Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 39
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
scant cogongrass
in a small field with bamboo
is hidden from view,
why then does it grow so rampant,
my longing for her?
asajifu no
ono no shinohara
shinoburedo
amarite nado ka
hito no koishiki
浅茅生の
小野の篠原
忍ぶれど
あまりてなどか
人の恋しき
Minamoto no Hitoshi 源等 (880-951)
A poem about "unbearable love." The first two lines are a common preface (jo) to the verb shinobu, "to hide," "to avoid being seen," but also "to love secretly." The preface is connected by playing with sound, but also through imagery. There is a nice contrast in meaning between the "scant cogongrass" hidden in a small bamboo field, and "amarite," the overwhelming feelings of love mentioned in the next line. Note the conscious sound repetition. Note that this is not a metaphor, it is a juxtaposition of images (so a looser connection) as is so common in Chinese and Japanese poetry.
This poem and the next two refer to "secret love." The speaker has stealthily fallen in love with a woman, but the affair is still in the early phase, before he has been able to reveal his feelings through an exchange of poems with the object of his affection.
Notes
- asajifu: cogon grass (chigaya, Imperata cylindrica)
- shinohara: field of bamboo
- shinobu: to hide and cover, to avoid being seen
- amarite: too much
- nado ka: why?
- hito: the person with whom the poet is in love
The Poet
Minamoto no Hitoshi (880-951) was the great-grandson of Emperor Saga (r. 809-823). After serving as governor of several provinces, in 947 he was appointed Sangi (Counselor) with Fourth Court Rank. He has only four anthologized poems, all in the Gosenshu.
References: Pictures of the Heart, The Hyakunin Isshu in Word and Image by Joshua S. Mostow (University of Hawai'i Press, 1996); One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each, by Peter MacMIllan (Penguin Classics); 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); Chishiki Zero kara no Hyakunin Isshu, by Ariyoshi Tamotsu (Gentosha); Hyakunin Isshu Kaibo Zukan, by Tani Tomoko (X-Knowledge); 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/illustration from Wikipedia
Hyakunin Isshu Index