six in the Kokinshu. 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).
Photo my own work.