Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 77
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
because the current is swift,
even though the rapids
blocked by a boulder
are split, in the end
they will surely join together again
se o hayami
iwa ni sekaruru
takigawa no
warete mo sue ni
awan to zo omou
瀬をはやみ
岩にせかるる
滝川の
われても末に
逢はむとぞ思ふ
Cloistered Emperor Sutoku 崇徳院 (1119-1164)
Notes
- ...wo...mi: gives a reason (...ga...node)
- sekaruru: sekitomerarete
- takigawa: a stream as fast as a waterfall, "rapids"
- sue ni: ato de
- awamu to zo omou: -mu expresses a strong conviction.
The Poet
Emperor Sutoku reigned from 1123 to 1142 and was the 75th sovereign. He was the oldest son of Emperor Toba and succeeded his father at the age of four (Toba, however, remained in power as "insei", Cloistered Emperor). Sutoku's mother was Empress Taikenmon'in. In 1141 he was made to abdicate in favor of his younger brother Konoe, but he remained active at court by sponsoring many poetry competitions. When Konoe died in 1155, Toba placed another of his sons, Go-Shirakawa, on the throne rather than one of Sutoku's sons. In 1156 this led to a short armed conflict between followers of Go-Shirakawa and Sutoku, known as the Hogen Disturbance. Both parties called on samurai families for assistance: the Minamoto and the Taira (Genji and Heike), which laid the basis for the shift of power to the samurai and also for the conflict later in the century between the Minamoto and the Taira. Sutoku's side lost, and he was exiled to Sanuki province on the island of Shikoku, where he died in 1164 (he stayed near present-day Sakaide, where his mausoleum, Shiramine no Misasagi, can still be found). After his exile, Sutoku devoted himself to monastic life.
Sutoku has 78 poems in the Shikashu and later imperial anthologies. Besides sponsoring many hundred-poem competitions, he also ordered the compilation of the sixth imperial anthology, the Shikashu. The Shikashu was compiled by Fujiwara no Akisuke (Poem 79) during the years 1151–1154, and consists of ten volumes containing 411 poems. It is the shortest of the imperial anthologies, but is eclectic in character, containing a wide variety of poems.
[Sutoku as vengeful spirit, by Kuniyoshi]
In the popular imagination, Sutoku led an unhappy life full of resentment, and people believed he had become a"vengeful spirit" (onryo). Everything from the subsequent fall in fortune of the Imperial court, the rise of samurai power, droughts and internal unrest were blamed on his haunting to re-address the wrongs he received when alive. With Sugawara no Michizane and Taira no Masakado, he has been called one of the “Three Great Onryo of Japan.”
[Shiramine Shrine]
Visiting
Even the imperial family believed in the vengeful powers of Sutoku. Emperor Komei wanted to move his shrine from Shikoku to Kyoto to placate him, but it was Emperor Meiji who in 1868 set up a new shrine to honor him: the Shiramine Shrine. Six years later the spirit of Emperor Junnin, another resentful imperial exile who died on Awaji Island in 765, was added. The Kyoto shrine was set up on land donated by the Asukai family who considered Seidai Myojin, the kami of the courtly game of kemari kickball, as their protective deity, and this cult was taken over by the Shiramine Shrine. Kemari is a non-competitive sport, with as object to keep one ball (called mari) in the air, with all players cooperating to do so. Based on this tradition, the Shiramine Shrine has transformed itself into the shrine of soccer and more in general of Budo and sports. You can see kemari at the shrine during the Shunki Reitaisai Festival (Grand Festival of Spring) on April 14 from 10:30, and also during the Seidai Myojin Reisai Festival on July 7 from 14:00 (later that afternoon, also the Komachi-odori dance is held at 16:30).
To visit the shrine (8:00-16:30), take the Karasuma line subway to Imadegawa St, after which it is a 10 min walk in a western direction from Exit No 4. You can also take bus 9, 11, 51, 59, 201 and 203 to Horikawa-Imadegawa bus stop, after which it is just 1 min on foot. Map: https://goo.gl/maps/p5eB2gmUPh9kKvNF9.
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: Photo of river (taken at Oirase) own work; other illustrations and photos from Wikimedia Commons
Hyakunin Isshu Index