Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 61
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
the eight-fold cherry blossoms
from the Nara capital
of the ancient past
today have bloomed
in our nine-fold palace court
inishie no
Nara no miyako no
yae-zakura
kyo kokonoe ni
nioi nuru kana
いにしへの
奈良の都の
八重桜
今日九重に
匂ひぬるかな
from the Nara capital
of the ancient past
today have bloomed
in our nine-fold palace court
inishie no
Nara no miyako no
yae-zakura
kyo kokonoe ni
nioi nuru kana
いにしへの
奈良の都の
八重桜
今日九重に
匂ひぬるかな
Ise no Tayu 伊勢大輔 (early 11th c.)
The situation in which this poem was written is sketched in Ise's Collected Poems. The bishop of Nara had donated a cherry tree to the court in Kyoto. New to palace service, Ise was called upon to write an impromptu poem in front of such formidable people as Murasaki Shikibu and Fujiwara no Michinaga, but she acquitted herself very well from her "debut" task, writing a most accomplished poem (something which must have appealed to anthologist Teika). Ise no Tayu deftly praises the blossoms of Kyoto as better than those of Nara, although they are "offspring" from Nara, just as the present imperial house is - though connected with the court in Nara times - more splendid than in the past.
Notes
- inishie no: Nara was the capital from 710 to 794.
- yaezakura: a double-flowered cherry tree, where the petals are arranged in several layers. It is late blooming. At the time when this poem was written, this type of cherry tree was still rare in Kyoto (now you'll find them all over Japan). In classical Japanese culture, "eight-fold" carries the meaning of "splendid," and "nine-fold" is even better than that. Nine-fold was used to describe Heiankyo in the phrase "kokonoe no miyako."
- kokonoe: in the palace, literally "nine-fold court" - used to echo the number in "yaezakura."
- nioi nuru kana: "niou" here is "to be splendid with a beautiful color"
- The poem pays a compliment to Michinaga and his daughter Shoshi, the reigning empress.
[Ise no Tayu]
The Poet
Ise no Tayu was the daughter of Onakatomi no Sukechika and the granddaughter of Yoshinobu (Poem 49), She was married to Takashina no Narunobu; several of their children became well-known poets. She served Empress Shoshi together with Izumi Shikibu (Poem 56) and Murasaki Shikibu (Poem 57). She has 51 poems in the Goshuishu and other imperial collections. A collection of her poems is also extant.
Visiting
I can't guide you to the cherry blossoms Ise no Taiyu describes in her poem, but here are some great hanami spots in Kyoto:
[Cherry blossoms along the Philosopher's Path in Kyoto -
another beautiful hanami destination I didn't include in the above]
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 of cherry blossoms my own work. Illustration: Wikimedia Commons
Hyakunin Isshu Index