Twelve Poems from the Kokin Wakashu
(Collection of Waka, Old and New)
translation: Ad Blankestijn
(Six poems on spring)
Poem 1 (KKS No 2), Ki no Tsurayuki
The frozen water,
that I used to scoop up,
wetting my sleeves -
will the breeze thaw it,
on this first day of spring?
sode hijite
musubishi mizu no
koreru wo
haru tatsu kyo no
kaze ya tokuramu
はるたちける日よめる
袖ひちてむすびし水のこほれるを春立つけふの風やとくらむ
Poem 2 (KKS No 9), Ki no Tsurayuki
When snow falls in spring,
season of hovering haze
and burgeoning buds -
flowers fall in villages
where flowers have yet to bloom
kasumitachi
ko no me mo haru no
yuki fureba
hana naki sato mo
hana zo chirikeru
ゆきのふりけるをよめる
霞たちこのめもはるの雪ふれば花なきさとも花ぞちりける
Poem 3 (KKS No 69), anonymous
Topic unknown
Cherry blossoms
in the mountains where
spring mists trail -
do their fading colors
foretell their fall?
harugasumi
tanabiku yama no
sakurabana
utsurowamu to ya
iro kawariyuku
題しらず
春霞たなびく山のさくら花うつろはむとや色かはりゆく
Poem 4 (KKS No 71), anonymous
Topic unknown
Cherry blossoms:
I admire their falling
without a trace -
things that linger in this world
become hateful in the end
nokori naku
chiru zo medetaki
sakurabana
arite yo no naka
hate no ukereba
題しらず
のこりなくちるぞめでたき桜花ありて世中はてのうければ
Poem 5 (KKS No 72), anonymous
Topic unknown
Tonight I must lodge
here in this village:
confused by falling
cherry blossoms,
I've forgotten my way home
kono sato ni
tabine shinu beshi
sakurabana
chiri no magai ni
ieji wasurete
題しらず
このさとにたびねしぬべしさくら花ちりのまがひにいへぢわすれて
Poem 6 (KKS No 73), anonymous
How like this fleeting
cicada husk world of ours!
Cherry blossoms:
utsusemi no
(Six poems on autumn)
Poem 7 (KKS No 169), Fujiwara Toshiyuki no Ason
That autumn has come
can't be seen clearly
by the eyes,
but suddenly we are struck
by the sound of the wind.
aki kinu to
me ni wa sayaka ni
mienedomo
kaze no oto ni zo
odorokarenuru
秋立つ日よめる
あききぬとめにはさやかに見えねども風のおとにぞおどろかれぬる
Poem 8 (KKS No 223), anonymous
Dew drops on the bush clover -
they would vanish, if plucked
to string them like beads:
best see them as they are,
left on their boughs.
(Some say that this poem was composed by the Nara Emperor.)
hagi no tsuyu
tama ni nukamu to
toreba kenu
yoshi mimu hito wa
eda nagara miyo
題しらず
萩の露玉にぬかむととればけぬよし見む人は枝ながら見よ
ある人のいはく、この哥はならのみかどの御哥なりと
Poems 9 (KKS No 256), anonymous
From the first day
the winds of autumn blew,
the tips of the trees
on the peak of Mount Otowa
have been turning color.
akikaze no
fukinishi hi yori
otowayama
mine no kozue mo
irozukinikeri
いしやまにまうでける時、おとは山のもみぢを見てよめる
秋風のふきにし日よりおとは山峯のこずゑも色づきにけり
Poem 10 (KKS No 257), Toshiyuki no Ason
White dew -
all of a single color:
how then does it dye
the leaves of autumn
a myriad different shades?
shiratsuyu no
iro wa hitotsu wo
ika ni shite
aki no ko no ha wo
chiji ni somuramu
Poem 11 (KKS No 289), anonymous
on the mountain range,
that we may count
aki no tsuki
Poem 12 (KKS No 297), by Ki no Tsurayuki
Composed during a visit to the northern hills to pluck autumn leaves
Deep in the mountains,
with no one to see them,
they have scattered:
red leaves of autumn,
like brocade in the night.
miro hito mo
nakute chirinuru
okuyama no
momiji wa yoru no
nishiki narikeri
北山に紅葉をらむとてまかれりける時によめる
見る人もなくてちりぬるおく山の紅葉はよるのにしきなりけり
[Hon'ami Koetsu - Poem from the Kokin Wakashu]
Kokin Wakashu (Kokinshu, ) is one of the world's earliest and most important poetic anthologies. It consists of over 1,000 poems, almost all of which were probably written between the last half of the eight century and 905-914, the approximate dates of the work's compilation.
The poems of the Kokinshu can be roughly divided into three periods, which also reflect certain broad stylistic differences: anonymous poems of the early to mid-9th century or before; those of the age of the "Six Poetic Geniuses," the mid-9th century; and poems by the editors and their contemporaries, from the late 9th and early 10th centuries. Well over half of the poems are attributed to nearly 130 known poets, mostly of the late 9th century. Of the approximately 450 anonymous poems, many are believed to derive from oral traditions of folk song, though some Heian and medieval commentaries assert, plausibly enough, that the editors deliberately identified as anonymous certain poems by those of the highest social rank, others by persons of very low status, some of those by the compilers themselves, and poems which tended to impinge upon various taboos.
Kokinshu ("Collection from Ancient and Modern Times") the first imperial waka anthology, 20 scrolls, 1,111 poems. Although its compilation was already underway under Emperor Uda (r 887-897), the Kokinshu was officially commissioned under his son Emperor Daigo (r 897-930) and completed about 905-914. Although the compilers wrongly believed that the Manyoshu had also been royally commissioned, the Kokinshu was in fact the first in a series of anthologies of waka poetry compiled by imperial command, the chokusenshu or Nijuichidaishu (Collections of the Twenty-One Eras). Next to being a compiler of such a collection, having one's poems included was the highest poetic honor.
[Kokin Wakashu, Teikabon (Reizeike)]
The compilers of the anthology were four court poets, led by Ki no Tsurayuki (872-945) and also including his cousin Ki no Tomonori (who died before its completion), Oshikochi no Mitsune, and Mibu no Tadamine. Tsurayuki wrote the Japanese preface and Ki no Yoshimochi the Chinese preface. The poems were chosen from 3 groups: (1) anonymous poems from older and more recent times, (2) poems from the period of the "Six Poetic Geniuses" (mid-ninth century), and (3) poems by the compilers and their contemporaries. The "Six Poetic Geniuses," who attained their status by having been discussed in Tsurayuki's foreword, include Bishop Henjo (17 poems), Ariwara no Narahira (30 poems), Fun'ya no Yasuhide (5 poems), Priest Kisen (1 poem), Ono no Komachi (18 poems) and Otomo no Kuronushi (3 poems). The compilers themselves are represented by 244 poems: Tsurayuki with over 100 (the highest number of any poet). Another 6 poets, including Lady Ise and Priest Sosei are represented by 10 or more poems each. Over 120 named poets are represented, among whom 30 women. But the anonymous poems, with a number of 450, form the largest group.
The Kokinshu set the tradition of arranging the poems not by author, but by topic, which was followed by the other 20 imperial collections. Topics were seasonal poems (book 1 to 6), love poems (11-15), congratulatory poems, parting, travel, laments and miscellaneous topics. The proportions make clear that seasonal and love poems were considered the essential topical concerns of lyric poetry.
Within a given topic the poems were also arranged in meaningful sequences: the seasonal poems follow the course of a particular season from beginning to end, and in the same way the course of a love affair is followed through time. The Kokinshu is lively and represents the most creative period of the Japanese court.
[Preface to the Kokin Wakashu, Okura Shukokan]
Notes
Poem 1
The poems on spring, summer, autumn and winter follow the progress of each season, from blossoming flowers to fallen petals. What is more, anticipation is also important - sooner than expected we see sings of spring or autumn. Ki no Tsurayuki (872-945) was one of the compilers of the Kokinshu and the greatest poet and poetry critic of his age.
Poem 2
It was a common conceit to confuse late snow in the mountains with early cherry blossoms.
Poem 3
When the cherry blossoms are at their fullest, signs of their impending fall already appear. When Yang is at its top, Yin appears.
Poem 4
In this fleeting world, things which last too long, become unnatural.
Poem 5
Befuddled by blossoms, the poet has lost his way.
Poem 6
The image of the discarded shell of a cicada was a common conceit symbolizing the unsubstantiality and emptiness of the human world.
A poem about the anticipation of autumn, which is heard in the wind.
Poem 8
The bush clover (hagi) is a distinctive autumn flower. The metaphor (mitate) of dew drops as evanescent jewels is a familiar one.
Poem 9
The first poem on autumn leaves. Mt. Otowa lies at the border of Otsu (Shiga prefecture) and Yamashina (Kyoto Prefecture). Its height is 593m. In Heian times it was a popular pillow word. The Ishiyama temple is located on the Otsu side of Mt Otawa.
Poem 10
It was believed that dew drops were the cause of the coloration of leaves. This leads to the question how "white dew" can lead to so many autumn colors, as red, yellow and rust.
Poem 11
A rhetorical question. Moonlight intensifies our perception of the falling of leaves and thus of the passage of the season towards winter.
Poem 12
"Wearing brocades by night" was a proverbial expression for something done to no effect, but when I read this poem, I see a beautiful image of the red leaves glittering in the darkness.
Original texts and translations:
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)
Japanese Text Initiative (tr. Lewis Cook)
Photos
Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons