Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 38
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
forgotten by him,
I don't think of myself -
an oath he swore on the gods,
so it is for his life
that I am concerned
wasuraruru
mi woba omowazu
chikaiteshi
hito no inochi no
oshiku mo aru kana
忘らるる
身をば思はず
誓ひてし
人の命の
惜しくもあるかな
Ukon 右近 (dates uncertain)
[The poet Ukon, by Kuniyoshi]
The meaning of this poem changes according to the supposed circumstances of writing it. According to a story in the 10th c. Yamato Monogatari (Tales of Yamato, episode 84), the court lady Ukon wrote this sarcastic poem in response to an ex-lover who has suddenly disappeared from her life and without explanation withdrawn from all communication (what today is called "ghosting"). The poem then criticizes the fickle lover's behavior with a touch of humor.
But when it is read as a private expression of grief (doku'ei) it changes into an expression of real concern about the man's safety from the wrath of the gods. This seems to be the interpretation that Hyakunin Isshu compiler Teika followed.
In the first interpretation the woman is strong, jokingly warning her ex-lover for divine vengeance; in the second reading she is weak, almost hypocritically worrying about the fate of her lover after he has left her in the lurch. I of course prefer the first interpretation.
Notes
- wasuraruru: wasurerareru。"-ruru" indicates the passive voice.
- mi wo omowazu: 我 should be added at the beginning of this phrase.
- chikaiten: "chikai" is a solemn pledge invoking a divine witness.
- hito no inochi: "hito" is her lover.
- oshiku mo aru ka na: "(because he broke his oath,) I am worried that his life will be lost by divine punishment."
The Poet
Ukon belonged to the Fujiwara clan and was a lady-in-waiting to Lady Onshi,
consort of Emperor Daigo. Her father was Fujiwara no Suenawa, Ukon no Shosho, "Lesser Captain of the Left Bodyguards" (as was usual in that period, her sobriquet is derived from her father's position). Ukon seems to have been active as a poet for a period of at least 30 years: in 933 she composed a poem for the coming-of-age celebration of Princess Koshi, and in 960, 962 and 966 she took part in poetry contests at court. She exchanged poems with a large number of other poets from the age and was often engaged in liaisons with them (such as Fujiwara no Atsutada, Morosuke, Asatada, and Minamoto no Shitago).
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).
Ukiyo-e from Wikipedia
Hyakunin Isshu Index