Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 87
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
while raindrops of the
sudden shower have not yet dried
from the leaves of black pines
fog is rising -
autumn dusk
murasame no
tsuyu mo mada hinu
maki no ha ni
kiri tachinoboru
aki no yugure
むらさめの
露もまだひぬ
まきの葉に
霧立ちのぼる
秋の夕暮
Priest Jakuren 寂蓮 (1139-1202)
[Jakuren, by Kuniyoshi (we see the poet on an autumn evening
strolling past a grove of trees while the mist is rising]
A poem like a monochrome ink painting, considered as an example of "yugen" (profound grace and subtlety), a quality admired by Teika.
Notes
- murasame: passing shower
- hiru: to dry
- maki: podocarp, Chinese black pine (evergreen)
- kiri: fog
[Poems in the calligraphy of Jakuren]
The Poet
Jakuren was born Fujiwara no Sadanaga. A nephew of the noted poet Fujiwara no Shunzei (Poem 83), he was adopted by the latter after his father entered the Daigo-ji temple as a priest. He received lessons from his uncle at an early age and held a position in administration. In 1167 he took part in a poetry competition in Kyoto. Shunzei originally intended for Sadanaga to be his heir; however, he subsequently had two male offspring of his own, and Sadanaga was forced to step aside in favor of Fujiwara no Teika (Poem 97). Sadanaga left his uncle's house (probably around 1172), became a Buddhist monk and took the name Jakuren. Taking Saigyo (Poem 86) as his model, in the following years he undertook extensive trips through Japan and wrote poetry collections with young innovative poets such as Kujo Yoshitsune, Fujiwara no Teika and Fujiwara no Ietaka (Poem 98). In the Roppyakuban utaawase, the poetry competition in 600 rounds held in 1193-94, Jakuren distinguished himself as a representative of the innovative Mikohidari school of poetry in contrast to to the conservative Rokujo school. Around 1200 he was one of the leading poets at the court of Emperor Gotoba. He was one of the compilers of the Shinkokinshu, in which several of his own poems were included, but died before its completion. He has a personal poetry collection and 117 of his poems have been included in the Senzaishu and later imperial 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).
Illustrations from Wikimedia Commons.
Hyakunin Isshu Index