Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 64
Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)
at break of day
when the fog on Uji River
lifts in patches
the stakes of fish traps in the shallows
appear one after another
asaborake
Uji no kawagiri
taedae ni
araware wataru
zeze no ajirogi
朝ぼらけ
宇治の川ぎり
たえだえに
あらはれわたる
ぜぜの網代木
Fujiwara no Sadayori 藤原定頼 (995-1045)
[The Uji River]
The prose lead-in presents this poem as an actual description of a landscape, written during a visit to the Uji River. Despite some differing opinions from commentators who endeavored to find hidden meanings in the poem, it is now considered correct to read it only as a straightforward landscape poem.
Notes
- The Uji River is a poetic location where in Heian times many aristocrats had their villas (see Poem 8); it was also the setting of the last ten chapters of The Tale of Genji.
- asaborake: daybreak (lighter than "akebono")
- taedae ni: intermittently. The mist is here and there getting thinner.
- araware wataru: the whole scene is gradually becoming clear.
- ajirogi: a wooden stake used in a wickerwork trap for catching fish. Such fish traps were only used in winter.
The Poet
Fujiwara
no Sadayori was the eldest son of Fujiwara no Kinto (Poem 55) and, on his mother's side, a grandson of Emperor Murakami. He is the antagonist in Koshikibu no Naishi's poem (Poem 60). He served as director for military affairs before becoming middle councilor (Gon Chunagon). He was well known as both a poet and a calligrapher. Forty-five of his poems were included in imperial anthologies.
[The Uji River]
Visiting
For a short description of Uji and places to visit there, see Poem 8.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).
Photo: own work.
Hyakunin Isshu Index