Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 90 (Inpumon'in no Taiyu)

         Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 90

Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)


let me show it!
the sleeves of the fishermen
of Ojima
though wetter than wet
do not change color like mine

misebaya na
Ojima no ama no
sode dani mo
nure ni zo nureshi
iro wa kawarazu

見せばやな
雄島のあまの
袖だにも
ぬれにぞぬれし
色はかはらず

Inpumon'in no Taiyu 殷富門院大輔 (ca. 1131-1200)

This poem was composed on the topic of "love" at a waka contest. It is an allusive variation (honkadori) and at the same time a rebuttal of a poem by Minamoto no Shigeyuki, which was not included in the Hyakunin Isshu (another poem by him was included, poem 48). Shigeyuki's poem runs as follows:

Matsushima!
only the fishermen
fishing on the shore of Ojima
can have sleeves
as soaked as mine

Matsushima ya | Ojima no iso ni | asari seshi | ama no sode koso | kaku wa nureshika

Matsushima has often been used as a pillow word in waka poetry since the Heian period (794-1185). Minamoto Shigeyuki's poem was probably the first poem written about Matsushima. It is believed he really visited Mutsu Province (the eastern part of the present-day Tohoku Region, including Matsushima), so he may have composed this poem after actually seeing the scenery of Matsushima (generally speaking poets didn't travel a lot outside the capital of Heiankyo and place names were often conceptual, or based on screen paintings).

Notes

- misebaya na: misetai mono desu, "let me show these" - "these" points at the poet's sleeves that have changed color because of her many tears.
- Ojima: "Male Island," one of the larger islands in Matsushima (see below).
- ama no sode dani mo: the sleeves of the fishermen who work at sea and therefore get wet sleeves.

The Poet

Inpumon'in no Taiyu (ca. 1131-1200) was a daughter of Fujiwara no Nobunari and served Princess Ryoshi, the daughter of Emperor Go-Shirakawa, who was called "Inpumon'in". She was a member of the poetic circle of Shun'e (poem 85) and participated in many waka contests. She has 63 poems in the Senzaishu and other imperial collections; a personal collection is also extant.

[Ojima Island]

Visiting

Matsushima, close to the northern city of Sendai, is one of Japan's Three Famous Views. Matsushima means "Pine Islands," and refers to the hundreds of small islands that lie before the coast. The working of wind and waves has kneaded them into strange shapes, on which viewers can freely exercise their imagination. On all islands pine trees cling to the scarce soil in grotesque poses. Unfortunately, mass tourism and commercialism have spoiled the bay. The large temple compound of Zuiganji is the only quiet place in Matsushima - as well as nearby Ojima Island.

Crossing a vermilion-lacquered bridge, one comes to Oshima Island, where 108 rock caves are said to have existed. Although only about 50 remain today, there are many stone monuments that were once stone pagodas for the dead to pray for their rebirth in the Pure Land, as well as other stone pagodas in the rock caves. Many Buddhist names have been carved in the walls, giving the island the sense of a sacred place. A cave is all that is necessary for Zen, and as a bonus nature provides the view of the island-dotted bay, of rocks and pines molded in fantastic shapes, so beautiful that it rendered even Basho (who visited Matsushima in 1689) speechless - the tradition tells that the great poet was so paralyzed by the scenic grandeur that he could not capture it in a haiku. But this is a place of Zen and in the poet's "no-words" all words are contained.

See the Matsushima Kanko website for more information about Matsushima and how to get there.

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: Wikipedia

    Hyakunin Isshu Index

 

Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 88 (Kokamon'in no Betto)

        Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 88

Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)


due to one brief night together
short as a cut
of a reed from Naniwa bay
must I exhaust myself like the channel markers
and continue to love you for the rest of my days?

Naniwa e no
ashi no karine no
hitoyo yue
mi o tsukushite ya
koi wataru beki

難波江の
芦のかりねの
一夜ゆへ
身をつくしてや
恋わたるべき

Kokamon'in no Betto 皇嘉門院別当 (late 12th c.)

[Kokamon'in no Betto]

According to the headnote in the Senzaishu, this poem was composed for a waka contest on the topic of "Love: meeting at a travel lodging." The poem is an allusive variation (honkadori) of poem 20 by Motoyoshi. I have tried to bring out the pivot words (kakekotoba) in my translation, which however makes some lines rather long.

Notes

- Naniwa-e: the Bay of Osaka (Osaka was in ancient times called "Naniwa"). As Macmillan mentions, in Teika's time the Inlet of Naniwa was a place famous for meeting pleasure girls.
- karine: pivot word, meaning both "cut root" ("a reed's joint cut at the root") and "temporary sleep." "Temporary sleep" points at lovers sleeping together for one brief night. The reeds of Naniwa are often used as a metaphor for a short time span, as in poem 19 by Lady Ise.
- hito-yo: pivot word, meaning both "one joint/segment (of a reed)" and "one night"
- mi wo tsukushite: pivot word, meaning both "exhausting myself" and "channel marker (for boats in Naniwa Bay)." Channel markers are frequently mentioned in love poetry; as these buoys were made of wood, they decayed quickly in salt water.
- wataru: tsuzukeru, continue. "-beki" indicates conjecture.

The Poet

Kokamon'in no Betto (late 12th c.) was the daughter of Minamoto no Toshitaka. She served as lady-in-waiting to Empress Seishi (1122-11181), the wife of Emperor Sutoku, who after taking the tonsure at the end of her life was known as Kokamon'in. Relatively unknown, she has only 9 poems in the Senzaishu and other imperial anthologies. According to Mostow, Teika probably included this poem by a relatively insignificant poet to echo poem 20 by Motoyoshi.

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: Wikipedia

    Hyakunin Isshu Index

 

Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 86 (Saigyo)

       Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 86

Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)


should I blame the moon
for making me dwell on things
as if commanding me to lament?
yet still the tears flow down
my reproachful face!

nageke tote
tsuki ya wa mono o
omowasuru
kakochi gao naru
waga namida kana

なげけとて
月やは物を
思はする
かこちがほなる
わがなみだかな

Saigyo 西行 (1118- 1190)

[Saigyo]

"Is it the moon that is causing me to be lost in thought, as if commanding me "Lament!" - No, that cannot be; and yet, as I gaze at the moon, my tears flow down just as if it were the moon's fault."

This is often read as a love poem, written in the persona of the resentful lover, but Saigyo was a deeply Buddhist poet, and I think it is best to interpret this poem as a philosophical complaint, or a general meditation on the human condition. Of course it is also possible to read the poem in a double sense, in which the moon is just as beautiful and out of reach as the beloved. In Buddhist poetry, the moon often is a symbol of enlightenment.

Notes

- tote: to itte
- ya wa: antonym, an expression which say the opposite of what the poet means
- kakochi: kakotsukeru, use something as a pretext

The Poet

Saigyo (1118-1190, real name Sato Norikiyo), was a Japanese poet and Buddhist monk. He was born in Kyoto to a wealthy family who had served the imperial court for generations. At the age of 23 he gave up his wife and children, went to Saga and became a monk of the Buddhist Shingon school. The status of a monk enabled him to live a comparatively free wandering life, in the course of which he created a wealth of poetry. He travels took him from the Kansai to Kamakura and northern Japan. But he spent most of his life living as a recluse on Mt Koya (where the head temple of the Shingon school stands) and Yoshino.

Saigyo exerted a great influence on later poets up to Sogi (1421-1502) and Basho (1644-1694). Contemporaries and later generations valued him as the archetype of the wandering poet and poet monk.

See my translations of 10 more poems by Saigyo in the series "Japanese Poetry."

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: Wikipedia

    Hyakunin Isshu Index

 

Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 85 (Priest Shun'e)

     Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 85


during all the nights
that I spend full of longing
daylight refuses to come
and even the gaps in the shutters
are cruel to me


yo mo sugara
mono omou koro wa
ake yaranu
neya no hima sae
tsurenakarikeri

夜もすがら
物思ふ頃は
明けやらぬ
ねやのひまさへ
つれなかりけり

Priest Shun'e (1113–1191)

[Shun'e]

Written on the set topic of "love," this poem was composed from the point of view of the woman. She complains about her cruel lover, who doesn't show up, and while endlessly waiting, even the first signs of light don't come peeking through the gaps in the shutters (or the door) to end her vigil. 

Notes
- yo mo sugara: the whole night
- mono omou koro wa: the longing for her cold lover. "koro wa" indicates that such a situation continues every night.
- neya no hima sae: "neya" is "bedroom." "hima" is a "gap." Here the gaps in the door or the shutters of the bedroom are meant. "Sae" means:  her lover is cruel, and even the gaps in the shutters are also cruel."
- tsurenakarikeri: "tsurenachi" is "cruel, cold." "-keri" indicates a sigh, a lament.

The Poet
Shun'e Hoshi was the son of Minamoto no Toshiyori (poem 74). He was tutored in waka composition by his father, but after the latter died he took monastic orders in Todaiji. In his residence in Shirakawa in Heiankyo he held poetry meetings and contests. Among his students was Kamo no Chomei, who recorded Shun'e's words in his Mumyosho. Shun'e has 83 poems in the Shikashu and other imperial collections; his personal poetry collection is also extant.

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: Wikipedia

    Hyakunin Isshu Index

Elizabeth Maconchy: String Quartet No. 3

Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994) was a pupil of Ralph Vaughan Williams and wrote in all genres, but it is especially her fine series of thirteen string quartets, which span the years 1932 to 1984, that is regarded as the peak of her musical achievements - they have been called as fine as those by Bartók and Shostakovich. For her biographical note, see my article in the series "Best String Quartets, Part 3 (1926-1945)."

[Elizabeth Maconchy]

Unfortunately, today Maconchy's music is severely and shamefully under-represented on CD and streaming. I have selected her one-movement Third String Quartet from 1938. As I wrote in my previous article: "There is a sturdy string sound, with especially powerful lower strings (Maconchy herself was a viola player). The music is slow and questioning, followed by an aggressive, rhythmic faster section, before again returning to the opening. Maconchy's compelling and original music has been said to be one of "impassioned argument" and that is also very true of this Third Quartet." It is here played by the PuraCorda Ensemble.

P.S. Also see this interesting article "‘The Impassioned Pursuit Of An Idea’: Elizabeth Maconchy And The String Quartet" on the musical blog Corymbus by Simon Brackenborough.





Also the First Quartet, completed in 1933 when Maconchy was twenty-six, is available via Youtube - note that even in this early work the sound world is already quintessential Maconchy. It is here played by the Bloomsbury Quartet.

Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 84 (Fujiwara no Kiyosuke)

      Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 84


if I live longer
shall I again
yearn for the present time?
the world I once regarded as bitter
now is dear to me!

nagaraeba
mata konogoro ya
shinobaremu
ushi to mishi yo zo
ima wa koishiki

ながらへば
またこの頃や
しのばれむ
憂しと見し世ぞ
今は恋しき

Fujiwara no Kiyosuke (1104- 1177)

"If it is true that time heals all wounds, the poet may even look back with equanimity at the troubled times of today." Kiyosuke could be writing about the disappointments in his own life, such as the failure to have the Shoku Shikashu recognized as an official collection. Other commentators mention the general decline of the world, or the political disturbances of the Hogen era. It seems that he bases himself on a poem by Bai Juyi.

Notes
-nagaraeba: moshi ikinagaraete ita naraba
- "ya" indicates a light doubt; "mu" indicates a presumption. "ima ga natsukashiku omoiokosareru koto daro ka."
- ushi to mise yo: tsurai to omotte ita kakko

The Poet
Fujiwara no Kiyosuke (1104- 1177) was the second son of Akisuke (poem 79), from whom he inherited the leadership of the Rokujo school of poetry. He compiled the Shoku Shikashu for Emperor Nijo, but as his sponsor died before it was completed, it was prevented from becoming an official imperial anthology. He was one of the first to apply rules of choosing themes, participants and judges in the uta-awase poetry gatherings. His standards of judging poetry, made him a rival of Fujiwara no Shunzei. Kiyosuke has 94 poems in the Senzaishu and later imperial collections; a personal collection is also extant.

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: Wikipedia

    Hyakunin Isshu Index

 

Johanna Müller-Hermann: String Quintet Op. 7

Johanna Müller-Hermann (1868–1941) was an Austrian composer. The daughter of a high-ranking civil servant, she received music lessons at an early age, but in accordance with the circumstances of the time, she was not able to pursue her musical ambitions any further, but graduated from a teacher training college and taught for several years at a Viennese elementary school.

With her marriage in 1893 to Otto Müller-Martini, she was no longer required to work and could continue her musical studies - which she did with a vengeance. Her teachers included Alexander Zemlinsky, Josef Bohuslav Foerster, and Franz Schmidt. Her Opus 1, Seven Songs, was printed in 1895. Public performances of her works took place at the Vienna Musikverein and at women's composition evenings. In 1918 Johanna Müller-Herrmann succeeded her teacher Joseph Bohuslav Foerster as professor of music theory at the New Vienna Conservatory.

[Image from Dutch-language Wikipedia]

She left behind an extensive body of work: songs, chamber music, large-scale works for solos, choir and orchestra, mostly on a literary and programmatic basis. After her death, Wilhelm Furtwängler, among others, championed the preservation of her work. She was one of the foremost European female composers of orchestral and chamber music in her day. Despite her contemporary fame, not much has been written about her, which may be due to Nazi ideology, as well as the general destruction of the Second World War. Johanna Müller-Hermann’s works deserve a much wider hearing, not only because of their intrinsic quality, but also because they were an integral part of the Vienna’s extraordinary creative flowering.

The String Quintet has the following movements: (1) Allegro moderato ma energico, (2) Allegro Vivace, (3) Adagio con espressione and (4) Introduzione Adagio–Allegretto grazioso. It is played by Pawel Zalejski, Violin; SongHa Choi, Violin; Klaus Christa, Viola; Danusha Waskiewicz, Viola, and Kajana Pačko, Violoncello.

Ruth Crawford Seeger: String Quartet

The American modernist composer Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-1953) and her string quartet have already been introduced in my series article "Best String Quartets, Part 4 (1926-1945)", so I will link to that for her biographical note. In the period 1924-32, she wrote a number of ultramodern works, of which the String Quartet is the most important. I quote from my previous article: "A masterpiece that is one of the finest avant garde works in the genre, written by Crawford in Berlin during her Guggenheim Fellowship-year. It consists of four untitled movements, lasting in total only 12 minutes - but it is just as concentrated and advanced as the music for string quartet by Anton Webern (see Best String Quartets, Part 3). The first movement is a twelve-tone study full of wide, arching intervals and haunting melodies. The second movement is canonic, the lines of music linked from one instrument to another form a chain. The third movement is a study in "dissonant dynamics" (also called "sound mass composition") in which each instrument has its own rise and fall in loudness on different held notes. The finale features a free first violin, which is contrasted with unison or doubled answers from the other strings. Crawford Seeger wrote music in which many things happen simultaneously, on every level, but she exercised strict control over all aspects of the music. This brief string quartet sounds like nothing that came before it."

Here played by the Playground Ensemble (Sarah Johnson and Anna Morris, Violins; Donald Schumacher, viola; Richard von Foerster, cello).

Part 1 & 2:

Part 3 & 4:

Grazyna Bacewicz: String Quartet No. 4

Grażyna Bacewicz (1909–1969) played a leading role in making Polish music an integrated part of the contemporary European music scene - like Lutosławski, Gorecki and Penderecki (in whose shadow she stood for too long, before now finally being recognized). Following in the footsteps of Szymanowski, her works convey a striking emotional directness by combining elements of native Polish folksong with a modernist style.

After graduating from Warsaw conservatory in 1932, Bacewicz went to Paris where she studied with the redoubtable Nadia Boulanger in a cosmopolitan atmosphere - she would return two more times to France. In Poland, she concentrated on playing and composing and became concert master in the newly formed Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. She continued composing during the difficult war years (Second String Quartet, First Symphony and the popular Overture for orchestra). For the first decade after the war, the political and cultural situation in her homeland imposed limits on her activities - her works written from 1945 to 1955 were in a “neo-classical” style, but from 1956 on, when there was more freedom, her style could evolve in a more contemporary direction. Bacewicz continually looked for ways to develop her style, while maintaining her dedication to form, logic and expression..

The string quartet No 4 dates from 1951 and is one of the composer's most performed works. It realizes a perfect balance between formal complexity, harmonic sophistication and approachable melodies. The quartet has the following movements: (1) Andante - Allegro moderato, (2) Andante and (3) Allegro giocoso. Played by the Szymanowski Quartet.  

P.S. Also read my note about Bacewicz Third Quartet, in the series "Best String Quartets, Part Five (Postwar period)."

Emilie Mayer: Piano Concerto

Emilie Mayer (1812-1883) is a rare example of a 19th c. woman composer who was celebrated and successful in her own time. She composed several symphonies and concert overtures in addition to chamber music and songs. Her works are stylistically influenced by Viennese Classicism and Beethoven, although she increasingly found her own tonal language. In the 1860s she composed mainly chamber music; early Romantic echoes are particularly evident in her violin sonatas. Emilie Mayer is one of the most important woman composers of the 19th century.

From 1841 to 1847 Emilie Mayer studied with Carl Loewe in Stettin. During this time, she wrote some of her first compositions, such as the symphonies in C and E minor and several chamber music works. On Carl Loewe's recommendation, from 1847 she completed further musical studies in Berlin with Adolf Bernhard Marx. She then went on concert tours to Vienna, Halle, Hamburg and Stettin. In Berlin, she wrote further chamber music works and symphonies, as well as the Faust Overture, which were performed in numerous cities.

Emilie Mayer remained unmarried. She kept her own open house in Berlin and maintained contacts with important figures in social and aristocratic life. She was one of the best known and most productive female composers of the Romantic period, as is shown by her large output: eight symphonies, twelve string quartets, piano chamber music, fifteen concert overtures, violin and cello sonatas, piano works, a Singspiel, songs, and four-part choruses. Even so, her own catalog of works has not survived, and numerous compositions must be considered lost. Emilie Mayer's compositions were largely forgotten after her death and were only rediscovered by researchers from the mid-1980s onward.

Mayer’s Piano Concerto in B is a well-crafted three-movement work full of solid classical writing (many echoes from Mozart), but also some progressive harmonic language, as well as a highly virtuosic solo piano part. It appeared around 1850.

The concerto is here played by the FSOA (Female Symphonic Orchestra Austria), conducted by Silvia Spinnato and with Heghine Rapyan as solist.

Florence Price: Concerto in One Movement for Piano and Orchestra

Florence Price was the first female African-American composer to earn a national reputation, and to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra. In recent years she has come to be recognized as a significant American composer of the 1930s and 1940s. Her late-Romantic style is infused with echoes of her experience in popular music, and her African-American heritage. In addition to 100 songs – her best-known works – her catalogue of music includes orchestral and choral pieces, and music for piano, organ and chamber ensembles. Orchestral works include four symphonies, concertos for violin and piano, and a variety of overtures, tone poems, suites and dance pieces.

One of my favorite works by Price is the Piano Concerto in One Movement, which was premiered in Chicago in 1934 with Price herself as the soloist. There are three distinct sections played without a break. The first part is characterized by an urgent and lyrical theme; the slow-tempo central part is tender and nostalgic; and the concerto concludes with a sprightly example of a juba, a folk dance often used by Florence Price, a sort of proto-rag. It is striking how much this concerto says in its  short span, moving from storm to carefree summer idyll to ecstatic joy in well under 20 minutes.

The Texas Medical Center Orchestra conducted by Libi Lebel performs the Concerto in One Movement by Florence B. Price. Piano soloist is Lulu Liu.

Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 83 (Fujiwara no Shunzei)

     Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 83


in this world
the Way does not exist -
troubled, I entered
deep into the mountains
but even there I hear the deer crying

yo no naka yo
michi koso nakere
omoi iru
yama no oku ni mo
shika zo naku naru

世の中よ
道こそなけれ
思ひ入る
山のおくにも
鹿ぞ鳴くなる

Fujiwara no Shunzei (1114–1204)

[Shunzei, by Yosai]

According to the headnote, this poem was written on the subject of "deer" in a hundred poem sequence on the larger theme of "personal grievances. Traditional commentators have tried to figure out what was on the poet's mind, and have come up with the following list of possibilities: the idea of melancholy; the idea of one's own mortality; the political disorder of the world. In his collection of essays, On Haiku, Hiroaki Sato offers another explanation: he thinks it refers to Shunzei's decision not to take Buddhist vows.

Notes
- yo: indicates feeling
- michi: the Way (Buddhism)
- omoi-iru: a pivot word, "troubled," but also "to enter (the mountains)."
- shika zo naku naru: this refers to stags calling for their mates.

In other words, as Hiroaki Sato writes, "Despairing of the state of the world, he entered the mountains, the training ground for ascetics; but he found himself perturbed by stags calling for their mates and recognized that he himself wasn't yet capable of transcending lust and other worldly distractions" (Hiroaki Sato, On Haiku, New Direction Books, p. 29). The above translation is also based on Hiroaki Sato, for his explanation is very interesting.

Fujiwara no Shunzei was only 26 when he wrote this poem in 1140. He did take Buddhist vows much later, when he was in his sixties.

The Poet
Fujiwara no Shunzei (1114–1204), also known as Fujiwara no Toshinari, was noted for his innovations in the waka poetic form and compiling the Senzaishu ("Collection of a Thousand Years"), the seventh imperial anthology of waka poetry, completed in 1188. It was commissioned by the Cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa and contains 1,285 poems.

Shunzei was a descendant of the statesman Fujiwara no Michinaga and the son of Fujiwara no Toshitada of the Mikohidari branch of the influential aristocratic Fujiwara clan. Shunzei was the poetic arbiter of his day and the father of Teika (poem 97). He has 452 poems in the Shikashu and later imperial collections; a personal collection is also extant.

Senzaishu (Senzai Wakashu)

Senzaishu (千載和歌集, "Collection of a Thousand Years"), 20 scrolls, 1,285 poems, ordered by Cloistered Emperor Go-Shirakawa, probably completed in 1188, compiled by Fujiwara no Shunzei (also known as Toshinari)

Poems included in Hyakunin Isshu: 64, 67, 74, 75, 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 86, 88, 90, 92, 95 (total 14)

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: Wikipedia

    Hyakunin Isshu Index

Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 82 (Doin)

      Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 82

Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)


despite my suffering
I somehow manage
to cling to life
but it are my tears
that can't bear the pain

omoi wabi
satemo inochi wa
aru mono o
uki ni taenu wa
namida nari keri

思ひわび
さても命は
あるものを
憂きに堪へぬは
なみだなりけり

Doin 道因 (1090-1179)

A love poem bemoaning a lover's cruelty. As there is no head note, we do not know whether it was written for an actual person, or simply composed on a set topic, for a poetry contest - but the latter is probable, as this is a rather rhetorical construction.

Notes

- omoiwabi: suffering from (unfulfilled) love
- satemo: "sore demo yahari," "despite" (refers to "omoiwabi")
- uki: anguish, pain

The Poet

Doin's given name was Fujiwara no Atsuyori. He was a son of Kiyotaka. He served as Lieutenant of the Stables of the Left and entered religion in 1172. From around 1160 on, he was a participant in the major poetic events of his day and was a member of a group of poets who gathered about Shun'e (poem 85). Forty-one of his poems were included in imperial anthologies from the Senzaishu on.

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: Wikipedia

    Hyakunin Isshu Index

Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 81 (Fujiwara no Sanesada)

      Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 81

Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)


when I turned my gaze
toward where I heard
the lesser cuckoo sing -
I only found
the moon of early dawn

hototogisu
nakitsuru kata o
nagamureba
tada ariake no
tsuki zo nokoreru

ほととぎす
鳴きつる方を
眺むれば
ただ有明の
月ぞのこれる

Fujiwara no Sanesada 徳大寺実定 (1139-1191)

[Hototogisu, the lesser cuckoo]

Composed on the set topic of "Hearing the hototogisu at dawn (after waiting up all night for one cry of this bird)." The hototogisu, or lesser cuckoo, has a gentle call and is one of the best loved Japanese song birds. As this bird arrives around May in Japan, it is considered the harbinger of early summer. From the time of the first poetry collection, the Manyoshu (8th century), this small bird has inspired many poets. See for example also this haiku by Basho. After hearing its song, the poet looks for the hototogisu, but instead he sees the dawn moon (the dawn moon is another important topic, depicted in poem 21, poem 30 and poem 31).

Notes

- nakitsurukata: naita hokaku, "the direction from which its call came." "-tsuru" indicates completion.
- nagamureba: "nagame yaru to".
- ariake no tsuki: the moon that it left in the sky while it is already getting light in the early morning.

The Poet

Fujiwara no Sanesada (1139-1191; also called "Minister of the Left Tokudaiji") was a nephew of Shunzei (poem 83) and first cousin of Teika (poem 97). He was an able politician who rose to high position in the chaotic years of the Heike wars. He has 87 poems in the Senzaishu and other imperial collections; a personal poetry collection survives, as does a diary.

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: Wikipedia

    Hyakunin Isshu Index

Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 80 (Taikenmon'in no Horikawa)

 Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 80

Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)


I've no idea
how long your love will last -
my long black hair
disheveled, this morning
my feelings are also in a tangle

nagakaramu
kokoro mo shirazu
kurokami no
midarete kesa wa
mono o koso omoe

長からむ
心もしらず
黒髪の
みだれてけさは
物をこそ思へ

Horikawa of the Taikenmon'in 待賢門院堀河 (fl. mid 12th c.)

[Kamisuki (Combing her hair), shin-hanga by Hashimoto Goyo (1920)]

A poem, part of a hundred-poem sequence, composed on the sentiment of love, a fixed topic. As a "morning after" poem (kinuginu no uta), this would be addressed by the woman to her lover who has just spent the night with her. The poem, in the sensual yoen style, stresses the sexiness of long black hair. The fact that is is now tangled, indicates that the lovers have spent an intense night together, but it also demonstrates the complex feelings the woman has after the encounter. She worries about her partner's commitment and their future relationship. The theme of tangled, long black hair was taken up by the modern tanka poet Yosano Akiko, who also used it to portray vehement, and complex, emotions (and also used it to name her first tanka collection).

Notes

- nagakaramu kokoro: "your heart that doesn't change." "mu" indicates a supposition. "nagakaramu" ("continuing for a long time") is an engo for "kurokami," as women's hair in that period was always very long.
- kurokami mo midarete: "midare, disheveled" is linked with "black hair" but also with the "thoughts" (or heart) in the last sentence.
- kesa wa: this morning = the morning after their night of love.
- koso: an intensifier.

The Poet

Horikawa of the Taikenmon'in (fl. mid 12th c.) was a daughter of Minamoto no Akinaka. She served Taikenmon'in, Emperor Toba's consort and the mother of Emperor Sutoku (poem 77). In 1142, when Taikenmon'in Shoshi took the tonsure and entered the priesthood, she followed her master and became a nun. She joined the 'Sessho Sadaijin Tadamichi Uta-awase (poetry contest)' and the 'Nishinomiya Uta-awase,' and in 1143, she was invited by the Cloistered Emperor Sutoku to compose a poem for the 'Kyuan Hyaku shu' (one-hundred poem sequence of the Kyuan era). The Zotoka (poetry exchanged between man and woman) which she exchanged with Saigyo still remains in existence. She has 66 poems in the Kin'yoshu and later imperial anthologies. A personal poetry collection also exists.

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: Wikipedia

    Hyakunin Isshu Index

Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 79 (Fujiwara no Akisuke)

     Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 79

Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)


the moonlight piercing
through a break
in the clouds drifting
on the autumn wind -
how clear and bright it is!

akikaze ni
tanabiku kumo no
taema yori
more-izuru tsuki no
kage no sayakesa

秋風に
たなびく雲の
たえまより
もれ出づる月の
かげのさやけさ

Fujiwara no Akisuke 藤原顕輔 (1090-1155)

A straightforward, descriptive poem on the beauty of the moon, which appears now and then through a break in the drifting clouds. The fact that the moon is now hidden and then appears again, makes it all the more beautiful. At the same time, the rustling autumn wind adds a feeling of freshness.

Notes

- akikaze ni tanabiku kumo: "ni" indicates a reason: clouds drifting long sideways because of the autumn wind.
- taema: an opening in the clouds.
- moreizuru: passing through the break in the clouds
- tsuki no kage: the light (here not "shadow") of the moon.
- sayakesa: clear brightness

The Poet

Fujiwara no Akisuke (1090-1155) was a court noble and poet of the late Heian period. He served as "Master of the Western Capital" - Heiankyo was divided into an eastern and western half which were each controlled by an administrative office headed by a "master" or daibu. Surrounded by a number of talented poets, he played an active role in many poetry gatherings and contests, including the poetry contest held at the North Wing of the imperial residence of Toba in 1116. In 1144 he was commissioned by the Cloistered Emperor Sutoku to compile an imperial anthology, which was completed as "Shikashu" (the Collection of Verbal Flowers) in 1151. 84 of his verses were selected for the imperial anthologies from the Kin'yoshu (the Collection of Golden Leaves) onward. He also compiled a private anthology. Akisuke founded the Rokujo school of poets (a hereditary system) of the Rokujo clan of the Fujiwara family. This school opposed the new style championed by Teika's father, Shunzei (poem 83). Akisuke was the father of Kiyosuke (poem 84).

Shikashu (Shika Wakashu)

Shikashu (詞花和歌集, "Collection of Verbal Flowers"), 10 scrolls, 411 poems, ordered in 1144 by the Cloistered Emperor Sutoku, completed c. 1151–1154, compiled by Fujiwara Akisuke. The Shikashu is the shortest of the imperial anthologies. Despite Akisuke's ostensibly conservative nature, it is rather eclectic and has a wide variety of poems, including one by Saigyo.

Poems included in Hyakunin Isshu: 48, 49, 61, 76, 77 (total 5)

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: Wikipedia

    Hyakunin Isshu Index

Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 78 (Minamoto no Kanemasa)

    Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 78

Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)


barrier guard of Suma
how many nights have you been wakened
by the crying voices
of the plovers who visit
from Awaji Island?

Awaji shima
kayou chidori no
naku koe ni
ikuyo nezamenu
Suma no sekimori

淡路島
かよふ千鳥の
なく声に
いくよねざめぬ
すまの関守

Minamoto no Kanemasa 源兼昌 (fl. early 12th c.)

[Awaji Island seen from Suma (with the modern Awaji Kaikyo bridge)]

A poem written on the topic "plovers at the barrier road." By mentioning Suma, the author has it allude to the Suma chapter of The Tale of Genji, during which Genji is in exile. In his case, the voices of the plovers at dawn have a soothing effect. The poem compares Genji to a guard keeping watch at the Barrier of Suma, who is every morning woken up by the cries of the plovers flying over from Awaji Island. The Genji was in the 12th c. regarded as a monument of court culture and poets were advised to study the 800+ waka poems it contains (as well as their specific situations). Kanemasa's poem was appreciated for its refined sadness, which is not uttered directly, but put into the mouth of the barrier guard, and which is given more scope by the allusion to the Genji Monogatari.

Notes

- Awaji is an island SW of Suma. Both are in present-day Hyogo.
- kayou: to go back and forth, to commute. Or in this case it is perhaps more natural to consider the plovers as coming from Awaji Island and passing by the spot where the barrier guard is.
- The call of chidori, plovers, was considered as a rather sad sound. "ni" indicates the reason.
- iku yo nazamenu: "nezamenu" normally means "do not wake," but here all commentators agree that the meaning is affirmative and perfective in the sense of "they have awakened him." The grammatical rationalizations vary.

The Poet

Minamoto no Kanemasa (fl. early 12th c.) was a courtier and poet of the early 12th c. His father was Minamoto no Kanesuke. His date of death is unknown but he was still alive in 1128. He participated in several uta awase (waka contests) in 1100, 1115, 1118 and 1119 and frequented the poetic circles sponsored by the Cloistered Emperor Horikawa and by the chancelor Fujiwara no Tadamichi. He also organized a waka competition in 1116. Seven of his poems are included in imperial anthologies such as the Kin'yoshu.

Visiting

Suma beach is close to Suma St on the JR Sanyo line out of Kobe. There is a 1.5 km long stretch of sand here.

To experience the link with Awaji as the plovers do in the poem, you can walk the Maiko Marine Promenade, a walkway under the platform of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, about 50 meters above the water. You get there by elevator from the base of the bridge (Kobe side). The walkways offer a unique view of the Akashi Strait and Osaka Bay (and of course the bridge's interior). On the Kobe side is also a Bridge Exhibition Center. A short walk from Maiko Station on the JR Sanyo Line or Maiko-Koen Station on the Sanyo Railway Line.

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: Wikipedia

    Hyakunin Isshu Index

Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 76 (Fujiwara no Tadamichi)

   Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 76


Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)


as I row out into
the wide ocean and gaze
in the distance -
the white waves in the offing
are deceptively similar to clouds

wata no hara
kogi idete mireba
hisakata no
kumoi ni mayoo
okitsu shiranami

わたの原
こぎ出でて見れば
久方の
雲井にまよふ
おきつしらなみ

Fujiwara no Tadamichi 藤原忠通 (1097–1164)

This poem was written in 1135 during the reign of Emperor Sutoku on the topic "gazing out over the ocean." Tadamichi makes it a case of mitate, of "elegant confusion" between the white crests of the waves and the white clouds. This is a much admired poem.

Notes

- wata no hara: the sea-plain. "wata" means "sea."
- kogi idete mireba: ”I rowed out and looked far and wide". -ba" indicates a fixed condition.
- hisakata no: "hisakata" means "(high) sky."
- kumoi: normally "the place where the clouds are," but here just "clouds."
- magau: to be mistaken, to be confused.
- okitsu shiranami: the same as "oki no shiranami."

The Poet

Fujiwara no Tadamichi (1097–1164) served as regent and Grand Minister in the later part of the Heian period. He was the first son of Fujiwara no Tadazane. In 1121, he became the head of the Fujiwara clan. He served as Sesho (regent) and Kanpaku (Chancellor) under four emperors: Toba, Sutoku, Konoe, and Go-Shirakawa. His tenure of 37 years in the posts of Sesho and Kanpaku was the second longest after Fujiwara no Yorimichi, who had held the posts for a total of 50 years. Tadamichi is one of the principle characters in the Hogen Monogatari (The Tale of Hogen, c. 1320), a war chronicle which relates the events of the Hogen Rebellion of 1156.

He was a good poet and an expert calligrapher. A collection of his Chinese style poetry has been preserved, as has a collection of his other poetical works. He has 58 poems in the Kin'yoshu and other imperial anthologies. Tadamichiwas the father of Fujiwara no Kanefusa and Jien (poem 95). Thanks to the Hyakunin Isshu, he became forever "(in)famous" for not keeping his promise to Fujiwara no Mototoshi (poem 75).

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: Wikipedia

    Hyakunin Isshu Index

Hyakunin Isshu (One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each): Poem 75 (Fujiwara no Mototoshi)

  Hyakunin Isshu, Poem 75

Translation and comments by Ad Blankestijn
(version September 2022)


I depended with my life
on your promise to me
like dew fallen on the mugwort plant -
but, alas, now this year too
autumn has passed in vain

chigiri okishi
sasemo ga tsuyu o
inochi nite
aware kotoshi no
aki mo inumeri

契りをきし
させもが露を
命にて
あはれことしの
秋もいぬめり

Fujiwara no Mototoshi 藤原基俊, (1060-1142)

This is a poem which is too intricate for its own good, and it is only comprehensible when you read the headnote. There we learn that Mototoshi had asked Tadamichi (poem 76), the chancellor and member of the same Fujiwara-family, to appoint his son to a priestly office (to be made a Lecturer for the Vimalakirti Ceremony at Kofukuji, the Fujiwara clan temple), but his wish had been ignored despite an initial promise by Tadamichi. The chancellor had in fact answered by quoting another (anonymous) poem which meant "Believe me - I will always help you as long as I am alive, just as the mugwort that continues to grow in the fields of Shimegahara" and that is why Mototoshi refers to mugwort in his own poem. But if the reader is unfamiliar with that, the appearance of mugwort in the poem is a bit puzzling. Here is the full poem quoted by Tadamichi (it was later included in the Shin Kokinshu):

please believe in me
for as long
as there is mugwort
in the fields of Shimeji
I will help those of this world

nao taneme | shimejigahara no | sasemogusa | waga yo no naka ni | aramu kagiri wa

In reality, this is a Buddhist poem, attributed to Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, so it was all the more hypocritical to break a promise made with such a sacred poem.

Mugwort (now called yomogi, in the past sasemogusa) was dried and used as moxa in moxibustion. As explained in Poem 51, moxibustion is a traditional Chinese medicinal therapy which consists of burning dried mugwort (formed into incense-like cones) on particular points on the body, as a kind of "thermal acupuncture". It was quite painful. 

Notes

- chigiri okishi: "oki" is an engo connected to "tsuyu" in the next line ("dew fallen on" or "lying on"). Chigiri is a formal promise. "Although you promised."
- sasemo ga: "sasemo" is the same as "sashimo," which is an old name for yomogi, mugwort, a medicinal herb used in moxibustion.
- tsuyu wo inochi nite: tsuyu, dew, is an expression of thanks for the words of the other person (which are just as welcome as sweet dew).
- aware kotoshi no aki mo inumeri: "aware" is a sigh "aah...". "inu" means "to pass, to go by."　"-meru" indicates presumption.

The Poet

Fujiwara no Mototoshi (1060–1142) was a waka poet and Japanese nobleman active in the Heian period. The great-grandson of Fujiwara no Michinaga, he is considered, along with Minamoto no Toshiyori, the most important waka poet of the Insei era of the Heian period. He was a strict judge in poetry competitions at the imperial court and, as a representative of a strictly traditional style, was a rival of the innovatively minded Minamoto no Toshiyori (poem 74). Toward the end of his life, in 1138, he became a Buddhist monk under the name Kakushun. Mototoshi was the compiler of the anthology Shinsen Roeishu, and more than 100 of his poems were included in the anthology Kin'yoshu. His disciple was the poet Fujiwara no Toshinari.

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: Wikipedia

    Hyakunin Isshu Index