Ten Tanka from "Tangled Hair"
Yosano Akiko
translated by Ad Blankestijn
(1)
that girl, now twenty,
her black hair
flowing through her comb,
takes pride in the beauty
of her springtime
sono ko hatachi | kushini nagaruru | kurokami no | ogori no haru no | utsukushiki kana
その子二十 | 櫛にながるる | 黒髪の | おごりの春の | うつくしきかな
(2)
fresh from my hot bath
I dress before
the tall mirror
smiling at my own body
as I do every day of my life
yuagari no | mijimai narite | sugatami ni | emishi kino no | naki ni shi mo arazu
ゆあがりの | みじまひなりて | 姿見に| 笑みし昨日の | 無きにしもあらず
(3)
pressing my breasts
I softly kick open
the Gate of Mystery
how deep the crimson
of the flower here
chibusa osae | shinpi no tobari | sotokerinu | kokonaru hana no | benizo koki
乳ぶさおさへ | 神秘のとばり | そとけりぬ | ここなる花の | 紅ぞ濃き
(4)
this hot tide of blood
beneath soft skin
you have yet to touch -
are you not lonely,
you who preach the Way?
yawahada no | atsuki chishio ni | furemomide | sabishikarazuya | michiwo toku kimi
やは肌の | あつき血汐に | ふれも見で | さびしからずや | 道を説く君
(5)
spring is short,
nothing has eternal life -
with these words
I made his hands seek out
my strong breasts
haru mijikashi | nani ni fumetsu no | inochi zoto | chikaraaru chichi wo | te ni sagurasenu
春みじかし | 何に不滅の | 命ぞと | ちからある乳を | 手にさぐらせぬ
(6)
the clear water of love
flowing from my breast
has finally become muddy
you a sinner
I a sinner
mune no shimizu | afurete tsui ni | nigorikeri | kimi mo tsumi no ko | ware mo tsumi no ko
むねの清水 | あふれてつひに | 濁りけり | 君も罪の子 | 我も罪の子
(7)
after my bath
at the hot spring
they feel rough
to my soft skin
these clothes of the human world
yuami shite | izumi wo ideshi | yawahada ni | fururu wa tsuraki | hito no yo no kinu
ゆあみして | 泉を出でし | やははだに | ふるるはつらき | 人の世のきぬ
(8)
a thousand lines of hair
of black hair
of tangled hair
the more I love
the more my love gets tangled
kurokami no | sen suji no kami no | midaregami | katsu omoimidare | omoimidaruru
くろ髪の | 千すじの髪の | みだれ髪 | かつおもひみだれ | おもひみだるる
(9)
hair tangled by my late rising -
shall I smooth it
with spring rain
dripping from the wings
of swallows?
tsubakura no | hane ni shitataru | harusame wo | ukete nademu ka | waga asanegami
つばくらの | 羽にしたたる | 春雨を | うけて なでむか | わが朝寝髪
(10)
strolling past Gion
on the way to Kiyomizu:
cherry blossoms in moonlight -
every person I meet tonight
is beautiful to gaze on
Kiyomizu e | Gion wo yogiru | sakurazukiyo | koyoi au hito | mina utsukushiki
清水へ | 祇園をよぎる | 桜月夜 | こよひ逢ふ人 | みなうつくしき
In September 1895, Yosano Akiko published her first poem, a tanka, in Bungei Kurabu (Literary Club), a Tokyo magazine. In August 1900, this publication led to a meeting with the famous poet Yosano Tekkan (1873-1935), the leader of the Romantic movement in Japanese poetry. Although he was a married man, his marriage was about to break up and soon love was born between him and the young poet. In June 1901, Akiko started to live with him in Tokyo, after which they married in September of the same year.
From then on Akiko published her work in Myojo (Morning Star), her husband's well-known monthly poetry magazine. She also took over part of the editorial tasks.
Her first collection of poems, Midaregami (Tangled Hair), containing some 400 poems, was published in 1901. This bundle is a swirling expression of uninhibited sensuality; a daring project for a man at the time, let alone a young woman! Midaregami (Tangled Hairs), was a hymn of praise to the love and early,
fierce emotions of youth. The descriptions in the poems were,
certainly at that time, experienced as very erotic. They caused a storm
of protest and a veritable scandal because of their unbridled expression
of female sexuality. This ran counter to the Confucianism of the Meiji period which tried to suppress and hide sexuality. The book was not
well received by the critics (who complained it was "as if a precocious girl speaks
unashamedly about adult matters"), but the public thought differently and the unabashed expressions became the strength of Midaregami as well as the basis for the immense
success of the collection.
The work stood at the beginning of a rich legacy: more than 20 collections of poetry and several acclaimed translations from classical Japanese, including a widely used translation into modern Japanese of the Genji Monogatari (The Tale of Genji).
Yosano Akiko is particularly credited for her contributions to
Japan's first feminist creative writing magazine, Seito (Blue Stocking).
She became a strong advocate for women's education but despite her
commitment and feminist vision, she never became a radical political
activist.
In
1911 the Yosanos went on a study trip to France. In Western Europe,
numerous encounters with well-known writers and artists followed, which
opened their eyes. Akiko in particular returned with a changed view of
the social problems during the Taisho period in Japan, especially with
regard to the position of women.
In
1921 she became dean and professor at Bunka Gakuin (Cultural
Institute), a free co-educational school which she founded with her
husband.
Just as Yosano Akiko's popularity took off, her husband's star began to wane. Thanks to the sale of her books, they were able to make both ends meet - even though Akiko became the mother of eleven children.
[Yosano Akiko]
Other translations and studies:
Beichman, Janine. Embracing the Firebird: Yosano Akiko and the Birth of the Female Voice in Modern Japanese Poetry. Honolulu (Hawaï), University of Hawai'i Press, 2002.
Yosano, Akiko. Tangled Hair: Selected Tanka from 'Midaregami' by Akiko Yosano. Goldstein, Sanford en Shinoda, Seishi (vert.). Boston, Cheng & Tsui Company. 2002.
Tsuchiya Dollase, Hiromi (Fall 2005). "Awakening Female Sexuality in Yosano Akiko's Midaregami". Simply Haiku.
Emmerich, Michael (13 August 2013). The Tale of Genji: Translation, Canonization, and World Literature. Columbia University Press.
Rowley, G.G. (2000). Yosano Akiko and The Tale of Genji (Michigan U.P.).
Photos: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Japanese Poetry Index