Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 30
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
since that parting,
with its cold and harsh
early morning moon,
nothing so depressing
as the breaking light of day
ariake no
tsurenaku mieshi
wakare yori
akatsuki bakari
uki mono wa nashi
有明の
つれなくみえし
別れより
暁ばかり
うきものはなし
Mibu no Tadamine 壬生忠岑 (active 898–920)
There are two different interpretations possible of this poem. Most medieval commentaries imagine the setting as a disappointed lover returning home after trying unsuccessfully to have his lady receive him during the night (remember that in Heian Japan the women stayed at home and the men were supposed to visit them). Therefore the cold moon is compared to the equally cold lady.
However, the Hyakunin Isshu compiler Teika seems to have followed a happier interpretation. He reads the poem as a "morning-after" poem sent by a still unsatisfied lover after dawn has forced him to leave the side of his lady.
Notes
- ariake: the waning moon, in particular the late-rising moon of the latter half of the lunar month which is still visible in the sky in the early morning, and which looks particularly cold.
- tsurenaku mieshi: to seem heartless and unconcerned
- wakare yori: separation on "the morning after"
- akatsuki bakari: as much as dawn
- ukimono wa nashi: "nothing so depressing"
[Mibu no Tadamine by Kano Yasunobu, 1648]
The poet
Mibu no Tadamine was one of the compilers of the Kokinshu. His son Mibu no Tadami was also a distinguished poet (poem 41). Mibu no Tadamine was a strong contender in early poetry matches (uta-awase); 35 of his poems have been preserved in the Kokinshu and 50 more in other imperial anthologies. A poetic treatise, Tadamine Jittei, is also extant, but of dubious authenticity.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.
Hyakunin Isshu Index