March 14, 2021

Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 41 (Mibu no Tadami)


Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 41

Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)


that I was in love
such rumors soon
were bandied about,
though I believed my nascent feelings
were unknown to anyone

koisu cho
waga na wa madaki
tachi ni keri
hito shirezu koso
omoi someshi ka

恋すてふ
我が名はまだき
立ちにけり
人しれずこそ
思ひそめしか

Mibu no Tadami 壬生忠見 (mid 10th c.)



This poem was matched against that by Kanemori (poem 40) in the Palace Poetry Contest of 960 and lost - an event which even gave rise to the legend that Mibu no Tadami was so shocked that he couldn't eat anymore and died! Happily we know that he still lived for many years more and continued writing poetry. In fact, also this poem is a highly regarded one, as its placement in the imperial collection Shuishu shows. Like the poem with which it was matched, it is a complaint about the gossip that would grow inevitably around an affair which one wanted to keep secret. Why keep a love affair secret? In Heian times the reasons were quite different from what they might be today: the main reason was inequality in rank between the two lovers. The present poem sets up a fine contrast between outer world (society and its rumors) and inner world (the poet's mind at the start of the love affair).

Notes

  • koisu cho: koisu to iu, koi shite iru to iu
  • waga na = ukina, rumor, scandal
  • madaki: hayaku mo, very early
  • tachi ni keri: ni =intensifier; -keri = indicates feeling of surprise
  • hito shirezu koso: dare ni mo shirarenai yo ni; koso adds emphasis
  • omoi someshi ka: some = hajime, omoihajimeta bakari no ni 
  • the word "omoi" in the last line is a pivot-word used firstly in connection with the fourth line, meaning "I thought' (nobody knew)", and also in conjunction with someshi, where it means "I began to be in love" or "my early love."

The Poet

Mibu no Tadami was the son of the writer of waka No. 30, Mibu no Tadamine. He served as Grand Controller of the Province of Settsu, a position of the 6th rank. His poems are included in several imperial poetry anthologies.


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).  

Illustration from Wikipedia

Hyakunin Isshu Index