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