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