Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 59
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
I should have gone to sleep
without hesitating,
but while the night deepened,
I ended up watching the moon
till it sank in the west
yasurawade
nenamashi mono o
sayo fukete
katabuku made no
tsuki o mishi kana
やすらはで
寝なまし物を
小夜更けて
かたぶくまでの
月を見しかな
Akazome Emon 赤染衛門 (c. 960 – 1041)
[Akazome Emon]
In the Goshuishu, the head note to this poem says that Emon composed this on behalf of her sister, who had been waiting in vain for her lover to come, but other commentaries deny that as a possibility on biographical grounds. In any case, this is a very gentle poem of regret, lacking the resentment that was usual when a lover didn't show up and kept his partner waiting through the night.
- The whole poem starts with the thought: "if I had known you wouldn't come"
- yasurawade: to hesitate (tamerau). "de" indicates a negation.
- nenamashi mono wo: -mashi indicates a false assumption. "mono wo" is a contradictory conjunction. "I should have gone to sleep."
- katabuku made no: until the moon approaches the western part of the sky (in other words, dawn is near).
- mishi ka na: "shi" indicates past tense, "ka na" is an exclamation.
The Poet
Akazome Emon was the daughter of Akazome no Tokimochi. She served Fujiwara no Michinaga's principal wife, Rinshi, as well Empress Shoshi, the wife of Emperor Ichijo and daughter of Rinshi. She was present at the imperial court at the same time as Izumi Shikibu, and was a contemporary of Murasaki Shikibu and Sei Shonagon. She married Oe no Masahira, a Confucian scholar and poet of both waka and kanshi. She accompanied her husband both times when he was twice sent to serve in Owari Province, gently supporting him when he was overwhelmed by his official duties. She also worked to ensure her son's professional success at court and presented poems as offerings to the Sumiyoshi Shrine when he fell ill. In later times she was portrayed as the model of a good wife and wise mother (ryosai kenbo). In 1012), her husband died, and a few years later Emon became a nun, living a long and tranquil life from this point.
She is credited with the authorship of the first thirty books of the vernacular history A Tale of Flowering Fortunes (Eiga Monogatari). A collection of her poetry is extant and she has 93 poems in the Shuishu and later imperial collections. Murasaki Shikibu says about her in her diary: "She may not be a genius, but she has great poise and does not feel that she has to compose a poem on everything she sees merely because she is a poet. From what I have seen, her work is most accomplished, even her occasional verse." (tr. Bowring, Murasaki Shikibu, Her Diary and Poetic Memoirs)
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).
Illustration: Wikimedia Commons
Hyakunin Isshu Index