Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 57
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
while I was still wondering
whether or not I had
seen it by chance,
it hid in the clouds,
the face of the midnight moon!
meguri aite
mishi ya sore to mo
wakanu ma ni
kumo-gakure ni shi
yowa no tsuki kana
めぐりあひて
見しやそれとも
わかぬ間に
雲がくれにし
夜半の月かな
whether or not I had
seen it by chance,
it hid in the clouds,
the face of the midnight moon!
meguri aite
mishi ya sore to mo
wakanu ma ni
kumo-gakure ni shi
yowa no tsuki kana
めぐりあひて
見しやそれとも
わかぬ間に
雲がくれにし
夜半の月かな
Murasaki Shikibu 紫式部 (fl. 996-1010)
[Murasaki Shikibu as imagined by Yoshitoshi]
The
head note in The Collected Poems of Murasaki Shikibu mentions that the poet met someone she had known long ago as a child, but the moment was so brief that she hardly recognized the person in question. In other words, this poem is ostensibly about the moon, but in fact is directed to a childhood friend, whom the poet had not seen for a long time, and who only called for a (too) short visit.
The Shin Kokinshu identifies the time as the Seventh Month, the time when the moon rises early and has set by midnight. Note that the ukiyo-e used above and below for illustrating this poem, both include the moon.
The Shin Kokinshu identifies the time as the Seventh Month, the time when the moon rises early and has set by midnight. Note that the ukiyo-e used above and below for illustrating this poem, both include the moon.
Notes
- meguriai: to meet by chance, but here also an engo for the moon "going around."
- mishi ya sore tomo: "mita no ga tashika ni sore ga do ka mo", "whether I had really seen it"
- kumo-kakure ni shi: "kumo-kakure" is an engo for the moon. "ni" expresses completion, "shi" the past. "that the moon had hidden itself in the clouds" = "that my acquaintance had returned home".
- yahan: in the night, midnight
- tsuki kana: all other editions except the Hyakunin Isshu have "tsukikage" (moonlight).
This poem can be interpreted in several ways. Most readers follow the head note and take the friend to be a woman, whom the poet is comparing to the moon. Others, however, take the person to be a male lover. As the Japanese speaks only about the moon, and doesn't use any gender indications, both are possible; however, it is more probably that the poem is addressed to an old girlfriend with whom the poet had hoped to have a long and good talk.
[Murasaki Shikibu at Ishiyamadera, by Hiroshige]
The Poet
Murasaki Shikibu doesn't need any further introduction, as she is famous as being the author of The Tale of Genji. She was Lady-in-Waiting to Shoshi, consort of Emperor Ichijo. She also left a diary (covering the years 1008-1010) and a private collection of her poems. See my introduction to The Tale of Genji for more information.
[Life-size doll representing Musasaki Shikibu
writing the Genji Monogatari in Ishiyamadera]
Visiting
Four locations are generally associated with Murasaki Shikibu:
- Ishiyamadera Temple in Otsu. According to legend, Lady Murasaki apparently came up with the idea for The Tale of
Genji while gazing at the full
moon from Ishiyamadera (the time is even mentioned as August 1004!), and wrote parts of the novel while
staying at this temple. The
room that Murasaki purportedly used still is shown today, with a life-sized doll acting as Murasaki. In the pleasant park at the back of the temple
(famous for its many flowers as plum and cherry blossoms), visitors will
also find a statue of Murasaki. Unfortunately, there is no historical
foundation for a special link between Murasaki and Ishiyamadera - except
that she visited here, like so many aristocratic Heian-ladies did, and
that it appears in the chapter "At the Pass" of the Genji.
Ishiyama temple is a 10 min walk from Ishiyamadera St on the Ishiyama-Sakamoto Keihan Line. When coming from central Kyoto, from Sanjo Keihan take the subway Tozai line bound for Biwako-Hamaotsu; in Biwako-Hamaotsu transfer to the Keihan Ishiyama-Sakamoto line for Ishiyamadera (the last station on the line). - Rozanji Temple in Kyoto. This temple is said to stand on the site of Lady Murasaki's villa, but historically speaking, the link is just as flimsy as that of Ishiyamadera. The temple's main hall is a Shinden-style hall brought from the Sento Gosho palace. The most interesting thing about Rozanji is the handsome garden, which was recently built in memory of Murasaki Shikibu. There is also a monument inscribed with the above poem.
Rozanji stands on the east side of Kyoto Gosho. 9:00-16:00, closed Jan 1, Jan 2, Feb 1 to 9, Dec 31. The temple is popular for the Setsubun festival on Feb. 3.
[Prince Niou and Ukifune, two (of the three) protagonists from
the "Ten Chapters of Uji" in The Tale of Genji.
Monument at the Uji riverside.] - The Tale of Genji Museum in Uji. The last ten chapters of The Tale of Genji are set in Uji; the hero is Kaoru (the presumed son of Genji). The story of these chapters is reproduced on a life-size set, and a short film based on the "Uji chapters" is shown in the movie room. A very pleasant museum and a "must" for Genji-fans. At the riverside, you'll also find a statue of Murasaki and in another location also one of two of the protagonists of the "Uji chapters".
Genji Monogatari Myujiamu, 8 minutes walk from Uji Station on the Keihan Uji Line, 15 minutes walk from Uji Station on the JR Nara Line. 9:00-16:30, closed on Monday. - Tomb of Murasaki Shikibu. Located in a tiny plot just south of the crossing of Kitaoji and Horikawa Street, set among modern buildings (an office of Shimazu Seisakusho). The stones here are also modern. Murasaki's tomb memorial lies next to that of Ono no Takamura, an ancestor of Heian-era poet, Ono no Komachi. Note that these "graves" are in fact memorials - there are no bodies or ashes buried here.
[Poem monument at Rozanji]
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).
Photos: Wikimedia Commons, except Murasaki Shikibu in Ishiyamadera and Uji Ten Chapters Monument (own work)
Hyakunin Isshu Index