Tales of Ise

Tales of he
Lyrical Episodes from Tenth-Century Japan
Translated, with an Introduction and Notes, by
HELEN CRAIG McCULLOUGH
1968
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
For Bill
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
© 1968 by the Board of Trustees of the
Leland Stanford Junior University
Printed in the United States of America
L.C. 68-17135
Preface
The translation uses the text edited by Otsu Yiiichi and
Tsukishima Hiroshi, in Sakakura Atsuyoshi et ah, eds.,
Ta\etori monogatari • he monogatari • Yamato monogatari (Iwanami Shoten, 1959 [NKBT Vol. 9]), a collated
edition based on the best extant he monogatari text, the
Sanjonishi "Teika holograph" belonging to the Tempuku
line, which stems from a copy made by Fujiwara Teika in
1234 (the second year of the Tempuku era). The Sanjonishi text contains 125 episodes. Sections 126-43 m t n e
NKBT edition have been assembled from variant texts as
follows: 126-32, Tameuji (Oshima) text; 133-41, Koshikibu no Naishi text as preserved in the Tameuji text; 14243, Tanimori text.
For further textual information, consult Appendix B.
The texts of the poems in Appendix A are from Saeki
Umetomo's edition of Kokinwa\ashu\ the translations are
my own unless otherwise indicated.
I have profited greatly from my husband's advice on substantive matters, and from the editorial assistance of Miss
Betty K. Smith of Stanford University Press. I am grateful
to them both.
H.C.M.
Contents
Introduction
3
Japanese Court Poetry in the Ninth
and Tenth Centuries, 5
China and
the Japanese Poetic Tradition, 14
Tales of Ise, 55
TALES OF ISE
69
Appendixes
A. Ko\inshu Poems of the Six Poetic
Geniuses, 159
B. Texts of Ise
Monogatari, 182
159
Notes
195
Abbreviations, 195
Worlds Cited
263
Indexes
Index of First Lines, 267
General Index, 271
267
Introduction
T
HE Meiji Restoration of 1868 swept Japan into the
mainstream of world history, introduced new ideas
and alien traditions, and demanded reappraisal of accepted
values in literature as in every other field. For more than
800 years prior to that great turning point in the national
life, two literary classics had been known to every educated
Japanese: Ko\inshu (Collection of Ancient and Modern
Times) and he monogatari (Tales of Ise), the first an imperially commissioned poetic anthology that dates from
around 905, the second a tenth-century collection of something over 100 brief stories in which poems are the central
elements. Kokjnshu and he monogatari were the indispensable literary baggage of noblemen and court ladies in
the latter part of the Heian period (794-1185), the inexhaustible lodes mined by generations of earnest medieval
commentators, and the bibles of aspiring poets through the
ages. When the great "scholars of national learning"
(kp\uga\usha) rejected Chinese influence in the Tokugawa period (1600-1868), inaugurating a new era in the
study of classical Japanese literature, they too directed their
attention primarily to these works, together with an eighthcentury poetic anthology, Man'yoshu (Collection for Ten
Thousand Generations), and a brilliant eleventh-century
novel, Genji monogatari (The Tale of Genji).
3
j^ll
Introduction
Introduction
Westerners have come to know The Tale of Genji
through Arthur Waley's translation. French versions of
Ko\inshu poems and excellent English translations of selected poems from Man ydshu have also been available for
some years, and the publication of Robert H. Brower and
Earl Miner's Japanese Court Poetry has given foreign readers a new understanding and appreciation of the special
social contexts, intellectual and emotional values and attitudes, native and Chinese traditions, and poetic techniques
that brought forth the poems preserved in the two great
anthologies. Through the present translation of Ise monogatari, Westerners may become acquainted with a fourth
major resource of the classical literary tradition.1
One can enjoy Tales of Ise without a specialized knowledge of classical Japanese poetry or its social milieu, especially if one has read The Tale of Genji, which describes
Japanese court society at about the time when Tales of Ise
assumed its present form, and which shows very clearly the
central role assigned to poetry in that society. As a work of
literature, however, Tales of Ise is less able than The Tale of
Genji to stand on its own in a foreign environment. Its
characters are dim, elusive figures. Its prose passages, re- mote indeed from Genji'% exquisite intricacies, are designed
primarily to provide settings for the poems—to serve as
black velvet cushions against which the gems can flash and
glow. Japanese connoisseurs admire its simple, restrained
( style, which they find more subtle and sophisticated than
| elaborate description, but in English the velvet wears thin;
the language tends to be flat and banal. And the jewels
themselves look a bit dull. Tales of Ise has traditionally
been esteemed as a handbook for poets, one that demonstrates better than any other the attitudes and occasions that
should inspire poetry, and the manner in which poems
should be written. Yet these famous verses, the heart of the
work, sound distressingly trivial in translation.
The reader may find it useful, therefore, to learn something about the origins of classical Japanese poetry and
about its technical complexities, conventions, standards,
and self-imposed limitations. This can best be done by consulting Brower and Miner's invaluable study, but minimal
guidelines are provided in the following pages, which also
deal with questions pertinent to Tales of Ise alone—its title,
authorship, date, structure, and the like—and with Ariwara Narihira, the great ninth-century poet whose shadow
hovers over these pages.
1
Notes will be found at the back of the book, beginning on p. 196.
4
JAPANESE COURT POETRY IN T H E N I N T H AND
T E N T H CENTURIES
Tales of Ise is anonymous and of uncertain date, and so are
a majority of its poems, but it is probably safe to assume
that few, if any, of the poems are more recent than 950, and
that most of them were written during the ninth century.2
The poems coincide roughly in period, therefore, with
those in the first imperial anthology of Japanese poetry,
Ko\inshu, or Collection of Ancient and Modern Times, in
whose title "ancient times" means essentially the early
decades of the ninth century. There are, moreover, basic
similarities of theme, technique, and tone between the two
collections, as well as a partial duplication of content. The
kinds of poems considered worthy of an imperial anthology were also the kinds admired by the unknown author
or authors of Ise monogatari, and they represent the practice and taste of contemporary court society. They were indeed so peculiarly a product of that society that they cannot
5
Introduction
Introduction
be discussed without reference to it. Let us consider, for
example, the poetic criteria articulated by Ki no Tsurayuki
(884-946), the principal literary critic of his day, whose
preface to Ko\inshu systematized and formalized existing
practice. Brower and Miner say of Tsurayuki:
The rule of taste governed every aspect of a nobleman's
life—the manner in which he performed his official functions, his choice of avocations and amusements, his clothing
and domestic arrangements, his social relationships, and
his attitude toward nature. The importance of the rule led
to anxious deliberation, for the insecure, in such apparently
trivial matters as choosing between lavender letter paper
and blue, because a false step might expose the offender to
mortifying censure. Letter writing was a major preoccupation of the society; by correspondence courtiers and ladies
kept in touch with friends and relatives and conducted the
amorous intrigues to which much of their leisure was devoted. Paper and handwriting were subjected to highly
critical scrutiny. The author of The Gossamer Years, a
tenth-century court lady's diary, says huffily of a message
from an admirer, "The paper was rather unbecoming for
such an occasion, I thought, and the handwriting was astonishingly bad. Having heard that he was an accomplished penman, I wondered indeed whether he might not
have had someone else write it."5 The handwriting of a
cultivated person was expected to reflect impeccable taste—
elegance, sophisticated simplicity, and perfect balance.
Readers of The Tale of Genji will recall similar displays
of fastidiousness, especially in matters having to do with
personal attire. Descriptions and appraisals of court ladies'
toilettes also account for much of the bulk of other Heian
literary works, including the diary of Genfis author,
Murasaki Shikibu. The humiliation of one feckless butterfly, transfixed for posterity by Murasaki's sharp eye, is a
famous example. "That day," Murasaki wrote, "all the
ladies dressed with the utmost magnificence. One however
was guilty of a lapse of taste in the color combination at
her wrist, and all the great nobles and other courtiers no-
The central value in Tsurayuki's poetic ideal... was a strong
sense of decorous elegance which involved an emphasis on style,
a proper poetic diction, an accepted range of forms and themes,
and virtuosity. A good poem was one that responded to given
situations with purity of diction and in ways sanctioned by tradition, but one that also possessed a certain originality of treatment. There was a tendency to view materials, subjects, and
decorum as aspects of diction, and attitude, technique, and
themes as aspects of tone. Such a distinction, reflected in the
Preface to the Kolynshu by the terms \otoba, "diction," and
^fo\oro, "spirit," was to remain throughout the tradition as the
central concept of the Japanese poetic.3
The phrase "decorous elegance" strikes close to the essence not only of Tsurayuki's poetic, but also of the cultural
milieu from which the poetic emerged; the words carry the
scent of the hothouse atmosphere in which aristocratic
Heian poets breathed and worked. This central quality in
Heian culture, which Sir George Sansom has called "the
rule of taste,"4 resulted from the interaction between a conscious emphasis on sobriety, restraint, and formality, and a
somewhat naive and romantic emotionalism and love of
nature, reinforced by a haunting sense of the transience of
worldly things, and accompanied by a stubborn predilection for the beautiful, the decorative, and the opulent. The
leaders of this little band of aesthetes walked the tightrope
of sensibility with sure-footed artistry, though their less
gifted followers lived in constant danger of a tumble into
sentimentality.
6
7
Introduction
Introduction
ticed it when she cleared away the things from the imperial
presence
It was nothing very serious, but one shade
looked a bit pale."6
Especially important to the content and tone of court
poetry was the rule of taste as it applied to the natural
world. The lives and interests of the nobility centered on
the imperial city of Heian. To be forced to reside in the
provinces was to be exiled; long journeys were undertaken
with extreme reluctance, attended by timorous (if justified) misgivings about the dangers of the road, and lamented in floods of plaintively nostalgic poems. But the
incomparable beauty of Japan's mountains and streams
persuaded these city dwellers to build suburban villas and
hunting lodges, and to venture on pilgrimages to nearby
shrines and temples. No pastime was considered more elegant, and none was more typical of the age, than a brief
excursion into the countryside, where, with a few companions, a gentleman sipped wine and composed verses inspired by the ever-changing face of nature. In the capital
itself, every aspect of nature could be observed in the landscape gardens of the great mansions, whose lakes, streams,
hills, rocks, and plants were designed with infinite pains
to suggest well-known scenic places and to appear to advantage at different seasons of the year. There one might
watch the nocturnal voyaging of the harvest moon, select a
single perfect chrysanthemum to accompany a gift, or,
seated alone of a wintry morning, indulge in elegant musings on the resemblance between plum blossoms and snow.
No well-bred person remained unmoved in the presence
of nature, and few aristocrats allowed their reactions to
pass unrecorded in verse. A nature poem was expected to
demonstrate a capacity for close observation, a keen appreciation of beauty, and, most important, a sensitivity to the
poignancy inherent in the relationship between beauty,
ephemerality, and the human condition. On viewing a
cherry tree in full bloom, someone like Prince Genji, the
idealized hero of The Tale of Genji, was likely to write of
the evanescence of the blossoms, or to reflect that although
the tree would bloom again, man's own springtime comes
but once. In the cicada's papery husk and the withering
plumes of summer grasses, Heian poets recognized the
tyranny of time; and nature's more permanent aspects inspired them to melancholy reflections on the brevity of
human existence and the uncertainties besetting man's
troubled passage through the world.
A courtier responded, then, to the first green of spring, to
snowfall, mist, and rain, to the scattering of blossoms. And
the tone of the response was the tone of Heian society. Its
basis was a love of beauty so sophisticated, so highly refined,
that it permitted no careless outpouring of spontaneous
feeling. Emotion was conveyed through understatement
and veiled allusion, through the subtle, half-spoken evocation of a mood; it was contained within channels of formality and propriety and expressed with decorous elegance.
The cultivated man was expected to display equal taste
and sensitivity in his relations with others. He conducted
affairs of the heart with delicate solicitude for the lady's
feelings, as when Prince Genji, blundering into a relationship with an awkward, red-nosed princess, made himself
permanently responsible for her happiness because it was
clear that she would never attract another suitor.7 In other
social relationships as well, the requisites were tact, a ready
wit, and discernment—the ability to grasp the nuances of a
situation and respond appropriately, preferably in verse.
Poetry concerned with human relations reflects these so-
8
9
Introduction
Introduction
cial requirements, and so does most nature poetry, because
natural phenomena are almost invariably presented in
terms of their effect on man in a specific situation with social connotations. Heian poems are occasional pieces, instruments of social intercourse, and much of their interest
derives from the circumstances of their composition. How
well has the poet met the implicit challenge ? How skillfully has he shown his mastery of the rule of taste ?
Ko\tnshu and Tales of he both contain the following
poem by Ariwara Narihira (KKS 884, IM 82):
sat far into the night, gazing at the moon. When at last the
moon sinks toward the hills and the prince prepares to retire, Narihira detains him with the poem Akana\u ni, a
graceful, compressed allegorical expression of sentiments
that in another society might be spelled out at tedious
length: "Today has been a rare experience. You have allowed us to accompany you to the fields; you have entertained us most graciously at dinner. We shall never forget
the cherry blossoms at Nagisa, the poems on the return
journey, or the stories this evening as the moon climbed the
skies. It is hard indeed that such a day in such company
must end. Will you not linger with us a while ? Life with
its precious moments passes as swiftly as the moon crosses
the heavens; let us enjoy it while we may."
In the eyes of Japanese critics, A\ana\u ni succeeds because it combines grace, sensitivity, and wit in a moving
expression of the dominant aesthetic ideal of the age, the
blend of elegance and pathos known as mono no aware.
The same is thought to be true, in varying degree, of the
other poems in he monogatari—all are model responses to
social situations, evoking mono no aware, the pathos of life,
by means of apt metaphors, elegant diction, and images
rich in literary connotations.
The Western reader who knows something of Japanese
classical literature may, however, question the claim of a
poem like A\ana\u ni to wit, originality, or genuine emotion. The Heian Japanese very early abandoned the freedom and experimentation of the Man'yoshu period and
limited themselves to a 31-syllable, 5-line verse form and a
rigidly restricted range of topics, techniques, vocabulary,
and images. The rules of the game left scant room for what
we should regard as creative expression. Tsurayuki and his
Akanaku ni
Madaki mo tsuki no
Kakururu ka
Yama no ha nigete
Irezu mo aranan.
Must the moon disappear
In such haste,
Leaving us still unsatisfied ?
Would that the mountain rim
might flee
And refuse to receive her.
It is apparent, of course, that Narihira and others have
been watching the moon, and that they regret its setting.
The ritual of gazing at the moon has the prestige of Chinese precedent, familiar from innumerable poems and
paintings, and is thus immediately classifiable as a gentleman's pursuit. The poet also demonstrates the requisite
feeling for the impermanence of beauty. But it is the apt
response to specific circumstances that makes the poem
truly elegant. To appreciate the response, we need the
background provided by Tales of he's prose context, which
reveals that the imperial prince Koretaka, off on a hunting
trip with a group of attendants, has spent most of a long
spring day under blossoming cherry trees, sipping wine
and chanting verses. At the prince's villa, the company has
10
11
Introduction
Introduction
colleagues dictated the acceptable themes: love, nature,
travel, sorrow, happy events, and a few others. These are,
to be sure, universal poetic staples, but nevertheless the list
represents a rejection of such topics as poverty, warfare,
and the life of the lower classes, which had been exploited
in earlier periods but were now stigmatized as vulgar, distressing, and violent.
Similarly, the Ko\inshu arbiters of taste prescribed a limited range of poetic techniques, which were to grow wearisomely familiar with the passage of time. One of the most
important was the pivot word, or \a\e\otoba, so called because the poet used it as a pivot between two series of
sounds with "overlapping syntactical and semantic patterns."8 In a rough English approximation, Goldilocks
might have said, after inspecting her bedroom, "I have
seen a bearly credible sight."
Another standard technique was the associative word, or
engo, "a word that has or creates an 'association' with a
preceding word or situation, often bringing out an additional dimension of meaning."9 There is a simple example
in Tales of Ise (28):
A somewhat less common device, used primarily for formal occasions, was the ma\ura \otoba (pillow word), or
fixed epithet, normally five syllables long: thus, chihayaburu, "mighty," an epithet for "god." New makura kotoba
had been created freely in the preceding literary period,
but the stock remained virtually stationary during Heian
times, and in many cases the original meaning was only
vaguely surmised. Such sonorous, majestic words were
thought to invest a poem with an aura of dignity and formality.
Similar to the pillow word, but considerably more flexible, was the jo (preface), or introductory statement, often
untranslatable, which was joined to "the basic 'statement'
of the p o e m . . . by word play, by similarity of sound, or by
an implied metaphorical relationship."10 In the following
travel poem from Tales of Ise (9), the preface is related to
its statement by an identity of sounds {utsu/utsutsu). The
first two lines serve merely to introduce utsutsu ("reality,"
"one's waking moments") and to furnish an oblique indication of the poet's whereabouts:
Nadote kaku
Au go katami ni
Nariniken
Mizu morasaji to
Musubishi mono o.
Why is it now
Impossible for us to meet—
We who were bound together
Like the strands of a close-woven
basket
Impermeable to water.
The engo is musubishi, a form of musubu, "to bind together," which is homophonous with musubu, "to scoop up
water with the hands"; the association is with mizu, "water," in line 4.
12
Suruga naru
Utsu no yamabe no
Utsutsu ni mo
Yume ni mo hito ni
Awanu narikeri.
Beside Mount Utsu
In Suruga
I can see you
Neither waking
Nor, alas, even in my dreams.
Diction, imagery, allegory, metaphor, and simile offered
certain possibilities for freshness and variety, but only about
2,000 words and a prescribed list of images were acceptable,
and metaphors tended to conform to predictable patterns.
In the poem below (IM 10), the reader knows at once that
someone is asking a man to marry a girl:
13
Introduction
Miyoshino no
Tanomu no kari mo
Hitaburu ni
Kimi ga kata ni zo
Yoru to naku naru.
The wild goose that shelters
On Miyoshino's fields
Cries that it looks
In your direction
And in no other.
By the end of the classical period, the wild goose had appeared many times in the role of a young girl, and she was
a rather tired old bird.
In the ninth century, however, the wild goose was young
and the full potentialities of kakekotoba and engo were yet
to be tapped. Narihira stands on the threshold of the classical tradition; his moon poem is no mere intellectual exercise sustained by shopworn verbal tricks, no lace curtain
mono no aware, but the real thing. And one can say the
same, with certain reservations, of other poems in Tales of
Ise.
But even though some he poets may have been innovators who helped to shape the classical tradition, are not
poems like A\ana\u ni little more than adaptations of Chinese prototypes ? The question raises still others. How did
the ninth-century Japanese develop the set of values symbolized by the phrase mono no aware ? What accounts for
the peculiarly social role of their poetry, and for the importance of that role ? How original is even the best Japanese court poetry ? Without some notion of the extent of
Chinese influence in all these matters, one can neither appraise the poetry in Tales of Ise nor properly understand
the cultural milieu from which it emerged.
CHINA AND T H E JAPANESE POETIC TRADITION
Tales of Ise, like all recorded Japanese literature of its day,
is a product of court society, written by and for members
14
Introduction
of a tiny elite of perhaps a thousand persons, or about onetenth of one per cent of the total population. And it owes its
place in literary history to a rather peculiar feature of that
society—the importance attached to the composition and
recitation of the 31-syllable classical verse known as the
wa\a, or "Japanese poem." To understand how poetry
came to occupy a central position in the cultural life of the
Japanese aristocracy, one must look for a moment at the
source of Japan's higher civilization, China—and particularly at the great T'ang empire (618-906), upon whose
cultural riches the Japanese drew with insatiable ardor and
lasting effect during the seventh, eighth, and early ninth
centuries.
The Confucian Ideal. Around the beginning of the seventh century, when large-scale Japanese borrowing began,
Chinese civilization was already 2,000 years old. Confucius
had died a millennium earlier. One great empire, the Han
(206 B.C.-A.D. 220), had risen and perished; and a second,
the T'ang, was entering its glorious career after the 350year interlude of political disunity known as the Six Dynasties period (ca. 222-ca. 589), during which barbarian
states had occupied the ancient seat of civilization in the
north, and the center of Chinese culture had shifted to the
south.
During the Han dynasty, there had evolved a concept of
government that was basically to affect the development of
Chinese literature, and thus of Japanese literature as well.
It postulated the necessity of a specially trained and specially selected governing class, and it identified that class
with the Confucian literati, who were thought to be the
"cultivated men" envisioned in the famous essay known as
"The Great Learning."11 The nature of the education and
personal traits desirable in such scholar-bureaucrats was
still somewhat nebulous in Han times, but tradition and
15
Introduction
Introduction
the operation of the T'ang civil service examination system
had prescribed their essential attributes fairly clearly by
the period with which we are concerned.
The ideal product of the T'ang examination system was
a man who had devoted years to studying the lessons of the
past, as recorded in official histories and the teachings of
the philosophers; who applied as an official the knowledge
and wisdom thus acquired; and who used his leisure hours
to "cultivate his person" for the good of the state. He aspired to skill in calligraphy, for example, because he and
his peers felt that handwriting was an index of character—
only the serenity and confidence born of uprightness and
wisdom could produce brush strokes that combined
strength with elegance, and firmness with sensitivity and
moderation. He was a good amateur painter, because he
hoped to enrich his spirit and discipline his mind by contemplating the mysteries of nature and by mastering the
exacting materials, the silk and brush, that permitted no
hesitancy, no false starts or erasures. (He did not attempt
to become more than an amateur, because he regarded the
professional painter as an artisan.) He performed and listened to improving music, which by its purity, restraint,
and classic balance promoted qualities of gravity and decorum. Popular music he regarded as subversive of man's
higher instincts.
Taste in literature was governed by similar considerations. The T'ang man of letters ignored or attacked works
of fiction because he considered them tissues of lies and
suspected them of undermining the qualities of sincerity,
honor, nobility, and decorum that had to be cultivated, particularly among the ruling elite, if the nation were to be
properly ordered. Classical poetry he esteemed as the highest form of literature. There could be no more dignified
and wholesome employment of one's free hours than savoring the poems of past generations and composing what one
hoped might be considered worthy successors. To a Confucian gentleman, composing poetry, like painting and
playing music, was a form of self-discipline and self-improvement. He did not simply sit down and toss off a
lover's lament or an effusion on the beauties of nature. He
ordered his thoughts coolly and soberly. He considered the
philosophical implications of his theme. Summoning the
wraiths of earlier poems on similar topics, he added subtle
overtones for the perceptive reader by borrowing a pair of
adjectives, a turn of speech, or an allusion. And finally,
with due attention to complicated rules of prosody, he produced a few choice lines.
The Confucian value system, in short, assigned to poetry
a role that was political, moral, and social; poetry was a
useful adjunct to government because it improved the quality of the ruling class. Official sponsorship at the highest
level is the basic reason for the predominant place of poetry
in the literary traditions of China and Japan. In both countries it was taken for granted that a cultivated man would
compose poems; poetry writing was not only an approved
but a compulsory avocation.
In Japan, where imported values faced persistent indigenous challenges, and also in China, especially during periods of political turmoil, the moral and political benefits
to be derived from versification sometimes were at best
perfunctorily recognized. Confucian sponsorship guaranteed poetry respectability and a continuing social role, but
did not prevent it from developing along lines that were
often notably not Confucian. This was particularly true in
China during the Six Dynasties period, whose poetic practice was admired and imitated by Heian courtiers.
16
17
Introduction
Introduction
Six Dynasties Poetry. The poetic form that had claimed
the attention of Han bureaucrats wascthe fu (sometimes
called prose poem), a literary piece in which the author
exhausted his powers of observation and imagination on
some topic, producing a work replete with parallelism, difficult characters, recondite allusions, and unusual words
and phrases drawn from the treasure house of the Chinese
language. Its composition was an intellectual exercise, a
suitable pastime for a Confucian gentleman.
When the Han dynasty collapsed early in the third century, Confucianism was discredited. Political and social
upheaval led to a resurgence of Taoism, both philosophical
and popular, a new interest in Buddhism, and an antisocial, escapist, hedonistic spirit of rebellion against Confucian dogma. Some scholar-intellectuals turned to rival systems of thought; others retreated to hermitages; others,
fleeing south with the great aristocratic families, tried to
perform their accustomed roles in the new southern states,
where the shibboleths of Confucianism were acknowledged, but where the social and political atmosphere was
distinctly uncongenial to the Confucian ethic. For a career
at a southern court, and especially for survival during the
violent transitions between ruling houses, the most useful
qualities were not soberness, probity, and a sound grounding in the classics, but resourcefulness, flexibility, a not
overscrupulous sense of honor, and the ability to adapt to
the requirements of a pleasure-seeking, increasingly decadent court society. Personally insecure, politically impotent, and infected by the restless spirit of the times, the
uprooted aristocrats spent their energies, their ingenuity,
and their considerable wealth on the construction and embellishment of costly palaces and villas, on elaborate entertainments, on amorous dalliance, and on an incessant
search for amusement. Enchanted by the lush scenery of
the south (which was inspiring other emigres to create
China's first true nature poetry and landscape painting),
they reproduced the beauty of rivers, lakes, and mountains
in the grounds of their elegant residences; and there they
and their literati guests whiled away the nights with
dancing girls, wine, and poetry.
For such occasions the Han-style fu was inappropriate.
It was not dropped altogether, but a new verse form met
the needs of a new day—'the shih, thenceforth the classic
Chinese poetic form. The shih developed during the Six
Dynasties period into a highly formal medium characterized by lines of five or seven characters (rarely, four), parallelism, end rhyme, and a complex pattern of internal tone
harmony. By the end of the period the number of lines,
originally rather considerable, had diminished to eight,
six, or four—convenient lengths for impromptu versifying.
In the sixth century most of the shih being written in
south China12 were nature poems. Their subjects were determined by the surroundings at alfresco nocturnal banquets (moonlight on the lake, the stars, clouds passing in
front of the moon), by the occasion (the annual chrysanthemum banquet or a cherry blossom party), or by conditions set by a host, who might call on guests to celebrate
prominent features of his garden, to compose poems on
topics suggested by lines from old poems, or to match
rhymes with a designated verse. At one gathering of which
an account has been preserved, those present were required
to write 20-line poems on the theme of the Weaver Maid
and the Herdsman, using identical rhyming characters and
devoting four lines to each of five designated subordinate
topics.13 The object was always to produce, with the greatest possible speed and wit, an elegantly allusive verse with
18
19
Introduction
Introduction
aristocratic polish, an aura of opulent beauty, and a melodious tonal pattern. A man with a reliable memory could
achieve social success by simply stringing together impressive words or phrases from earlier poems, with little or no
independent contribution. These circumstances did not invite originality or profundity, and many poems, such as the
one below on the topic "Snow,"14 were almost totally devoid of content:
opment of mono no aware as a uniquely Japanese aesthetic
ideal. The most important similarities were that the upper
strata in both societies consisted of a hereditary aristocracy
of wealthy dilettantes and their satellites, and that accidents
of history, climate, and topography made the interests and
pastimes of the one congenial to the other. The migration
to the mild and beautiful south, the demoralizing troubles
of the age, and the temporary discomfiture of Confucianism made the Chinese nobility much more receptive than
before to the philosophies of Taoism and Buddhism (both
of which preached man's oneness with nature), and increased their interest in their physical surroundings. Their
example reached Japan only secondhand, by way of T'ang,
but it carried the prestige of Chinese origin and it came to
a land where similar interests had existed for many centuries. Shinto rituals, Manyoshu poems, early chronicles,
and other sources attest unmistakably to the antiquity and
strength of the Japanese people's love for their hills and
waters. So the Heian courtiers, welcoming new and more
sophisticated ways of expressing old commitments, designed landscape gardens of their own, celebrated the
blooming of the chrysanthemums with annual court ceremonies, and made a ritual of gazing at the moon. And at
court functions and private gatherings, they too composed
poems on man's relationship to nature, and at times degraded poetry to the status of a game.
As we have seen, Confucian tradition was largely responsible for the important social role assigned to poetry
at the Six Dynasties courts, and for the poets' imitativeness,
conservatism, intellectualism, preciosity, and concern with
style. One could point to many other areas of the society
where Confucianism made its presence felt. But it is probably right to say that the influence of Confucianism was
Flying salt mingles with dancing butterflies,
Falling flowers whirl onto a powder box,
Powder from a box whirls amid falling flowers,
Dancing butterflies mingle with flying salt.
Few scholars today would disagree with a critic in the
Sui dynasty (ca. 581-618) who attacked late Six Dynasties
poetry as a shallow and artificial "literature of moonlight
and dew," and demanded a restoration of the Han balance
between form and content. Similar strictures abound in
Chinese literary criticism. But it would be a mistake to underestimate the historical importance of the Six Dynasties
poets, for they developed the technical conventions observed by the far greater poets of T'ang, they firmly established the social role of poetry in China, they bequeathed a
heritage of traditionalism and sophisticated elegance that
enriched Chinese poetry in its great periods and weakened
it in periods of decline, and they determined the basic direction followed by Japanese court poetry for a thousand
years.
Certain resemblances between Six Dynasties China and
Heian Japan suggest a reason for the persistence of Six Dynasties literary practices in Japan; certain differences between the two societies may help to account for the devel20
21
Introduction
Introduction
significantly stronger in Heian Japan. To be sure, Heian
Japan was not a Confucian society in the sense that Han,
or T'ang, was Confucian. There was far too much hereditary privilege, too much frivolity, and too little attention to
the serious business of government and to public and private morality. The immediate Chinese example was, however, that of T'ang, and Confucian tradition did impose
certain standards of decorum and formality that were absent at the Six Dynasties courts. Heian society was hedonistic but not debauched, extravagant but not unrestrained.
Excess of any kind was vulgar, and vulgarity was the unpardonable sin. Confucian influence thus helps to account
for the restraint, refinement, and elegance of Heian court
life and Heian court poetry—and also, it must be added, for
the tyranny of tradition, the concern with form at the expense of content, and the bloodless quality of the typical
Heian courtier as he appears in literature, all graceful poses,
fine robes, and fashionable airs.
Can we say, then, that the ideal of mono no aware resulted from the imposition of Six Dynasties hedonism and
T'ang Confucianism upon an indigenous aristocratic social
structure and an ingrained love of beauty ? Not quite, for
the predominance of Buddhism in China between the midfourth and late eighth centuries had consequences important to Heian culture.
Buddhism entered China from India around the beginning of the Christian era, but its significant impact came
only with the disintegration of the Han social fabric. We
have observed that during the Six Dynasties period its
teachings, like those of Taoism, promoted the dilettantish,
hedonistic tendencies of the southern ruling class by encouraging a repudiation of social responsibilities, a new
feeling of identification with nature, and a sense of the
vanity of worldly things. At the same time, there was a
great wave of religious fervor—eager acceptance of the new
religion in the highest circles, and active private and official
patronage with strong economic support, both in the south
and in the barbarian capitals of the north—and the flood
did not ebb until the ninth century, 200 years after the beginning of Japan's major period of borrowing. Intellectuals, men who in another day would have become Confucian scholar-bureaucrats, took the tonsure and dedicated
their lives to translating and elucidating the scriptures.
Artists, architects, and artisans erected soaring pagodas and
great halls filled with gilt-bronze statues donated by the
pious. Monasteries flourished; images were carved in remote cliffs and caves.
For China such changes were unprecedented. Never before in recorded history had the ancient center of East
Asian civilization been affected so profoundly by an alien
influence. And when Buddhism reached Japan, a country
whose inhabitants had not advanced very far beyond the
neolithic stage, the impact was infinitely greater. Entering
by way of Korea during the sixth century, the religion was
identified at once with the continental Chinese culture
that the Japanese were seeking with increasing avidity. Its
appeal was twofold. First, it seemed inseparably linked to
the material aspects of Chinese civilization: when through
Korea, and later directly from China, the Japanese imported paintings, sculpture, new styles of architecture, and the
products of continental technology, they brought in Buddhism too. And second, it offered an alluring alternative to
the amorphous, naive Shinto cults, although the highly
sophisticated nature of that alternative was not immediately recognized. To dazzled members of the upper classes,
encountering for the first time the awe-inspiring statues
22
23
Introduction
and marvelously wrought hand bells and altar vessels, the
chanting high priests in their gorgeous vestments, and the
masked dancers treading stately measures while exotic instruments skirled and trilled, Buddhism seemed to be, and
was valued as, a new and potent form of magic.
Closer acquaintance brought a slowly maturing comprehension of the intellectual message of Buddhism, but it is
probably fair to say that for many Japanese the basic attractions of the Indian religion remained essentially what
they had been at the beginning. In the Heian period, the
great Buddhist ceremonies that studded the court's calendar had two roles. They protected the state against natural
calamities, sickness, foreign invasion, and strange celestial
phenomena, and they functioned as elaborate entertainments, mounted with practiced showmanship and thoroughly enjoyed by participants and spectators.15 Privately
commissioned rituals, sometimes only slightly less lavish
and impressive, served similar purposes for members of the
nobility, rescuing them from boredom and helping them
to marry well, bear their children safely, and thwart bodily
ills.
There were of course many serious and devout believers,
some with an extensive knowledge of metaphysical subtleties ; and even the most indolent and worldly of their contemporaries were affected in conduct and attitude by certain easily apprehensible Buddhist notions that formed part
of every aristocrat's intellectual equipment. One of these
articles of faith was the belief in rebirth in Amida Buddha's
paradise, attested in innumerable sources of the period;
another was the idea of karma—the assumption that a
man's actions in one life determine his fate in the next—
which is a major theme in The Tale of Genji. And still
another was the insistence on the transience of worldly
24
Introduction
things, a point of view that found expression in almost
every aspect of Heian life. In most respects Heian Buddhism did not differ strikingly from the Buddhism of the
Six Dynasties and early T'ang, but one does find in it an
unusual preoccupation with the concept of impermanence
in nature and in human affairs, an idiosyncrasy that cannot
be explained satisfactorily, though one notes that it fits the
characteristic pattern of Japanese intellectual history, in
which emotional reasoning has consistently been preferred
to speculative thought. It is, I think, this trait, in combination with the elements discussed earlier, that makes Heian
culture unique and gives Japanese court poetry its special
quality. As Brower and Miner say, time "is perhaps the
element that touches the Japanese sensibility most deeply
and in the most various ways."16 In Tales of he, as in many
other works of Japanese literature, the tyranny of time is a
recurrent theme.
Chinese Influence in the Early Heian Period. How did
Chinese influence modify Japanese poetic practice ? More
specifically, how did it affect the poetry in Ise monogatari?
To what extent are the Ise poems products of individual
creativity, imitations of earlier native traditions, or merely
clever adaptations of foreign models ?
If we attempt to find answers by inspecting waka produced on public occasions during the opening decades of
the Heian period, we shall be disappointed. There are, incredibly, none to inspect, for the public events of early
Heian inspired only halting effusions in Chinese. Nothing
could speak more eloquently of the nature and extent of
Chinese influence at the beginning of the ninth century. It
is often said that the eighth century was Japan's great period of Sinicization, and it is true that eighth-century sovereigns and their ministers labored diligently, and with re25
Introduction
markable results, to create at Nara a small-scale replica of
the imperial Chinese capital at Ch'ang-an. But much of the
change was only external. Political and economic evidence,
indigenous myths and attitudes embedded in the official
eighth-century histories, and the very existence of Man'yoshu all reveal stubborn native resistance to alien institutions and ideas.
By the early ninth century, however, 200 years of assiduous borrowing and assimilation had produced a court society approximating the ideal aspired to by Nara emperors.
The rulers in the new capital at Heian (Kyoto) laid out
their city according to the Chinese checkerboard pattern,
devised impressive Chinese names for their palace gates,
and constructed a vermilion Chinese-style hall of state with
emerald-blue roof tiles. In 818 and 820, Chinese dress and
rules of etiquette were prescribed for both ordinary and
ceremonial occasions. Chinese delicacies were served at
state and private banquets. The annual ceremonial observances around which court life revolved followed T'ang
precedents. A T'ang-style bureaucracy operated a T'angstyle tax system. And Chinese ideas, values, and attitudes
shaped the character of court life in innumerable ways.
In that environment the Chinese writing system, Chinese
learning, and Chinese belles lettres encountered little opposition. Japanese poetry disappeared from public life.
Though waka were still written, they became chiefly instruments of courtship; their function was social but private. No Japanese poems were demanded by early Heian
emperors at their -court banquets, and none are preserved
in their official records.
The rather nervous efforts of Japanese courtiers to compose in Chinese, which had begun in the seventh century,
received fresh encouragement from sovereigns like Em26
Introduction
peror Saga (r. 809-23), an ardent Sinophile and tireless versifier who must have terrorized inferior linguists with his
constant requests for Chinese poems during palace functions and imperial excursions. The results are partially preserved in four anthologies, one dating from the Nara period
and the others (all imperially commissioned) from the first
three decades of the ninth century. The collections are valuable not so much for their literary appeal, which is limited,
as for what they reveal about the events and motivations
that inspired their contents. They show clearly that almost
all shih were composed for banquets, excursions, festivals,
funerals, and other public and social functions. Recitations
of Chinese poems formed part of the regular proceedings
at several annual court ceremonies (the literary banquet,
the spring and fall festivals in honor of Confucius, the
chrysanthemum banquet, etc.); they contributed to the
success of important special events, such as the banquets
held after lectures on the Chinese classics and histories; and
they lent an agreeable tone of sophistication to informal
occasions.
Such literary activity was satisfyingly elevated and continental, but it may be doubted that Emperor Saga and
other rulers could have counted on quite the same degree
of cooperation had the poets' rewards been purely social.
It is significant that the great period of Chinese studies and
Chinese literary composition in Heian came around 81025, when former political and military threats had been
dissipated, the government's financial situation was stable,
and a single aristocratic house, the Fujiwara, had not yet
secured control of the machinery of state. During those
years the perennially powerless emperors, able for once to
exercise a certain amount of independent authority, utilized the prestige of China to combat hereditary privilege.
27
Introduction
Introduction
It was certain that lineage would continue to be the major
qualification for public office, but the emperors hoped to
weaken rival houses by emphasizing the necessity of a Confucian education for bureaucrats. Their ministers, they announced, would be chosen at least partly on the basis of
merit. The national university, a T'ang-style institution established in the Nara period to train future officials, consequently took on an importance that it retained until the
rise of the Fujiwara (ca. 850) made its degrees worthless as
instruments of political advancement.
The principles, structure, and curriculum of the university followed the T'ang pattern, with the significant exception that enrollment was open only to the hereditary nobility. As in T'ang, the basic curriculum included literature
whose primary appeal was stylistic. The most important
literary text assigned to students was the Wen hsiian (Literary Selections), a voluminous anthology of stylistic masterpieces compiled by a late Six Dynasties prince. This
work, the most famous Chinese anthology and the largest
compendium of pre-T'ang prose and poetry, was immensely influential at the early Heian court, where special Wen
hsiian banquets and lectures were held. Some earnest noblemen memorized all of its 30 chapters, presumably in preparation for their examinations, which required the composition of a poem in the classical Chinese style. During the
few decades before the Fujiwara ascendancy, the examinations conducted by the Ministry of Ceremonial were taken
with the utmost seriousness. They were staged with great
formality, sometimes in the presence of the emperor himself, and a brilliant performance meant social recognition
that could have important political consequences.17
It was in this atmosphere that ambitious noblemen composed their Chinese poems, first as students practicing for
the examinations, and later as officials whose careers could
be affected by their performances. With so much at stake,
and in view of the practical problems involved, it is not
surprising that their exercises were a bit timid. Fortunately,
originality was not expected of them. Theirs was scissorsand-paste composition—not merely influenced by Chinese
poems, but rather directly imitating and unabashedly plagiarizing them. Given a specific topic (and nearly all poems
were composed under such circumstances; they were not
spontaneous emotional reactions to stimuli in the poets'
lives), a courtier merely consulted a handy Chinese anthology, or, even better, a collection of famous lines on
specific topics, and borrowed suitable words and phrases,
substituting Japanese place names and adding a few other
naturalizing touches. Early Heian libraries contained, in
addition to the Wen hsiian, a fairly considerable number of
collections and source books dating from the Six Dynasties
period to mid-T'ang. Their owners regarded them not as
works of literature to be appraised on the basis of their
aesthetic merits, but as stockpiles of uniform value and
utility, and they dipped with cheerful eclecticism into first
one and then another as they cooked up "their chowders,
their hodgepodges of Chinese poetry."18
To trace the influence of a single Chinese poet, a single
school of poetry, or even a single era, on any early Heian
poem is an almost hopeless task.19 But one can say that the
artificiality, imitativeness, preoccupation with form, and
purely public orientation of Japanese shih reflect tastes and
attitudes far more characteristic of Six Dynasties courtiers
than of important T'ang poets like Li Po and Tu Fu. The
early Heian Japanese were not unacquainted with Li Po
(701-62) and Tu Fu (712-70), but they seem to have found
it difficult to understand them and the themes they used
(many of which were alien to Japanese experience), and to
have preferred to concentrate on the kind of poetry de-
28
29
Introduction
Introduction
manded of examination candidates—i.e., public poetry of
the Six Dynasties variety. Those who ventured further
afield were usually content to imitate private Six Dynasties
poems praising nature or commemorating festive events
among the nobility, or to compose "Poems on Things," a
category of Six Dynasties and T'ang verse that dealt with
specific topics suggested by the life of the upper classes: a
bird, an insect, or a plant in a landscape garden; the sun,
the moon, rain, or snow as observed from a garden; an art
object, an article ofiurniture, or a court beauty.
( The Resurgence of the Wa\a. The Heian court's rabidly Sinophile phase was short-lived. By the fourth decade of
the ninth century, Emperor Saga was no longer on the
throne, Chinese studies and the university were declining
as Fujiwara fortunes rose, and contact with the waning
T'ang empire was diminishing. The Japanese were both assimilating Chinese cultural values and creating or reasserting native ones to shape the complex, sophisticated culture
mirrored in Kokjnshu, Tales of Ise, and The Tale of Genji.
One symptom of change was the appearance of the delicate,
decorative yamatoe, or Japanese picture, and its acceptance
as an art form equal in dignity to the Chinese landscape
painting. Another was the derivation from Chinese characters of simple syllabaries (\ana) for use in writing Japanese. For official histories, government documents, petitions to the buddhas, and court nobles' diaries, the Chinese
language (or an approximation thereof) prevailed; but,
from the ninth century on, ladies and other ignorant or
lazy persons could set down their thoughts, feelings, and
imaginings in Japanese. This development not only made
possible such distinguished prose works as The Tale of
Genji, The Gossamer Years, and Sei Shonagon's Pillow
Boo\, but also gave powerful impetus to the revival of Japa-
nese poetry. (One is much more likely to send along a
poem with a gift, message, or love letter if one is not obliged
to go to the shelf for dictionaries and reference works, seek
out 31 Chinese characters that might be used as phonetic
symbols, consider the advantages of inserting certain characters for their semantic value, and trust that the recipient
will be able to muster the erudition, ingenuity, and patience
to decipher the result.)
With kana and a renewed belief in the worth of their
cherished native traditions, the Japanese challenged the
unnatural monopoly of the shih. The trend is first discernible in the 830's and 840's among a few well-educated
courtiers—such as Ariwara Narihira's older brother Yukihira—who composed waka to which they applied lessons
learned in their tussles with Chinese anthologies. By the
mid-ninth century a waka revival was at hand. Japanese
poems appeared alongside pictures on the folding screens
that Fujiwara nobles provided for their womenfolk in imitation of T'ang custom. They were recited during T'angstyle competitions between rival sets of paintings, sweetflag roots, or incense compounds. And presently, perhaps
as an outgrowth of the last pastime, they began to be written for poetry contests in the imperial palace and the mansions of the great—increasingly important functions that
aroused deep passions and desperate determination among
the participants and their supporters. Emperors no longer
called solely for Chinese poems during banquets and hunting excursions. By the end of the century the eclipse of the
shih was unmistakable: the fourth imperial poetic anthology, Kofynshu, which was composed not of shih as its
predecessors had been, but of waka, merely gave formal
recognition to an accomplished fact.20
The victory of the waka, however, was not a victory for
30
3i
Introduction
Introduction
the tradition embodied in Man'yoshu, whose poems,
though by no means untainted by Chinese notions, nevertheless emphasized content more than style and were distinguished by freely expressed emotion, flexibility in the
use of vocabulary, and a relatively wide range of themes,
forms, and tones. The triumph was rather that of a new
poetic shaped by the Six Dynasties poets' restricted vision,
their preoccupation with formal perfection and fine language, their imagery, their conservatism, and their pose of
sophistication.
It was no doubt inevitable that the Six Dynasties style,
previously naturalized by the authors of Heian shih, should
have affected the Japanese poetry that these versifiers composed. One factor in the assimilation of the style was a
T'ang-inspired vogue for composing poems on the themes
of famous lines from old Chinese poems; it was taken up
during the heyday of the shih, and toward the end of the
ninth century was being adapted to the waka. For example,
a collection of Chinese lines compiled in 894 contains the
line "The moon shines on level sand—summer night frost,"
by Po Chii-i, accompanied by the following poem in Japa-
borrowing focused on imagery, and particularly on the
characteristic Six Dynasties use of simile, metaphor, and
"allegory. In Six Dynasties and T'ang poetry (and in Heian
shih), one frequently encounters the verbs "mistake" and
"deceive": "I mistook the snow for cherry blossoms"; "the
snow deceived me by posing as moonlight." Though constant repetition destroyed the force of such phrases, they
were intended to emphasize the impact of the poet's experience on his sensibilities. He says in effect, "I know that
cherry trees do not bloom in December, but the snow on
the bare limbs is so very much like flowers—the evidence
of my senses is so compelling—that I cannot help feeling
a momentary bewilderment." The Japanese greatly admired this kind of "elegant confusion," as Brower and Miner call it, and they adopted many of its images, such as
blossoms and snow, white chrysanthemums and frost, dew
and jewels, and snow and moonlight.22 The following
poem (KKS 269) by Fujiwara Toshiyuki (d. 901) illustrates the adaptation of the device to the waka. Toshiyuki
is probably describing the emotions of a minor courtier
who has just been granted permission to enter the inner
sanctum of the imperial residence (the "celestial realm").
The metaphor, which occurs also in two Japanese shih, can
be traced to an early Six Dynasties fu.23
Tsukikage ni
Nabete masago no
Terinureba
Natsu no yo fureru
Shimo ka to zo miru.
Fine grains of sand
Glistening everywhere
In the moonlight—
Can it be that frost has fallen
This summer night ?
Not only topics but techniques were imported. Since imitation of the tone harmony, end rhyme, and parallelism of
classical Chinese poetry was precluded, either by the nature
of the Japanese language or by the brevity of the waka, the
32
Hisakata no
Kumo no ue nite
Miru kiku wa
Amatsuhoshi to zo
Ayamatarekeru.
Seeing chrysanthemums
In the celestial realm
Above the clouds,
I was deceived
And took them for stars.
Japanese poets were not incapable of creating topics,
techniques, and images of their own. But they felt an in33
Introduction
creasingly explicit desire to refine the waka, to invest it
with an aura of sophistication, and to elevate it to the status
of Chinese poetry; and one way of achieving those goals,
they believed, was to use words, phrases, images, and techniques that by their very antiquity, their encrusted connotations, conjured up, like some richly patinated bronze vessel, the whole glorious span of Chinese civilization. Thus
Ki no Tsurayuki, in a poem on "Spring" (KKS 26) admired for its elegance, opulent beauty, complexity, and ingenuity, added depth to his treatment by using words and
images whose Chinese origin was immediately recognizable:
Aoyagi no
Ito yorikakuru
Haru shi mo zo
Midarete hana no
Hokorobinikeru.
Now in the spring—
Season of tender green willows'
Twisted threads—
The tangled blossoms
Have burst their coats.
The conceit wittily suggests a literary tailor's view of
spring: the image in lines 2 and 3 is adapted from a Chinese word, "willow-thread," which describes the willow
tree's long, trailing limbs in spring; hokprobini\eru, here
translated "have burst their coats," is from hokprobu, "to
rip, to come unsewn," and corresponds to a verb used in
Chinese poetry in the same way.24 No poem better exemplifies the ideal that Tsurayuki set forth in his kana preface.
This is the Kokjnshu style at its best—a delicately balanced
blend of fresh emotion with formal polish, originality with
allusiveness, and simplicity with sensuousness.25
The Six Poetic Geniuses. To understand more precisely
the development of the mature Kokjnshu style, we must
look briefly at six poets who flourished from the 830's to the
.88o's—the Six Poetic Qmmsts, ox Ro\kasen, so called be34
J
Introduction
cause they are the only Heian poets mentioned by name in
the Kokjnshu prefaces.26 Two of the six, Ono no Komachi
and Ariwara Narihira, are among Japan's greatest poets.
The other four, Archbishop Henjo, the monk Kisen,
Otomo Kuronushi, and Bun'ya Yasuhide, are at best secondary figures, but it can be argued that they and others
like them were the true precursors of the Kokjnshu style,
the bridge between the shih and the Japanese court poetry
of the future.27 (Translations of all Rokkasen verses of undisputed authenticity—namely those appearing in Kokjnshu—will be found in Appendix A.)
Of Archbishop Henjo, a courtier who became a Buddhist
monk upon the death of Emperor Nimmyo in 850, the
Chinese Kokjnshu preface says: "Archbishop Henjo is an
excellent technician, but his language is ornate and his content meager. His poems are like paintings of beautiful
women—they stir the senses to no purpose."28
A poem by Henjo (KKS 165):
Hachisuba no
Nigori ni shimanu
Kokoro mote
Nani ka wa tsuyu o
Tama to azamuku.
How is it that the lotus leaf,
Untainted by impurity,
Yet practices deceit—
For it would have us think
Dewdrops gems.
The Kokjnshu comments seem to a modern reader to capture the author's essential qualities admirably. The intellectuality and choice of imagery in this poem show a strong
Six Dynasties influence.
Almost nothing is known of Kisen other than that he too
was a Buddhist monk. The Chinese preface says: "The
language of the monk Kisen has a flowerlike beauty, but
there is a vague quality in his poems; reading them, one
35
Introduction
Introduction
feels as though dawn clouds had obscured one's view of
the autumn moon."29
Kisen's only Kofynshu poem (983):
an emphasis on technique typical of the "cleverness" of the
Six Dynasties.
Otomo Kuronushi was a substantial landholder in 6mi
Province, not far from the capital. He held the lowest court
rank, and is known to have taken some part in court life as
late as the 890's. The Chinese preface says: "There is much
of interest in Otomo Kuronushi's verses, but his style is
quite vulgar. He reminds one of a peasant relaxing in front
of flowers."30
A poem by Kuronushi (KKS 899) :81
Wa ga io wa
Miyako no tatsumi
Shika zo sumu
Yo o ujiyama to
Hito wa iu nari.
Thus I dwell
In my hermitage
Southeast of the capital
At the place others call
Gloomy Mount Uji.
In the first three lines, the author seems to be projecting
the very Chinese image of the cultivated man who rejects
society and finds contentment in the life of a recluse:
shi\a ("thus") stands in opposition to u ("melancholy,"
"gloomy," "disagreeable") and carries the implication
"happily," "peacefully." But lines 4 and 5 are susceptible to
various interpretations because the kakekotoba technique
joins u with the place name Ujiyama (Mount Uji). The
poem might be understood and paraphrased in any of the
following ways: (1) "Though my life in this hermitage is
always tranquil, laymen cannot believe that anyone could
be happy here; to them the very name of the place suggests
misery." (2) "Though I am happy here, others say that the
misery of the human condition is inescapable no matter
where one goes." (3) "Though I am happy here, people
say that I have come because I am embittered and frustrated." (4) "Though I am happy here, people say that no
one can find peace in a spot so close to the profane life of
the capital." (5) "Though I am happy, nobody else would
be willing to live here. People avoid this place; they call it
Mount Melancholy." (6) "It is all a matter of viewpoint.
To me this is a pleasant spot near the capital; to others it is
the godforsaken ends of the earth." This is, in short, a deliberately obscure, self-consciously intellectual poem, with
36
Kagamiyama
Iza tachiyorite
Mite yukan
Toshi henuru mi wa
Oi ya shinuru to.
Before journeying on
I shall go closer
And look at Mirror Mountain—
For I have no doubt begun
To show my age.
This is a shallow poem that derives its effect from verbal
tricks. In the Heian period, mirrors were precious objects
which ordinary travelers were unlikely to carry. Kagamiyama (Mirror Mountain), near the capital, was well
known to early travelers.
Yasuhide was a very minor court official who is presumed
to have lived until around the 88o's or 890's. The Chinese
preface says: "Bun'ya Yasuhide deals cleverly with set
topics, but his style lacks elevation. He reminds one of a
tradesman dressed up in a new suit of clothes."32
One of his poems, composed for a contest (KKS 249):
Fuku kara ni
Aki no kusaki no
Shiorureba
Mube yamakaze o
Arashi to iuramu.
When it blows
It ravages the autumn woods—
Which of course must explain
Why a wind from the mountains
Is called a tempest.
37
Introduction
Introduction
The poem depends on a play involving the Chinese characters for "wind" and "mountain," which together form
the character for "storm." Its triviality, lack of emotion,
and rather cheap ingenuity are all reminiscent of Six Dynasties predecessors.
These four poets, so patently indebted to Chinese masters, are equally close in tone, technique, and themes to
their own immediate successors, the generation of the
Kohjnshu compilers. There is some doubt whether Fu\u
\ara ni was composed by Yasuhide or by his son; no
stylistic idiosyncrasy, no bold, original concept, no distinctive, powerful emotional content helps us decide. The poem
might as easily be attributed to Ki no Tomonori (fl. ca.
890), one of the KoJ^inshu compilers, whose poem below
(KKS 337) plays with characters in the same way:
mold. Komachi exchanged poems with Henj5 and Yasuhide and must therefore have been active around the
middle of the ninth century. Little is known of her life.
Her Ko\inshu poems and their brief headnotes provide
almost no biographical data, and supplementary sources of
information have not survived, except for unsubstantiated
legends that describe her as a heartless beauty who died in
poverty. But through her poetry she emerges from the
anonymous Ko\inshu throng as a distinct personality—a
passionate, coquettish, intensely feminine woman, preoccupied with men and the emotions they aroused. Thirteen
of her 18 verses are classified by the Kokinshii compilers as
love poems, and a modern reader would put the other five
in the same category.
When Komachi is in a flirtatious mood, she speaks with
the characteristic voice of the age. Her mastery of the techniques admired by Tsurayuki is clear in the following
allegorical message to a suitor (KKS 623), dependent for
its effect on an intricately contrived series of word plays by
means of which the unhappy man is simultaneously rebuffed and encouraged:33
Yuki fureba
Ki goto ni hana zo
Sakinikeru
Izure o ume to
Wakite oramashi.
After the snowfall,
Flowers bloom
On every tree—
How shall I find the plum
To pluck a spray ?
The characters for "tree" and "every," combined, mean
"plum."
But then Tomonori's poem might have been written by
Henjo, who also suffers from "elegant confusion." In
Kotynshu, as in its Chinese ancestors, it is all but impossible
to discover any poem of which one might say, "Thar could
only have been written by X." Henjo, Kisen, Kuronushi,
and Yasuhide blend imperceptibly with the others; they
form part of a direct line of transmission from Six Dynasties and T a n g to Heian shih to Ko\inshu.
Komachi and Narihira, however, do not quite fit the
38
v Mirumenaki
Wa ga mi o ura to
Shiraneba ya
Karenade ama no
Ashi tayuku kuru.
In this bay
There is no seaweed.
Does he not know it—
The fisherman who persists in
coming
Until his fegs grow weary ?
If she had written only poems like this, cool, witty, and
fashionably elegant, she would still be remembered as an
accomplished practitioner of the court style. But there is in
her best work, a group of compositions known as the
39
Introduction
Introduction
"dream poems," an emotional intensity that sets her apart
from lesser poets and places her far closer than Tsurayuki
himself to the stated Ko\inshu ideal of balance between
form and content. The dream poems, of which the following (KKS 553) is an example, are moving evocations of the
life of the Heian woman, who typically shared her lover or
husband with rivals, and who lived in constant fear of
abandonment, against which she had no protection:
Utatane ni
Koishiki hito o
Miteshi yori
Yume cho mono wa
Tanomisometeki.
Since encountering my beloved
While I dozed,
I have begun to feel
That it is dreams, not reality,
On which I can rely.
The Chinese preface says, in obvious reference to the
subtle blend of romanticism, escapism, and despair characteristic of the dream poems, "Ono no Komachi's poetry
. . . has elegance but lacks strength; it reminds one of a sick
woman wearing cosmetics."34 This most feminine poetry
does lack strength, in the sense that Komachi makes no
bold challenge to fate, plans no action to break free of
despair. But her despair is passionate, not passive, and her
emotion is the more poignant for the aching sense of frustration it betrays. Komachi lives, feels, and suffers, and her
poetry is alive with a passionate intensity, a deep emotional
involvement sought but rarely achieved by other poets in
the Kokjnshil tradition. Few of her contemporaries or successors could have written the poem below:35
Hito ni awan
Tsuki no naki ni wa
40
On such a night as this
When the lack of moonlight shades
your way to me,
Omiokite
Mune hashiribi ni
Kokoro yakeori.
I wake from sleep my passion
blazing,
My breast a fire raging, exploding
flame
While within me my heart chars.
Komachi's experiences as a Heian woman undoubtedly
contributed to her artistic growth. Her theme of unhappy
love brought her into close and fruitful association with the
ancient native tradition of lyric expression, which gave
both authority and direction to her natural inclinations;
and she must have been far less influenced than most male
poets by Chinese poetry, which she was probably unable to
read, much less to write. Only impressive native gifts, however, can explain the ease with which she avoids the artificiality of the court style while accepting its conventions.
In any society Ono no Komachi would have been a major
poet.
Ariwara Narihira. Ariwara Narihira (825-80) was the
grandson of two emperors. His father, Prince Abo, a son
of ex-Emperor Heizei, was exiled to Kyushu in 810 at the
age of 18, after participating in an attempt to restore Heizei
to the throne; he returned to the capital around 824 and
went on to a moderately successful official career. Narihira's
mother was Princess Ito, a daughter of Emperor Kammu.
According to Sandai )itsuro\u (True Records of Three
Reigns), the official history for the period, the poet was his
father's fifth son. He and his brothers were made commoners, with the surname Ariwara, in the year following his
birth.
Aside from scattered hints in Ko\inshu poems and their
headnotes, the chief source of information about Narihira
is a terse obituary notice in Sandai jitsuro\u, which, like
4i
Introduction
Introduction
all the histories, concentrates primarily on the official careers of its subjects. The editors' list of Narihira's offices
and ranks shows that he advanced very slowly, and that,
unlike his older brother Yukihira, he never rose to the top
level of the bureaucracy. After a series of minor appointments, he was promoted to first one and then the other of
the two offices with which he is identified in Tales of Ise:
he became Commander of the Right Horse Bureau in 865
and Middle Captain in the Imperial Guards of the Right in
875. In 879, shortly before his death, he was named Director
of the Archivists' Bureau. His highest court rank was Junior Fourth Upper.36
The chief reason for this poor showing was that during
Narihira's lifetime the Fujiwara family was gradually excluding outsiders from important public offices. Fujiwara
pressure was irresistible unless a man happened to combine
exalted lineage with exceptional ability or seniority, as, for
example, Yukihira and some of the Minamoto ex-princes
did. Narihira pursued the course usually adopted by a
courtier of high birth who was unwilling either to enter the
Buddhist priesthood or to seek his fortune in the provinces.
He stayed in the capital, performed a few routine duties,
and devoted most of his time to social activities. His life as
a fashionable gentleman of leisure inspired his poetry and
was indirectly responsible for the development of Tales of
Ise in the form in which we know it.
The passage that describes Narihira in Sandai jitsurokjt,
though famous, has been made tantalizingly cryptic by the
editors' determination to write in balanced Chinese prose.
Each of their four comments consists of exactly four characters.37
1. Taibo \anrei: "In appearance he was elegant and
handsome." This probably means that he was more than
ordinarily good-looking, since official histories do not as a
rule comment on a man's appearance.38
2. Hoju \a\awarazu: Hojil usually means "self-indulgent," \a\awarazu, "regardless of" or "in spite of." The
phrase implies that Narihira did as he pleased regardless of
established conventions—but when and how ? As an official ? In his private life ? One possible interpretation, that
he was promiscuous, has become the central element in a
proliferating legend that has made this poet one of the
great romantic figures of Japanese history, comparable in
some ways to the twelfth-century warrior Minamoto
Yoshitsune.39 He has been regarded as a real-life Prince
Genji, irresistibly attractive to women and highly sensitive
in his relationships with them, and indeed with men as
well—in short, a model Heian courtier. This is his role in
Tales of Ise, which both stems from the legend and reinforces it. But attempts to find an independent, factual basis
for the legend do not get very far, since headnotes to Narihira's Ko\inshu poems (the other chief source of information) show only that he was involved with three or more
ladies. It is possible that the stories about his amatory
prowess have been greatly exaggerated, and that the Sandai
jitsuro\u editors were being less specific than has traditionally been supposed. One modern interpretation takes
the comment to mean, "He did as he pleased instead of
observing the rules that ought to govern an official's behavior."40 It has also been suggested, on the basis of the
third comment in the obituary, that the phrase means that
he refused to bother with Chinese studies because he preferred to write Japanese poetry.41
3. Hotondo saigaku nashi: "Almost no saiga\u." In
Sandai jitsuro\u, sai ("talent," "intelligence," "aptitude")
usually seems to mean scholarly attainments or capability
42
43
Introduction
Introduction
as a Chinese scholar, and ga\u ("education") Chinese
learning. Puzzled Tokugawa scholars, unable to understand how someone with "almost no Chinese education"
could have had an official career, decided that the negative
nashi had somehow slipped into the text instead of the
positive art. The present tendency, however, is to hold that
Narihira's duties could not have been exacting, and that
the text probably means what it says.
4. Yo\u yamatouta o tsukuru: "He excelled in the composition of Japanese poems [as opposed to Chinese]." This
is a rather unusual remark for the editors of a standard history, who typically took the position that only a man's official career and his achievements as a Chinese scholar were
worth recording. (The biography of the great Man'yoshu
poet Otomo Yakamochi, for example, says nothing about
his verse.)42 It probably signifies both that the status of the
waka was rising and that Narihira's genius was recognized
by his contemporaries.43
This is as far as the official history takes us. For more
information about Narihira, his associates, and his way of
life, one can only rely upon his Ko\inshu poems, poems
written to him, and the relevant headnotes.44 Appendix A
shows that Narihira wrote a number of poems relating to
prominent figures of the day: the Fujiwara regent Mototsune; Fujiwara Koshi (sometimes called Takaiko), a consort of Emperor Seiwa; and an imperial prince, Koretaka.
Prince Koretaka (844-97) w a s a s o n °^ Emperor Montoku (r. 850-58) who had appeared to be destined for the
throne until his infant half-brother was named crown
prince instead, in 850. Koretaka was the son of a lady from
the Ki family; his successful rival, the future Emperor
Seiwa, was the grandson of a Fujiwara. Narihira married
a daughter of Ki no Aritsune, Prince Koretaka's uncle.
During his years as Commander of the Right Horse Bureau, he was apparently in the prince's service (perhaps
because of the family connection), and he seems to have
been a valued and congenial member of the prince's literary coterie.45 A poem in Ko\inshu (970) bears touching
witness to his grief when the prince suddenly took religious
vows at the age of 28 and retired to a hermitage. Tokugawa
scholars were wrong, one feels, when they explained the
relationship between these two men as merely a political
alliance against the Fujiwara, though it can be assumed
that disappointment was among the ties that bound them
together.
During the Tokugawa period, a political explanation
was also zealously sought for the most famous of Narihira's
legendary love affairs. The lady was Fujiwara Koshi (842910), "the Empress from the Second Ward," niece and
adopted daughter of the Fujiwara chieftain Yoshifusa.
Koshi became a junior consort (nyogo) of Emperor Seiwa
in 866, when she was 24 and the emperor was 16. She bore
the future Emperor Yozei two years later, and received the
title of ex-empress {\6taigo) after Yozei's accession in 876.
For seven years, from the time her son was named crown
prince until Emperor Seiwa abdicated, she was the most
important of the imperial ladies, and she seems to have led
a gay life, surrounded by luxuries, and to have maintained
a literary salon frequented by Narihira and other poetcourtiers.46 Later her fortunes waned. Yozei, who proved
to be criminally insane, was deposed in 884 by Koshi's
brother, Mototsune, and in 896 Koshi was deprived of the
title of ex-empress because of a sensational liaison with a
Buddhist monk.
Koshi's affair with Narihira supposedly took place while
her adoptive father, Yoshifusa, was waiting for the future
44
45
Introduction
Introduction
Fujiwara-Imperial Family Intermarriage (9th century)
Fujiwara Fuyutsugu
.1
Emperor Nimmy6=junshi
-r1
1
Yoshifusa
Emperor Montoku—Meishi
Nagara
1
Emperor Seiwa=K6shi
'
1
Mototsune
Emperor Yozei
Emperor Seiwa to reach puberty so that she could be made
an imperial consort. According to legend, Narihira visited
her in the palace of her aunt, Fujiwara Junshi, "the Empress from the Fifth Ward," became intimate with her,
and finally abducted her.
A generally reliable eleventh-century chronicle, Okjzgami
(The Great Mirror), says of Koshi:
It is not at all clear how the lady happened to become an imperial consort, because she was the girl whom Middle Captain
Narihira carried off and hid while she was still living a sheltered
life at home. Her elder brothers... went to fetch her back.
[Since her elopement ruled out the possibility of a formal presentation], there would have been no opportunity for the emperor to meet and fall in love with her if she had been kept as
rigidly secluded as most girls. But she paid visits to the Empress
from Somedono [Meishi, Seiwa's mother], with whom she was
on intimate terms, and no doubt he noticed her on one such
occasion.47
As a result of the elopement (the legend continues),
Narihira was obliged to go to eastern Japan for a time, and
after his return his official career languished because of
Fujiwara hostility. According to some Tokugawa scholars,
the seduction was a political ruse devised by Narihira because, as a partisan of Prince Koretaka and the Ki family,
he wished to prevent the match between Seiwa and
Koshi.
46
Kohinshii and Tales of he are the sources for this romance, which has always been regarded as one of the great
scandals of early Heian court history. The headnotes to
Narihira's poems KKS 632 and 747 are said to refer to
Koshi, though they do not mention her name; and she has
traditionally been thought to figure in Sections 4, 26, and
65 of he monogatari, as well as in the sections that identify
her by name.48
Since Tales of he is not a reliable historical source, the
legend rests on the hints preceding KKS 632 and 747, and
on the texts and headnotes of two other KKS poems by
Narihira that show him traveling in eastern Japan (410 and
411). Many scholars have questioned the historicity of the
trip to the east, usually on the grounds that it ought to
have produced more and better poems, and there is in any
case no evidence to support the old argument that the trip
was made because of the disclosure of an affair with Koshi,
or possibly to try to recruit anti-Fujiwara support. About
the affair itself, one can merely speculate. Perhaps the dashing young man did indeed snatch the susceptible maiden
from under the arrogant noses of her Fujiwara guardians;
perhaps not. Eleven hundred years later, it can be said with
certainty only that the legend was firmly established well
before the end of the Heian period.
Ko\inshu shows Narihira writing poems for Koshi, as
for Prince Koretaka, on purely public and social occasions
(KKS 871 and 294). We learn from the same source that he
composed a graceful poem for Mototsune's fiftieth birthday celebration (KKS 349), and there are other indications
that he was outwardly on good terms with the Fujiwara,
regardless of his private sentiments. A lament for Yoshifusa is attributed to him in the second imperial waka
anthology (GSS 1126), and the main figure in he monogatari is consistently courteous and complimentary in his
dealings with the family (IM 98,101).
47
Introduction
Introduction
From Ko\inshu headnotes (corroborated by episodes in
he monogatari), one can deduce that Narihira's closest
associates were men of his own sort, cultivated, interested
in poetry, high-born but of little consequence politically:
e.g., Ki no Aritsune, his father-in-law; Fujiwara Toshiyuki,
an important poet who was Aritsune's nephew; and Ki no
Toshisada, a minor official whose poetry was good enough
to be included in Ko\inshii.i9
Narihira's nine poems in the Kokjnshu "Love" category
disclose the following information about his celebrated
amours. One poem (785), with the companion verse by
the lady and that verse's headnote, constitutes the evidence
for his marriage to Aritsune's daughter; one (476) was
sent to a stranger; two (632, 747) seem to hint at the relationship with Koshi; one (622) is a complaint against a
lady who had resisted his advances; three others (616, 644,
707) are addressed to a lady or ladies whom he had presumably wooed successfully, perhaps Koshi, perhaps Aritsune's daughter, perhaps one, two, or three others. And
one (646) is said to be a reply to the poem below (KKS
645):
Kokjnshu is not specific, and its phrase saigu nari\eru hito
might even be rendered "a lady in the Virgin's service."
Within a few decades, however, the combined influence of
the two books had made this particular Virgin part of the
Narihira legend, and by the early eleventh century she was
being accepted as the mother of one of the poet's sons.
Modern scholars have been more skeptical. They point out
that if such a love affair took place it must have been a wellkept secret, since otherwise the Virgin would have been
removed from office (she served her full term without incident), and that whereas hints of the Koshi liaison recur
repeatedly in Tales of he, suggesting that there was some
foundation for the persistent rumors, the same is not true
of the supposed association with the Virgin.51 It has even
been argued that the headnote to KKS 645 is an interpolation based on Tales of he. The only certainty is that of the
three specific ladies to whom Ko\inshu alludes, or appears
to allude, Aritsune's daughter, a suitable wife for a man in
Narihira's position, has received little attention in the legend, while K5shi and the Virgin, the glamorously inaccessible imperial consort and high priestess, have become its
main pillars.
There are only a few other bits of information with
which to touch up this sketchy picture of Narihira and his
life: intimations of periods of depression, caused no doubt
by dissatisfaction with his offices and ranks, or by unhappy
loves (GSS 1084,1245); additional exhibitions of sensibility
(KKS 133, 268, 879); and indications of a warmly affectionate, generous nature (KKS 868, 901). The total is not
an impressive foundation for a major legend, and yet it
evokes a curiously vivid image. Like Prince Genji, Narihira seems to personify the supreme Heian ideals of elegance and sensitivity. And it is fairly certain that this is why
he became the model for the character, identified only as
When Narihira went to Ise Province, he paid a most secret visit
to the Virgin. The next morning, as he was thinking of her
longingly (he could not very well send her a message), someone
brought him this.
Kimi ya koshi
Ware ya yukiken
Omoezu
Yume ka utsutsu ka
Nete ka samete ka.
Did you, I wonder, come here,
Or might I have gone there ?
I scarcely k n o w . . .
Was it dream or reality—
Did I sleep or wake ?
Section 69 of Tales of he says, "The Virgin was the one
who served during the reign of Emperor Seiwa,"50 but
48
49
Introduction
Introduction
"the man of old," who lends unity to Tales of he's vignettes.
Since Narihira has always been regarded as a great poet,
his name has become attached to many poems from other
hands. In order to appraise his work, one must first discard
these accretions. A mere 150 lines remain, but they are
enough to prove that his reputation rests on solid achievement, to illuminate his place in the classical tradition, and
to clarify the nature of his indebtedness to Chinese example. Here is one of his poems, composed "On seeing the
cherry trees at the Nagisa House" (KKS 53) :
other examples could be cited. But in poetry the crucial
thing is the use made of materials, not the materials themselves. It was natural that Narihira and other early Heian
poets should have sought to adapt Chinese conventions to
the waka. The important question is: how successful as
poetry was the result ?
Few poets have treated their subjects with more technical skill or greater lyric beauty than Narihira. Brower
and Miner's analysis of Yo no na\a ni sheds useful light on
his methods.
Yo no naka ni
Taete sakura no
Nakariseba
Haru no kokoro wa
Nodokekaramashi.
If this were but a world
To which cherry blossoms
Were quite foreign,
Then perhaps in spring
Our hearts would know peace.
It can scarcely be denied that this poem stands squarely in
the Six Dynasties tradition of intellectualism. Furthermore,
it is not an isolated aberration. Narihira constantly hypothesizes, explains, wonders, poses rhetorical questions, and
devises ingenious metaphors. Whether he was a Chinese
scholar or not, there can be no doubt that he used the techniques of Chinese poetry and that his themes show Chinese
influence. The "message" of Yo no na\a ni is a familiar
one: "We could enjoy the spring if we were not obliged to
worry constantly lest wind or rain destroy the blossoms."
Similarly, the basic idea in the famous Tsu\i ya aranu
(KKS 747, discussed below)—the contrast between the
ephemerality of human experience and the eternal sameness of spring—can be traced through numerous Chinese
and Japanese variations to an early T'ang original.52 Still
50
Although appropriate diction is but one of Narihira's many accomplishments, it is the language in cadences of Virgilian resonance more than anything else which makes his art so appealing. He and Komachi often fill the third and fifth lines with
liquid, inflected adjectives or verbs that develop the sounds of
preceding words with a perfected lyricism. [The poem Yo no
naka ni] by Narihira, for example, is one that will never have a
wide appreciation among foreign readers, but its pure diction
and lovely rhythms will always appeal to the Japanese. The
major pause at the end of the third line anticipates the strong
conclusion, in which the "o" and "k" sounds of the preceding
line are given a new direction; the first and fourth lines have
.slightly longer pauses and their grammatical structure is similar,
except that each of the two nouns in the fourth line has one more
syllable than the corresponding noun in the first line.53
One of Narihira's special qualities is that, like Komachi,
he remains very much a lyric poet in the ancient native
tradition, even though he accepts the conventions of a new
era, and indeed does much to shape them. He stands at
a happy point in time; his poetry, like Heian civilization
itself in the ninth century, combines the glorious Nara vitality, sense of wonder, and emotional intensity with a sophisticated Chinese elegance too new to have felt the para5i
Introduction
lyzing hand of conventionality. In his day, repetition of
hackneyed themes and techniques had not yet threatened
to reduce the waka to a mechanical exercise, nor was the
function of Japanese poetry quite as public as it soon became. None of Narihira's Ko\inshu poems was written for
a contest, and, so far as can be determined from the headnotes, very few were composed on topics set by other people. Most of them instead represent his response to personal
experience, affected in a general way by knowledge of the
Chinese classical tradition, but shaped specifically by a
warm, easily moved nature and a rare poetic sensibility.
Of course Narihira's lyricism is not the lyricism of the
Man'ydshu poets. The following love poem (KKS 747),
linked in the legend to the affair with Koshi, illustrates his
characteristic mode of expression:
Once, quite without premeditation, Narihira began to make
love to a lady who lived in the western wing of a palace belonging to the Empress from the Fifth Ward. Shortly after the Tenth
of the First Month the lady moved away with no word to him,
and though he learned where she had gone, it was impossible
to communicate with her. In the spring of the following year,
when the plum blossoms were at their height, poignant memories of the preceding year drew him back to the western wing
on a beautiful moonlit night. He lay on the floor of the bare
room until the moon sank low in the sky.
Tsuki ya aranu
Haru ya mukashi no
Haru naranu
Wa ga mi hitotsu wa
Moto no mi ni shite.
Is not the moon the same ?
The spring
The spring of old ?
Only this body of mine
Is the same body...
Whereas the emotion in the typical Man'ydshu poem is
directly expressed and easily apprehensible, Narihira pre52
Introduction
sents a psychological state so complex that the poem can be
interpreted in at least four different ways. (1) "Is it possible
that the moon is actually different this year ? The spring
too? They seem so to me. Everything has changed; I alone
remain tie same." (2) "How could the moon and the
spring be different this year from last? Clearly, they are
not. Physically, I too am still the same, but I feel entirely
different. I was happy before; now I am miserable." (3)
"Everything is as it was before. The moon, the spring, I
myself—all are the same. The only difference is the absence of the woman I love; the change is there, not in me."
(4) "I don't know whether or not the moon and the spring
are different. I suppose not, although they seem very different to me. But I am painfully aware that I am the same
person who once was happy here. Of that there can be no
doubt at all."54
Tsu\i ya aranu is typical of a group of poems (KKS 476,
616, 644, 646) in which Narihira has used polished craftsmanship and lyric intensity to explore the nature of illusion
and reality, and, in so doing, to create a dreamlike, otherworldly atmosphere. The poem has exceptional formal distinction. Stops at the ends of lines 1 and 3 strengthen the
emotional impact, and great aural beauty is achieved by
patterns of repetition: Tsu\i ya... Haru ya; Tsu\i ya aranu ... Haru naranu; Haru ya...Haru naranu; Wa ga mi
... Moto no mi. The early negatives {aranu, naranu) balance the later affirmation. And by leaving the final line
unfinished, Narihira transcends the limitations of his brief
medium, leaving in the air a variety of provocative suggestions. This poem and others like it establish Narihira as a
major Japanese poet.
The Ko\inshu compilers, however, preferred the witty
conceits of Yo no na\a ni and A\ana\u ni. The Chinese
53
Introduction
Introduction
preface says, in obvious reference to Tsu\i ya aranu and
poems of its kind, "Ariwara Narihira's poems suffer from
an excess of emotion too tersely expressed. They resemble
drooping flowers, somewhat lacking in color but still fragrant."55 In other words, Tsurayuki and his colleagues felt
that there was an imbalance between form and content in
Narihira's poetry: the "lingering fragrance" was the portion of the content denied expression by the inadequacies
of the form. The compilers had no objection to overtones
per se. They themselves exploited the allusive possibilities
of Chinese subjects and metaphors, and manipulated kakekotoba, engo, and jo to induce romantic, nebulous mental
images and associations of ideas. But whereas Narihira,
in his best poems, used linguistic resources to evoke complex human emotions, and even to raise metaphysical questions, the more typical Kofynshii author was concerned
with creating an impression of ethereal, elegant beauty.
The difference is the difference between Tsu\i ya aranu
and Tsurayuki's Aoyagi no (p. 34 above).
Different ages establish different concepts of beauty and
of the function of art. Ours is broader than that of Heian
Japan—less refined, perhaps. We find in Tsufy ya aranu a
beauty emotionally and intellectually more satisfying than
that of a poem like Aoyagi no; Tsurayuki, while recognizing Narihira's greatness, believed that there was something not quite well-bred, something disturbing, in the
intensity of his feeling. Tsurayuki and his colleagues recognized that there could be no poetry without emotion. "Poetry has its roots in the human heart," Tsurayuki wrote at
the beginning of his preface. But the Ko\inshii compilers
rejected excessive displays of passion for the same reason
that they rejected distressing themes and unorthodox
images—such as those of Yamanoue Okura's "Dialogue on
Poverty" in Man'yoshu,56 with its description of whining
children and tattered bedclothes, or of the country lass's
poems in Tales of he (14), with their homely chatter of
roosters, cisterns, and silkworms. The ideal of "decorous
elegance," they felt, could best be served by giving preference to conservative diction, seasonal themes, and gently
melancholy reflections on the ephemerality of worldly
things.
It can be argued that the Ko\inshu compilers and their
followers sacrificed too much by limiting themselves in
this way, stayed too much under Chinese influence, lost the
freedom to experiment and grow, and made the eventual
decline of their art inevitable. But it was a deliberate choice,
made for reasons that command respect. Their ideal was
beauty, taste, and sensitivity; and they achieved it with notable success. The remarkable thing about the Japanese
classical tradition is indeed not its sterility but its vitality—
the fact that for generations its poets produced works of
great distinction, which, after centuries, are still fresh and
moving. The survival of this poetry best answers the question of Chinese influence, for mere imitation seldom confers immortality. The good classical poets used Chinese
materials creatively. To call them imitators or borrowers
is to disregard their finest achievements.
54
TALES OF ISE
The ideals of the Kotynshu compilers set the general literary tone of the period during which Tales of Ise came into
being. Tales of Ise itself, however, stems primarily from the
indigenous tradition of lyric love poetry, as modified
through contact with the new Sino-Japanese culture. Symbolically, it contains all 30 of Narihira's Ko\inshu poems
but only one poem attributed to Tsurayuki.
Tales of Ise resists capsule description. Early modern
55
Introduction
scholars, seeking to relate it to recognized literary genres,
found themselves obliged to assign it to a new category,
the uta monogatari ("stories about poems"), created expressly for it and for two slightly later works written under
its influence. As the name suggests, it is a hybrid form,
combining the traditional emphasis on poetry with a new
interest in the potentialities of the prose medium. It represents an early stage in what was perhaps the most significant literary phenomenon of the Heian period—the flowering of true prose literature, which culminated in The Tale
of Genji.
Tales of he can be described as a collection of short short
stories, but many of its episodes consist of nothing more
than a poem with a one-line introduction. In such sections,
and in numerous others with only slightly more extended
prose contexts, it strongly resembles a poetic anthology
with headnotes. We cannot however call it one, for its prose
elements are, on the whole, too prominent. It is a transitional form, halfway between the poetry collections and
the later prose works, such as The Tale of Genji, in which
the role of poetry, though important, is unmistakably subordinate.
\
In most he monogatari texts there are 209 poems distributed among 125 sections. In a poetic anthology such as
Kofynshu, the poems are arranged with great care, first by
general categories (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter,
Felicitations, Parting, Travel, Love, etc.), and then by subjects within categories. The structure of Tales of he is
much less tidy. There has been an attempt at rational organization, but at least two mutually contradictory principles have been observed. One is biographical. In the first
section of most texts, a young man, recently come of age,
flirts with two beautiful sisters at the Nara capital. That
56
Introduction
section's initial phrase, mu\ashi oto\o ("in olden times a
man," "once a man"), recurs in episode after episode. The
anonymous protagonist woos a lady whom the reader is
invited to identify with Fujiwara Koshi, the future consort
of Emperor Seiwa, and then journeys to eastern Japan "because of certain problems that had made life in the capital
uncomfortable for him." In the east he exchanges love
poems with several ladies. Before long he is back in the
city, writing poems on public occasions, pursuing casual
amours, and traveling in neighboring provinces. He is dispatched to Ise Province as an Imperial Huntsman, and at
the Grand Shrine, in a secret nocturnal meeting, he wins
the heart of the Ise Virgin. He serves a son of Emperor
Montoku, Prince Koretaka, until the prince takes religious
vows and retires to a hermitage. Meanwhile he grows older.
He appears to be in demand as a poet on social occasions,
although he is described as a humble old fellow who is not
good at writing poetry. His poetic exchanges with ladies
continue. Near the end of the book he complains—not for
the first time—that life has been unkind to him, and in the
final episode he writes a death poem.
The poems composed by the "man of old" include all of
the 30 attributed to Ariwara Narihira in Kokjnshu and
four of the 11 attributed to him in Gosenshu; the court offices he holds are offices held by Narihira; and many of the
stories about him parallel Ko\inshu headnotes to poems by
Narihira. But it is clear that there has been no serious, consistent attempt to present a historically accurate biography.
Poems listed as anonymous or attributed to other writers
in Kokinshu are presented as compositions of the "man of
old." The two Ko\inshu poems by Ki no Aritsune's daughter and Narihira are given a fictional setting (IM 19). Two
unconnected Kokjnshu poems by Komachi and Narihira
57
Introduction
Introduction
are joined in a romantic episode (IM 25). Narihira's poem
about autumn leaves floating in the Tatsuta River, described in Ko\inshu as having been written for a picture
on a folding screen, is said by Ise monogatari to have been
composed at the river. Kokjnshu poems by Narihira and by
others are consistently endowed with contexts that change
their meaning. In many episodes, moreover, the chief male
character is someone very different from Narihira—a man
living in a remote country district (IM 24), the young son
of an ordinary couple (IM 40 and 86), a minor official traveling in Kyushu (IM 60), or the son of an itinerant peddler
(IM23).
The placement, and indeed the inclusion, of some episodes seems to have been dictated by a determination to
group stories dealing with the same locality (eastern Japan,
Kyushu, the home provinces), the same person (Koshi,
Prince Koretaka, the Ise Virgin), or the same subject (married life, court service, unhappy love). Many of the tales in
such groups have no connection with the Narihira theme,
and some of them (e.g. 23, itself a capsule biography) badly disrupt whatever unity the chronological principle confers. Either Tales of Ise was written by an extraordinarily
muddleheaded author or it owes its present form to two or
more men who sometimes worked at cross purposes.
A book of this kind, made up of short, loosely linked episodes, was peculiarly susceptible to revision, especially in
view of the circumstances under which it circulated during
its crucial early history. Mentions of Ise monogatari in The
Tale of Genji show that it was regarded as a classic by the
beginning of the eleventh century, and that it must therefore have been widely known.57 It was transmitted in
manuscript versions, which were copied by readers who
saw nothing wrong with making revisions, deletions, and,
especially, additions that seemed to them to improve the
text. Almost all Heian works have undergone a similar
process, but in the case of Ise monogatari an exceptionally
complex network of textual lines attests to repeated and
extensive changes.58
Every extant full-length version of Ise monogatari contains a core of some no episodes that appear to constitute
the oldest part of the book. Some families of texts have five
additional sections, some 15, some 20 or more. The process
of accretion can be detected. For instance, every textual
line includes Section 69, the story of the encounter with the
Ise Virgin (found also in KKS 645 and 646 and their headnotes), but Sections 70-75 in our text, which are short episodes echoing the theme of Section 69 (and which contain
no Ko\inshu poems), appear in other texts in different sequences or not at all—as though they had been added late
and were not carefully integrated. Episodes that seem little
more than variations or elaborations of earlier ones may
also have been added later. Section 83, containing a Kokjnshu poem by Narihira (970) in a context similar to the
Ko\inshu description of a visit to Prince Koretaka at Ono,
is followed by a section (85) presenting a poem of unknown provenance in an almost identical setting. Similarly, the abduction story in Section 6, which follows two sections based on Ko^inshu poems by Narihira, both hinting
at the liaison with Koshi, is a fanciful elaboration of the
Koshi theme, with, again, a poem of uncertain origin. In a
number of texts, there is another abduction story, which
sometimes follows Section 6 and sometimes appears elsewhere (see Section 127).59
Many other examples could be cited to support the thesis
that extant texts of Ise monogatari are the result of a long
and complex development. The above will be enough,
58
59
Introduction
Introduction
however, to indicate the hazards involved in attempting to
discern in Tales of he the hand of a single author with a
single theme, philosophy, or purpose. It has been said that
the book was intended to illustrate different kinds of love,
as experienced by men and women of widely varying ages,
temperaments, and social classes, and extending to the attachments between parent and child, friend and friend,
and superior and inferior; or that it has the didactic aim of
describing the behavior appropriate to a cultivated man; or
that it tries to demonstrate the kinds of poems suitable for
various occasions, particularly romantic ones; or that the
original author wanted to explain the circumstances surrounding the composition of certain poems. Some or all of
those motives were no doubt operative at one time or
another, but it is probably best to think of the work as a
response to contemporary interest in the waka—the poems
themselves, the circumstances of their composition, their
authors—and in the emerging possibilities of the prose
medium.
It can be assumed that the form of the poetic anthology,
with its introductory comments preceding the verses,
served the original author as a point of departure, and that
there is a close relationship between he monogatari and
one particular anthology, Ko\inshu. Of 62 Ko\inshu
poems in he monogatari, the prose contexts of 25, all written either by or to Narihira, correspond so closely to the
Ko\inshu headnotes that there can be no question of coincidence. Either he monogatari has borrowed from Ko\inshu,Kofynshiih&sborrowed from he monogatari, or both
have drawn on the same source or sources. Examination of *
other poems common to the two texts suggests fairly conclusively that Ko\inshu has not borrowed from Tales of
he, and that in some cases, at least, Tales of he has relied
upon Ko\inshu. We have already noticed that two poems
by Narihira and Komachi, which merely adjoin one another in Kokjnshu (622 and 623), are in Tales of he made the
focal points of a romantic episode involving the "man of
old" and an unidentified lady. In some versions of he
monogatari, a Komachi poem from Ko\inshu is presented
as a composition of the "man of old" (Section 143), anonymous love poems that in Ko\inshu have brief introductory
remarks or none are provided with extended settings, and
other Ko\inshu poems are revised to fit new contexts.
It is tempting to suppose that an early tenth-century
courtier, wishing to compile a collection of exemplary love
poems, used Ko\inshu as his principal source, drawing
heavily on the early anonymous love poems and including
most or all of the poems attributed to Narihira, who was
already becoming legendary; and that the resultant work,
containing few poems by other historical figures, came to
be dominated by Narihira's presence. One could argue that
gradual accretions tended to increase the book's resemblance to a biography, and that by the eleventh century it
was accepted as such, as demonstrated by its alternative titles, Tales of Narihira and The Journal of Narihira.60
The long trend among Japanese specialists, however, has
been to favor the third possibility listed above, namely, that
Ko\inshu and he monogatari drew on a major common
source. Ko\inshu, like other imperial anthologies, is based
largely on private poetry collections, and it is assumed that
Kofynshu poems by Narihira, together with their uncommonly long headnotes, derive from a vanished "Narihira
Collection."61 The collection, it is thought, also formed the
basis for the original version of he monogatari, even
though it is recognized that at some point there was borrowing from Ko\inshu.
60
61
Introduction
Introduction
The reasoning behind the "Narihira Collection" position
is closely related to the question of he monogatari'?, enigmatic title. As mentioned above, the text probably once had
an alternative title or titles, but the name he monogatari
seems to have been well established by Murasaki Shikibu's
day. It is the one attached to all known manuscripts, and
the one used by all commentators from the Heian period
to the present. Monogatari means "tale" or "tales," but by
the late Heian period, or perhaps earlier, the significance
of he was no longer understood, and attempts at explanations had produced a number of theories, classifiable under
three broad categories.62
i. Theories ascribing a special meaning to the word. One
of these suggests that i stands for "female" and se for
"male," in which case the title would mean "Tales of
Women and Men"; another holds that ise is a variant of
yose, from yoseru, "to sew, piece together, collect," and that
the title means "Collected Tales."
2. Theories postulating a special connection with Ise
Province or a person named Ise. One of the most persistent
of these, apparently dating back to the mid-Heian period,
links the work to Lady Ise, the poetess (fl. ca. 877-940),
who, according to a highly unlikely story, married Narihira at the age of 12 and revised his draft of the book after
his death.
3. A theory that the title derives from Section 69 and related episodes dealing with the Ise Virgin. Its proponents
argue either that the Ise episodes are the most important in
the book or that the original work must have begun with
Section 69.
The etymologies are unconvincing, the proposed connection with Lady Ise suffers from lack of supporting evi-
dence, and it cannot be argued successfully that the Ise
Virgin episodes are the most important in the book as we
know it. But late Heian scholars reported, and recent research appears to confirm, that there was indeed once a
version of Tales of he that began with Section 69 of the
present text, although it has not survived intact.63 The present tendency is to regard it as an early form that was much
less sophisticated structurally than extant chronologically
oriented versions. It is the effort to account for this line of
texts, called the "Imperial Huntsman" line, that has led
Japanese scholars from the Tokugawa period on to postulate a hypothetical "Narihira Collection," rather than Ko\inshu, as the most important source for he monogatari.
Proponents of the "Narihira Collection" theory have usually assumed that the Ise Virgin episode came first in the collection and, accordingly, first in the original uta monogatari, which was therefore called he monogatari, in keeping
with a not uncommon practice; and that the old name was
retained after the original version was supplanted by the
present chronological one. A recent refinement by a leading
young scholar, Fukui Teisuke, presupposes not one "Narihira Collection" but two. The "Imperial Huntsman" texts
would derive, according to Fukui's theory, from Collection
A, a random assortment of poems by and to Narihira, with
the so-called exchange with the Ise Virgin at the beginning.
Collection B would represent a rearrangement of Collection A into conventional categories; and all extant complete he monogatari versions would be developments from
Collection B. Fukui believes that extant full-length versions, when divested of presumed accretions, progress conventionally through the seasons and on to love poems, as
he supposes Collection B to have done.64 Since he mono-
62
63
Introduction
Introduction
gatari has clearly borrowed from Kohjnshu, Collection B
would, he says, have been later than Ko\inshu, which presumably would have borrowed from Collection A.65
The great merit of Fukui's theory is that it disposes of
the "Imperial Huntsman" line and proposes a simple, logical development for the present full-length versions. The
theory's weakness is that, like the older "Narihira Collection" hypothesis, it rests on scanty and inconclusive evidence. Until new facts come to light, the "Narihira Collection" must remain mere plausible conjecture.
It was noted earlier, in connection with the title, that an
ancient tradition named Narihira as the author of Ise
monogatari. By the end of the Heian period, scholars recognized that Narihira could not have written the book in its
final form, since the text included his own death poem and
other materials not available during his lifetime. Many
medieval commentators therefore took the compromise position that Narihira had begun the work and that someone
else, perhaps a relative or Lady Ise, had completed it. Narihira's modesty, they said, accounted for the description of
the "man of old" as a humble old fellow who knew nothing about poetry. Other pre-modern critics gradually produced other candidates—Ki no Tsurayuki among them—
supporting elaborate hypotheses with bits of circumstantial
evidence, and ignoring inconvenient conflicts. But scholars
now admit frankly that there are simply no facts with
which to work, and that the problem is unlikely to be
solved. Even if a long-buried diary were suddenly to yield
the original author's name, it still would reveal nothing
about the many other people who must have contributed in
major respects to the book.66
The problem of dating is equally recalcitrant. There
must obviously have been an important period of activity
at some point after the compilation of Ko\inshu (ca. 905).
Whether or not one supposes that to have been the initial
period will depend upon one's opinion concerning the
source used by the original author. If, as most scholars assume, the principal source was a "Narihira Collection"
identical in content, if not in form, with the one used by
Kokinshu, Tales of Ise may have originated at any time
after Narihira's death in 880 (not before, since Ko\inshu
contains the death poem). In textual studies designed to
establish a cut-off date for the process of development,
modern scholars have unearthed no evidence of important
accretions after the middle of the tenth century. The Tale
of Genji, written around 1000, describes Ise monogatari as
old. It can be concluded, therefore, that the work had assumed a fairly stable form by the beginning of the eleventh
century, and probably several decades earlier.67
In summary, then, Tales of Ise is an anonymous work,
the product of a gradual development that took place
around the first half of the tenth century. In form it resembles a poetic anthology with greatly expanded and fictionalized headnotes. Its 209 poems deal with all the chief
topics of Japanese court poetry, most importantly with
love. A majority of the verses are anonymous. Because a
famous ninth-century poet, Ariwara Narihira, is the one
historical person who figures in it prominently, both as an
author of poems and as a protagonist, it has sometimes
been regarded as a biography of Narihira, but to view it in
that light is to give it a unity and historicity that it lacks. It
can best be approached not in terms of preconceived notions about its theme or purpose, but as an interesting combination of poetry and prose, and as a source of insights
into the psychology, values, and behavior of Heian society.
64
65
Tales of Ise
i
O
NCE a man who had lately come of age went hunting
on his estate at Kasuga village, near the Nara capital.1
In the village there lived two beautiful young sisters. The
man caught a glimpse of the sisters through a gap in their
hedge. It was startling and incongruous indeed that such
ladies should dwell at the ruined capital, and he wished to
meet them. He tore a strip from the skirt of his hunting
costume, dashed off a poem, and sent it in. The fabric of
the robe was imprinted with a moss-fern design.2
Kasugano no
Wakamurasaki no
Surigoromo
Shinobu no midare
Kagiri shirarezu.
Like the random pattern of this
robe,
Dyed with the young purple
From Kasuga Plain—
Even thus is the wild disorder
Of my yearning heart.8
No doubt it had occurred to him that this was an interesting opportunity for an adaptation of the poem that runs,
1
Notes to the Tales will be found on pp. 199-259.
69
Tales of Ise
Michinoku no
Shinobu mojizuri
Tare yue ni
Midaresomenishi
Ware naranaku ni.
My thoughts have grown
disordered
As random patterns dyed on cloth
Reminiscent of Shinobu in
Michinoku—
And who is to blame ?
Surely not 1/
Tales of Ise
j
-
Omoi araba
Mugura no yado ni
Ne mo shinan
Hijikimono ni wa
Sode o shitsutsu mo.
t
If you love me,
Let us sleep together,
Though it be in a weed-choked
house
With our sleeves
For mattress.2
This happened while the Empress from the Second
Ward3 was still a commoner, before she entered the emperor's palace.
People were remarkably elegant in those days.
2
Once in the days after the move from Nara, when people
were still not settled in the new capital, a certain man discovered a lady living in the western part of the city. She
was charming to look at, and her disposition was even
more delightful than her appearance. She was apparently
not single, but the man made love to her anyway, even
though he was an honorable fellow. After he had returned
home his conscience must have bothered him, because he
sent her this poem. (It was early in the Third Month and a
drizzling rain was falling.)
t
Oki mo sezu
Ne mo sede yoru o
Akashite wa
Haru no mono tote
Nagamekurashitsu.
After a night
Neither waking nor sleeping,
I have spent the day
Staring at the rain—
The long rain of Spring.1
r:
3
Once a man sent a bit of seaweed1 to a lady with whom he
was in love. His poem:
70
Once when the ex-empress1 was living in the eastern Fifth
Ward, a certain lady occupied the western wing of her
house. Quite without intending it, a man fell deeply in love
with the lady and began to visit her; but around the Tenth
of the First Month she moved away without a word, and
though he learned where she had gone, it was not a place
where ordinary people could come and go. He could do
nothing but brood over the wretchedness of life. When the
plum blossoms were at their height in the next First Month,
poignant memories of the year before drew him back to
her old apartments. He stared at the flowers from every
conceivable standing and sitting position, but it was quite
hopeless to try to recapture the past. Bursting into tears, he
flung himself onto the floor of the bare room and lay there
until the moon sank low in the sky. As he thought of the
year before, he composed this poem:
Tsuki ya aranu
Haru ya mukashi no
Haru naranu
Wa ga mi hitotsu wa
Moto no mi ni shite.
Is not the moon the same ?
The spring
The spring of old ?
Only this body of mine
Is the same body
7i
Tales of Ise
He went home at dawn, still weeping.
Once a man was paying secret visits to a lady in the neighborhood of the eastern Fifth Ward. Since he did not wish
to be observed, he could not enter through the gate, but
came and went through a broken place in the earthen wall
where some children had been playing. The spot was not
much frequented, but his repeated use of it finally became
known to the house's owner,1 who posted a night guard
there. The man, when he came, was thus obliged to go
home without having seen the lady. He composed this
poem:
Hito shirenu
Wa ga kayoiji no
Sekimori wa
Yoiyoigoto ni
Uchi mo nenanan.
Would that he might fall asleep
Every night—
This guard
At the secret place
Where I come and go.2
The lady was so distressed that the owner relented.
Gossip about these secret visits to the Empress from the
Second Ward finally led her brothers to place her under
guard—or so it is said.8
A certain man had for years courted a most inaccessible
lady. One pitch-black night he finally spirited her out of
her apartments and ran off with her. As they passed a
stream called the Akutagawa, she caught a glimpse of a
dewdrop on a blade of grass and asked him what it was.
72
Tales of Ise
The journey ahead was long, the hour had grown late,
and a torrential rain was pouring down, punctuated by
frightful peals of thunder. The man put the lady inside a
ruined storehouse and stationed himself in the doorway
with his bow and quiver on his back, never dreaming that
the place was haunted by demons. But while he was standing there longing for daybreak, a demon ate the lady up in
one gulp. A thunderclap muffled her scream of terror.
When the sky finally began to lighten a bit, the man
peered inside and saw that the lady was gone. Frantic with
helpless grief, he recited,
Shiratama ka
Nani zo to hito no
Toishitoki
Tsuyu to kotaete
Kienamashi mono o.
When my beloved asked,
"Is it a clear gem
Or what might it be?"
Would that I had replied,
"A dewdrop!" and perished.1
It is said that while the future Empress from the Second
Ward was in attendance upon her cousin, the imperial consort, someone was fascinated by her beauty and carried her
off on his back. Her brothers, Mototsune and Kunitsune,
who were minor officials then, happened to be on their way
to the imperial palace. They heard someone wailing, halted
the abductor, and took the lady back. They were the devils
the author talks about. The lady was still very young and
had not yet ceased to be a commoner.3
7
Once a man set out toward the east because of certain problems that had made life in the capital uncomfortable for
him.1 Gazing at the foaming white surf as he crossed the
73
Tales of Ise
Tales of Ise
beach between Ise and Owari Provinces, he composed this
poem:
Yatsuhashi—"Eight Bridges.") Dismounting to sit under
a tree near this marshy area, they ate a meal of parched
rice. Someone glanced at the clumps of irises that were
blooming luxuriantly in the swamp. "Compose a poem on
the subject, 'A Traveler's Sentiments,' beginning each line
with a syllable from the word 'iris' [\akitsubata]" he said.
The man recited,
Itodoshiku
Sugiyuku kata no
Koishiki ni
Urayamashiku mo
Kaeru nami kana.
How poignant now
My longing
For what lies behindEnviable indeed
The returning waves.
8
Once in the past a certain man journeyed toward the east
in search of a place to live, perhaps because he found it
awkward to stay in the capital. One or two people accompanied him. When he saw smoke rising from the peak of
Asama in Shinano Province, he recited a poem:
Shinano naru
Asama no take ni
Tatsu keburi
Ochikochibito no
Mi ya wa togamenu.
Surely no one
Far or near
But marvels to see
The smoke rising from the peak
Of Asama in Shinano.1
Once a certain man decided that it was useless for him to
remain in the capital. With one or two old friends, he set
out toward the east in search of a province in which to settle. Since none of the party knew the way, they blundered
ahead as best they could, until in time they arrived at a
place called Yatsuhashi1 in Mikawa Province. (It was a
spot where the waters of a river branched into eight channels, each with a bridge, and thus it had come to be called
74
Karagoromo
Kitsutsu narenishi
Tsuma shi areba
Harubaru kinuru
Tabi o shi zo omou.
I have a beloved wife,
Familiar as the skirt
Of a well-worn robe,
And so this distant journeying
Fills my heart with grief.2
They all wept onto their dried rice until it swelled with the
moisture.
On they journeyed to the province of Suruga. At Mount
Utsu the road they were to follow was dark, narrow, and
overgrown with ivy vines and maples. As they contemplated it with dismal forebodings, a wandering ascetic appeared and asked, "What are you doing on a road like
this?" The man, recognizing him as someone he had once
known by sight, gave him a message for a lady in the capital:
Suruga naru
Utsu no yamabe no
Utsutsu ni mo
Yume ni mo hito ni
Awanu narikeri.
Beside Mount Utsu
In Suruga
I can see you
Neither waking
Nor, alas, even in my dreams.
At Mount Fuji a pure white snow had fallen, even
though it was the end of the Fifth Month.4
75
Tales of Ise
Tales of Ise
Toki shiranu
Yama wa Fuji no ne
Itsu tote ka
Ka no ko madara ni
Yuki no fururan.
Fuji is a mountain
That knows no seasons.
What time does it take this for,
That it should be dappled
With fallen snow ?5
To speak in terms of the mountains hereabout, Mount
Fuji is as tall as twenty Mount Hiei's piled on top of one
another.8 In shape it resembles a salt-cone.7
Continuing on their way, they came to a mighty river
flowing between the provinces of Musashi and Shimosa. It
was called the Sumidagawa.8 The travelers drew together
on the bank, thinking involuntarily of home. "How very
far we have come!" The ferryman interrupted their laments: "Come aboard quickly; it's getting late." They got
into the boat and prepared to cross, all in wretched spirits,
for there was not one among them who had not left someone dear to him in the capital.
A bird about the size of a snipe—white, with a red bill
and red legs—happened to be frolicking on the water as it
ate a fish. Since it was of a species unknown in the capital,
none of them could identify it. They consulted the ferryman, who replied with an air of surprise, "It is a capitalbird, of course."9 Then one of the travelers recited this
poem:
Na ni shi owaba
Iza koto towamu
Miyakodori
Wa ga omou hito wa
Ari ya nashi ya to.
If you are what your name implies,
Let me ask you,
Capital-bird,
Does all go well
With my beloved ?10
Everyone in the boat burst into tears.
76
10
A certain man, having reached the province of Musashi in
his wanderings, began to court a Musashi girl. Her father
told him that she was intended for someone else, but her
mother was delighted by the prospect of such an elegant
son-in-law. (Although the father came of ordinary stock,
the mother was a Fujiwara, and thus she considered a
match with a nobleman entirely suitable and most desirable.) She sent the suitor this poem. The family lived in
Miyoshino Village1 in Iruma District.
Miyoshino no
Tanomu no kari mo
Hitaburu ni
Kimi ga kata ni zo
Yoru to naku nam.
The wild goose that shelters
On Miyoshino's fields
Cries that it looks
In your direction
And in no other.2
His reply:
Wa ga kata ni
Yoru to naku nam
Miyoshino no
Tanomu no kari o
Itsu ka wasuren.
When should I forget
The wild goose that shelters
On Miyoshino's fields,
Crying that it looks
In my direction ?8
Even in the provinces this man did not depart from his
customary behavior.
11
Once a man journeying toward the east sent some of his
friends this poem, composed on the way:
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Tales of Ise
Wasuru na yo
Hodo wa kumoi ni
Narinu tomo
Sora yuku tsuki no
Meguriau made.
Though I am as far away
As the realm of clouds,
Remember me until I come again,
Even as the moon returns
From its celestial journeying.1
12
Once there was a man who abducted someone's daughter.
He was on his way to Musashi Plain1 with her when some
provincial officials arrested him for theft. He had left the
girl in a clump of bushes and run off, but the pursuers felt
certain that he was on the plain, and prepared to set fire to
it. In great agitation the girl recited this poem:
Musashino wa
Kyo wa na yaki so
Wakakusa no
Tsuma mo komoreri
Ware mo komoreri.
Do not set fire today
To Musashi Plain,
For my beloved husband
Is hidden here,
And so am I."
They heard her, seized her, and marched the two off together.3
13
Once a man who was staying in Musashi wrote to a lady in
the capital, "If I write to you frankly, I shall feel embarrassed; if not, I shall be miserable."1 On the outside of the
letter he inscribed the phrase "Musashi stirrups."2 After
that there was no further word from him. At length the
lady sent this from the capital:
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Tales of Ise
Musashi abumi
Sasuga ni kakete
Tanomu ni wa
Towanu mo tsurashi
Tou mo urusashi.
Loving you in spite of all,
My trust still undestroyed,
I think your silence cruel indeed—
Yet I should find it most
unpleasant
Were you to ask for news of me.8
The man, frantic with anxiety, replied,
Toeba iu
Towaneba uramu
Musashi abumi
Kakaru ori ni ya
Hito wa shinuran.
If I write, you will be angry;
If not, you will hate me.
Surely it is at such times
That men die
Of broken hearts/
!4
Once in the course of his wanderings, a man found himself
in Michinoku. A girl of the province, who was no doubt
unaccustomed to meeting people from the capital, fell head
over heels in love with him and sent him a poem as countrified as she was:
Nakanaka ni
Koi ni shinazu wa
Kuwako ni zo
Narubekarikeru
Tama no o bakari.
Better it were
To be a silkworm,
Though its life soon ends,
Than to be tortured to death
By a rash love.1
He must have pitied her in spite of her crudity, because
he went to her house and slept with her. He left in the
middle of the night,2 whereupon she sent him this:
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Tales of Ise
Yo mo akeba
Kitsu ni hamenade
Kutakake no
Madaki ni nakite
Sena o yaritsuru.
When daylight comes
I shall toss him in the cistern—
That miserable rooster
Who crows too soon
And drives my lover away.3
Presently the man sent word that he was returning to
the capital. His poem:
Kurihara no
Aneha no matsu no
Hito naraba
Miyako no tsuto ni
Iza to iwamashi o.
If the Pine of Aneha at Kurihara
Were but a person
Long awaited,
I would say, "Come with me as a
souvenir
To the capital."4
The girl was overjoyed. "He must be in love with me,"
she said.
15
Once in Michinoku a man began to visit the wife of a
commonplace fellow, and discovered to his surprise that
she was not at all the ordinary sort of person he had expected. He sent her this:
Shinobuyama
Shinobite kayou
Michi mo gana
Hito no kokoro no
Oku mo mirubeku.
Would that I possessed a way—
A path to travel unobserved,
Secret as Mount Shinobu's nameTo behold the innermost recesses
Of your heart.1
The lady was immensely flattered. But what would happen, she wondered, when he found that it was after all
nothing but the heart of a simple rustic.8
80
16
Once there was a man named Ki no Aritsune, who served
three emperors.1 For a time he prospered, but later there
were changes, and he found himself less well off than even
an average courtier. Aritsune was a person of exceptional
sensibility and refinement. Despite his poverty, he retained
the tastes and attitudes of his more affluent days, paying no
attention to the problems of everyday life. He and his wife
of many years gradually drew apart, and at length his wife
resolved to become a nun and go to live with her elder sister, who had already taken holy orders. Though she and
Aritsune had not been intimate for a long time, he was
deeply moved as she prepared to leave, but he was too poor
to give her a farewell present. In great distress he wrote of
her decision to an old friend. "She is leaving forever, and
I must send her off without so much as a trifling gift." He
ended with this poem:
Te o orite
Aimishi koto o
Kazoureba
To to iitsutsu
Yotsu wa henikeri.
Bending my fingers,
I count
The decades
Of our life together—
They are four.2
His friend found it most touching. He sent him not only
a robe but a quilt as well, with this poem:
Toshidani mo
To tote yotsu wa
Henikeru o
Ikutabi kimi o
Tanomikinuran.
In the four decades
That have elapsed,
How many times
She must have come
Seeking your aid.3
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Tales of Ise
Aritsune replied,
Kore ya kono
Ama no hagoromo
Mube shi koso
Kimi ga mikeshi to
Tatematsurikere.
18
Can this be a famed
Feather robe from heaven ?
A garment so splendid
Must indeed have been designed
For your own wear."
So great was his joy that he sent another poem:
Aki ya kuru
Tsuyu ya magau to
Omou made
Aru wa namida no
Furu ni zo arikeru.
Has autumn perchance arrived ?
Or the dew lost its way ?
So might one wonder,
Seeing my sleeve
Wet with tears of joy.5
17
After staying away for months, a man once visited a certain house to see the cherry trees in bloom. The lady who
lived there composed this poem:
Ada nari to
Na ni koso tatere
Sakurabana
Toshi ni mare naru
Hito mo machikeri.
People call them evanescent,
These cherry blossoms—
Yet they have waited
For someone whose visits
Are months apart.1
His reply:
Kyo kozu wa
Asu wa yuki to zo
Furinamashi
Kiezu wa ari tomo
Hana to mimashi ya.
82
If I had not come today
They would have fallen tomorrow
Like snow.
Though they have not yet melted
away,
They are scarcely true flowers.2
Once there was a rather shallow lady who wished to be
thought elegant. A certain man lived nearby. Since the lady
was fond of versifying, she decided to test the man's feelings with this poem, which she attached to a faded chrysanthemum:
Kurenai ni
Niou wa izura
Shirayuki no
Eda mo too ni
Furu ka to mo miyu.
Where can it be—
The reddish tinge ?
What I have seen
Is like fallen white snow
Bending the branches.1
The man pretended not to understand. He answered,
Kurenai ni
Niou ga ue no
Shiragiku wa
Orikeru hito no
Sode ka to mo miyu.
The white chrysanthemum—
Its lower petals
Tinged with red—
Is it not like the sleeve
Of the lady who plucked it ?2
19
A man in the service of an imperial consort once began to
make love to one of the lady's attendants. Presently, however, the affair came to an end. Since the two served in the
same household, they were always meeting, but though the
woman saw the man plainly enough, he behaved as though
she were not present. She sent him this poem:1
Amagumo no
Yoso ni mo hito no
Nariyuku ka
Sasuga ni me ni wa
Miyuru mono kara.
I still see you,
And yet
You have grown distant
As a cloud
In the heavens.
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Tales of he
Ima wa tote
Wasururu kusa no
Tane o dani
Hito no kokoro ni
Makasezu mo gana.
Perhaps you think it time now
To forget me.
Yet I should like to stop
The "forgetting-grass" seed
From being planted in your heart,*
If you have heard
That I am planting
Forgetting-grass,
Can you not tell
That I have been thinking of you ?*
With that began a new intimacy even closer than the old.
One day the man composed this poem:
Wasururan to
Omou kokoro no
Utagai ni
Arishi yori ke ni
Mono zo kanashiki.
Because of doubt
Lest you again
Put me from your thoughts,
I feel a sadness
Unknown in the past.5
She replied,
Nakazora ni
Tachiiru kumo no
Ato mo naku
Mi no hakanaku mo
Narinikeru kana.
Cruel though you have been,
I cannot put you
From my mind,
And thus my bitterness
Is tempered with love.1
'Just as I anticipated!" said the man. He sent her this:
His reply:
Wasuregusa
Uu to dani kiku
Mono naraba
Omoikeri to wa
Shiri mo shinamashi.
Uki nagara
Hito o ba e shi mo
Wasureneba
Katsu uramitsutsu
Nao zo koishiki.
As a cloud
Hanging in midair
Dissolves without a trace,
So indeed must end
This evanescent life.6
Aimite wa
Kokoro hitotsu o
Kawashima no
Mizu no nagarete
Taeji to zo omou.
Now that we two have met,
May our hearts be inseparable
As the waters of a stream—
Riven by islands,
But flowing reunited forever.2
Nevertheless he went to her that very night. They talked
of what had happened and of the future, and presently he
recited,
Aki no yo no
Chiyo o hitoyo ni
Nazuraete
Yachiyo shi neba ya
Aku toki no aran.
Would I be satisfied
If I might count
A thousand autumn nights as one,
And sleep with you
Eight thousand nights ?3
She replied,
Aki no yo no
Chiyo o hitoyo ni
Naseri tomo
Kotoba nokorite
Tori ya nakinan.
Were we to make
A thousand autumn nights
Into one,
There would still be things to say
At cockcrow.*
But in the end they found new partners and became
estranged.
From then on he visited her more faithfully than ever.
22
23
A boy and a girl, the children of two men who traveled
over the countryside, once used to play together beside a
well. As they grew up they both felt rather self-conscious
Once there were two people who separated for no very
good reason. The woman, who had no doubt found it difficult to forget the past, sent the man this poem:
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Tales of Ise
about continuing the old relationship, but the boy had set
his heart on marrying the girl, and she too was determined
that she would be his wife, and refused to agree when her
father tried to betroth her to someone else. The boy sent
the girl this poem:
His heart swelled with love for her, and his visits to Kawachi ceased.
On the rare occasions when he did go to Takayasu, he
observed that the woman there, who had at first taken
great pains to make a good appearance, now had abandoned all decorum. Watching as she seized the rice ladle
and heaped her bowl to overflowing, he felt quite disenchanted, and at length he severed the connection completely.
One day the woman in Kawachi composed this poem,
gazing in the direction of Yamato:
Kimi ga atari
Though rain may fall,
Mitsutsu o oran
I forbid you, clouds,
Ikomayama
To veil Mount Ikoma,
Kumo na kakushi so
For I live only
Ame wa furu tomo.
To gaze toward my beloved.5
Tsutsui tsu no
Izutsu ni kakeshi
Maro ga take
Suginikerashi na
Imo mizaru ma ni.
My height that we measured
At the well curb
Has, it seems,
Passed the old mark
Since last I saw you.1
She replied,
Kurabekoshi
Furiwakegami mo
Kata suginu
Kimi narazu shite
Tare ka agubeki.
The hair parted in the middle
That I measured against yours
Now hangs below my shoulders.
For whom shall it be put up,
If not for you ?
After many such poems had passed between them, their
wishes came true and they became man and wife.
Some years later the wife's father died, leaving her without support,2 and the husband, tired of living with her in
poverty, took to visiting a woman in the district of Takayasu8 in Kawachi Province. The wife saw him off with so
little apparent resentment that he began to suspect her of
having a lover. One day, pretending to set out for Kawachi,
he hid in the shrubbery and watched her. After making up
her face with meticulous care, she recited this poem, staring
into space:
Kaze fukeba
Okitsu shiranami
Tatsutayama
Yowa ni ya kimi ga
Hitori koyuran.
Shall you be crossing
Tatsutayama
Quite alone by night ?4
She stared constantly in the man's direction. At length he
sent word that he would come, but though she waited joyfully he failed to appear. After the same thing had happened several times, she sent him this poem:
Kimi komu to
Waiting in vain
Iishi yogoto ni
Night after night
Suginureba
For the visits you promise,
Tanomanu mono no
I no longer trust you,
Koitsutsu zo furu.
Yet my love lives on.8
But he never came again.
24
There was once a man who lived in a remote country district. One day he bade his wife an affectionate farewell and
set off for the capital to try to enter the service of an aristocratic house. When three years had passed with no sign of
him, his wife, tired of waiting, promised to marry someone
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Tales of Ise
1
who had been wooing her with great persistence. But on
the very night she had selected for the first meeting, her
husband appeared and knocked on the door to be let in.
Instead of opening, she wrote this poem and passed it out:
Aratama no
Toshi no mitose o
Machiwabite
Tada koyoi koso
Niimakura sure.
After three long years
I have grown weary
Of waiting—
This very night
I am to wed another.2
He replied,
Azusayumi
Mayumi tsukiyumi
Toshi o hete
Wa ga seshi ga goto
Uruwashimi seyo.
Love your new husband
As I have loved you
All these years.8
Then he started to leave. His wife recited,
Azusayumi
No matter whether others
Hikedo hikanedo
Seek my love,
Mukashi yori
From the very beginning
Kokoro wa kimi ni
My heart has always
Yorinishi mono o.
Inclined toward you.4
But he set out all the same. His wife went after him in
great distress but could not overtake him, and at length she
fell prostrate beside a clear spring. Using blood from her
finger, she inscribed this poem on a rock:
Unable to detain
Aiomowade
The man who has left,
Karenuru hito o
Rejecting my love,
Todomekane
I feel that soon
Wa ga mi wa ima zo
I shall perish.
Kiehatenumeru.
And there she died.
90
25
Once a man sent this poem to a rather coy lady who seemed
unable to make up her mind about meeting him:
On nights when I sleep without
Aki no no ni
meeting you,
Sasa wakeshi asa no
My sleeves are wetter
Sode yori mo
Awade nuru yo zo Than when of a morning
Hijimasarikeru.
I have pressed through bamboo
grass
Crossing the fields in autumn.1
The coquettish lady responded,
Mirume naki
Wa ga mi o ura to
Shiraneba ya
Karenade ama no
Ashi tayuku kuru.
In this bay
There is no seaweed.
Does he not know it—
The fisherman who persists in
coming
Until his legs grow weary ?2
26
Once a man sent this poem as a reply to someone who commiserated with him because he had failed to win a lady
living in the Fifth Ward:
Omoezu
Sode ni minato no
Sawagu kana
Morokoshibune no
Yorishi bakari ni.
As when a great ship
Coming into port
Dashes waves against the shore,
So has your letter drenched my sleeve
With sudden tears.1
27
Once a man spent a single night at a lady's house and then
did not go there again. The lady took the lid from the tub
9i
Tales of Ise
Tales of Ise
where she washed her hands, gazed at her reflection in the
water, and recited to herself,
30
Once a man sent this poem to a lady who would seldom
agree to meet him:
Our meetings are short
Au koto wa
As the spaces between
Tama no o bakari
The gems of a necklace.
Omoete
Longer-lasting indeed
Tsuraki kokoro no
Is your heartlessness.1
Nagaku miyuran.
Ware bakari
Mono omou hito wa
Mata mo araji
To omoeba mizu no
Shita ni mo arikeri.
No one else,
I had thought,
Could be so miserable as IYet there is another
Under the water.
The man heard about the poem and composed this:
t_* _ :
Minakuchi
ni
Ware ya miyuran
Kawazu sae
Mizu no shita nite
Morogoe ni naku.
:„_i
\r
MI
You
will
see .me
In that pool,
For even frogs
Cry in pairs
Under the water.1
28
Once a fickle woman left a man. He wrote
Nadote kaku
Au go katami ni
Nariniken
Mizu morasaji to
Musubishi mono o.
Why is it now
Impossible for us to meet—
We who are bound together
Like the strands of a close-woven
basket
Impermeable to water.1
31
Once when a man was passing the apartment of a certain
palace attendant, the lady, who seems to have regarded him
as an enemy, called out, "Very well, blade of grass! Wait
and see what becomes of you!"1
He retorted,
Tsumi mo naki
Hito o ukeeba
Wasuregusa
Ono ga ue ni zo
Ou to iu naru.
The lady's friends found it most provoking.
32
29
Once a man composed this poem when he was invited to a
cherry blossom birthday celebration in the apartments of
the Mother of the Crown Prince:1
Hana ni akanu
Nageki wa itsu mo
Seshikadomo
Kyo no koyoi ni
Niru toki wa nashi.
92
I have always grieved
Not to have had enough
Of the blossoms—
Yet tonight I feel it
As never before.2
Forgetting-grass,
So one is told,
Springs up around
The person who curses
A blameless man.2
Once a man sent this poem to a lady with whom he had
been intimate several years earlier:
Inishie no
Shizu no odamaki
Kurikaeshi
Mukashi o ima ni
Nasu yoshi mo gana.
Is there no way
To make the past the present—
To be repetitious as the revolutions
Of a ball of yarn
Wound for the shizu cloth of old P1
Apparently it made no impression.
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Tales of Ise
33
35
Once a man was paying visits to a lady who lived in Mubara District1 in the province of Settsu. On a certain occasion the lady seemed to be afraid that he would never come
again. He recited,
Once a man sent this poem to a lady from whom he had
involuntarily become estranged:
Ashibe yori
Michikuru shio no
Iyamashi ni
Kimi ni kokoro o
Omoimasu kana.
My love for you
Ever increases,
Like a salt tide
Flooding in
Across a reed-fringed shore.2
Her reply:
Komorie ni
Omou kokoro o
Ika de ka wa
Fune sasu sao no
Sashite shirubeki.
Can I, like a boatman
Sounding with his pole,
Sound out the thoughts
Concealed in a mind
Secret as a hidden inlet ?3
Tama no o o
Awao ni yorite
Musubereba
Taete no nochi mo
Awamu to zo omou.
Our lives are intertwined
Like the ends of a string of gems
Fashioned in a loose braid—
Though the knot be dissolved,
It will surely be tied again.1
36
Once a man sent this to a lady who had accused him of forgetting her:
Tani sebami
Mine made haeru
Tamakazura
Taemu to hito ni
Wa ga omowanaku ni.
Are we to call the lady's poem a creditable performance
for someone living in the provinces ?
Why need you question
A love that I would have
Long-lived as a vine
Creeping toward a mountain
top
From a narrow gorge p1
37
34
Once a man sent this poem to a hard-hearted lady:
Ieba eni
Iwaneba mune ni
Sawagarete
Kokoro hitotsu ni
Nageku koro kana.
When I would speak of it, I cannot;
When I resolve to say nothing,
I am utterly distraught.
These days I can but grieve
In my innermost heart.1
He had, it would seem, quite lost his sense of shame.
94
Once a man was visiting a rather flirtatious lady. Perhaps
because he did not quite trust her, he wrote,
Ware narade
Shitahimo toku na
Asagao no
Yukage matanu
Hana ni wa ari tomo.
Though your affections be
ephemeral
As the morning glory's flower,
Gone before sunset,
Do not loosen your under-sash
For anyone but me.1
Her reply:
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Tales of Ise
Tales of Ise
Futari shite
Musubishi himo o
Hitori shite
Aimiru made wa
Tokaji to zo omou.
Until we meet again,
Never shall I
Loosen by myself
The sash
We tied together.2
38
Once a man went to call on Ki no Aritsune. Aritsune had
gone off somewhere and was late in getting home. The
man sent him this poem:
Kimi ni yori
Thanks to you,
Omoinarainu
I have learned somethingYo no naka no
No doubt this feeling
Hito wa kore o ya
Of longing to see someone
Koi to iuran.
Is what people call love.1
Aritsune replied,
Narawaneba
Yo no hitogoto ni
Nani o ka mo
Koi to wa iu to
Toishi ware shi mo.
How should I
Have taught you ?
I who through ignorance
Have constantly asked others
What love might be.
who was also there to view the procession, came up to the
carriage and began to flirt with the lady he imagined to be
alone inside. Presently he caught a firefly and thrust it into
the carriage. The lady started to extinguish it lest she be
seen by its light—whereupon the man who was with her
recited,
Idete inaba
Kagiri narubemi
Tomoshi kechi
Toshi henuru ka to
Naku koe o kike.
When the princess emerges
It will be for the last time.
You would do well to heed
The voices that lament
This light's untimely extinction.
Itaru replied,
Ito aware
Naku zo kikoyuru
Tomoshi kechi
Kiyuru mono to mo
Ware wa shirazu na.
It is most affecting;
I do indeed hear the weeping.
But I am not aware
That a light
Has been extinguished/
It was a mediocre verse for a man of his reputation.8
Itaru was Shitago's grandfather. His behavior was scarcely what the princess would have wished it to be.6
40
39
Once a sovereign known as the Emperor of the Western
Palace1 had a daughter, Princess Shushi, who died.2 On the
night of the funeral a man who lived nearby drove out with
a lady in her carriage to watch the procession. A long time
passed with no sign of the coffin, and the man, feeling that
his tears had shown his sympathy, decided to give up and
go home. Just then the famous gallant Minamoto Itaru,8
¥>
Once a young man took a fancy to a girl who was really
quite acceptable, but his parents, a conceited pair, decided
to send the girl away before the attachment became serious
—or so they said, for at first they did nothing but talk. The
boy was unable to oppose them, since he was dependent on
them and still had no strong will of his own, and the girl,
being of low birth, was equally powerless; the two merely
fell deeper and deeper in love. Quite abruptly the parents-
Tales of Ise
Tales of Ise
resolved to get rid of the girl. The boy had no way of stopping them, though he wept bitterly, and so she was carried
off. The sobbing boy composed this poem:
Idete inaba
Tare ka wakare no
Katakaran
Arishi ni masaru
Kyo wa kanashi mo.
It would not be hard
To part from someone
Who wished to leave,
But how much my suffering
Has increased today I1
Then he lost consciousness. His parents were terribly upset. They had, after all, spoken only through concern for
his welfare, never dreaming that the affair was so serious—
yet there he lay in a genuine faint. They offered agitated
prayers to the gods and buddhas.
Although the boy had fainted at sunset, it was the Hour
of the Dog2 on the next day before he finally came around.
Such were the depths of feeling that the young were once
capable of. Sensibility of that order is not to be found nowadays even among older people.
41
Once there were two sisters, one married to an impoverished man of inferior rank and the other to a man of consequence. Toward the end of the Twelfth Month in a certain year, the wife of the low-ranking man washed his formal cloak and personally stretched it out to dry. She was
very careful, but being unaccustomed to such menial labor
she stretched the material too far and split the shoulder.
There was nothing to be done; she could only sit and weep.
When the man of high rank heard about it, he found her
plight most affecting. He got hold of a handsome blue
cloak1 and sent it to her with this poem:
98
Murasaki no
Iro koki toki wa
Me mo ham ni
No naru kusaki zo
Wakarezarikeru.
When the murasa\is hue
Is strong and deep,
One can distinguish
No other plant
On the vast plain.2
No doubt he was thinking of the poem about Musashi
Plain.8
42
A certain man once exchanged vows with a lady he knew
to be something of a flirt, and found her most attractive in
spite of her reputation. He began to visit her constantly,
always worrying about her fickleness and yet never able to
give her up, for he felt that life would be insupportable
without her. Once when he had been prevented from visiting her for two or three days, he sent this poem:
Idete koshi
Atodaniimada
Kawaraji o
Ta ga kayoiji to
Ima wa naruran.
Who, I wonder,
Treads your path
While the very footprints
Linger
From my last visit.1
43
Once an emperor's son, Prince Kaya,1 took a liking to a girl
and gave her a good position in his service. Presently another man began to make advances to her. There was still
a third man who had been under the impression that the
girl belonged to him. When he heard about the second
man, he sent the girl this poem in a letter containing a
drawing of a hototogisu:
99
*,-
Tales of he
Hototogisu
Na ga naku sato no
Amata areba
Nao utomarenu
Omou mono kara.
Too many, hototogisu,
Are the houses
Where you sing;
Though I love you,
We are drifting apart.8
She tried to placate him with this:
Nanomi tatsu
Shide no taosa wa
Kesa zo naku
Iori amata to
Utomarenureba.
This morning
The rejected hototogisu
Cries mournfully,
Falsely accused of dwelling
At too many cottages.*
It was then the Fifth Month.5 The man replied,
Iori oki
Shide no taosa wa
Nao tanomu
Wa ga sumu sato ni
Koe shi taezu wa.
While you continue to sing
At the house where I live,
I shall still trust you, hototogisu,
Though you dwell
By many cottages
44
Once a man knew someone who was going out to the provinces. He decided to invite him to his house to say farewell,
and also, since the person was a particular friend, to have
his wife serve the wine. He further arranged to give him a
lady's costume,1 and composed a poem for his wife to tie to
the belt of the train:
Idete yuku
Kimi ga tame ni to
Nugitsureba
Ware sae mo naku
Narinubeki kana.
ioo
Since this train
Has been taken off
For you who depart,
Should not you and I both
Be free of misfortune ?2
Tales of he
This is a most interesting poem; it should be read attentively and savored in silence.
45
Once there was a carefully reared girl who longed desperately to tell a certain man of her love for him. At length she
fell ill—broken hearted, perhaps, because she could devise
no way of letting him know—and as she lay dying she confessed her attachment. When her father learned of it he
sent word to the man, weeping bitterly.
The man hurried to the house, only to find the girl dead.
Feeling strangely bereaved, he stayed to mourn for her. It
was late in the Sixth Month and exceedingly hot.1 Music
was performed in the evening to comfort the departed
spirit, and as the night deepened a cool breeze began to
stir. Fireflies danced high in the air. Staring out at the insects from where he lay, the man recited,
Yuku hotaru
Kumo no ue made
Inubeku wa
Akikaze fuku to
Kari ni tsugekose.
Dancing fireflies,
If you can soar
Above the clouds,
Tell the wild goose
Of the autumnal breeze.2
Kuregataki
Natsu no higurashi
Nagamureba
Sono koto to naku
Mono zo kanashiki.
Lostinrevery
Throughout this interminable
Summer day,
I have grown sad,
Scarcely knowing why.3
46
Once a man had a friend to whom he was much attached.
The two were always together and always on the best of
101
•*v
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Tales of Ise
terms. But then the friend was obliged to go to the provinces, and they parted with many laments. After some time
a letter came: "How long it has been since our last meeting! I am terribly afraid that you will have forgotten me.
It is after all only human to forget someone who is never
around." The man composed this poem and sent it to him:
Mekaru to mo
Omoenaku ni
Wasuraruru
Toki shi nakereba
Omokage ni tatsu.
I cannot believe that you
Are far away,
For I can never forget you,
And thus your face
Is always before me.1
47
Once a man was eager to find a means of exchanging vows
with a certain lady, but the lady, having heard that his
affections were rather indiscriminately bestowed, grew if
anything colder as time went on. She sent him this poem:
Onusa no
Hiku te amata ni
Narinureba
Omoedo e koso
Tanomazarikere.
Many as the hands
Pulling at sacred wands
Are those that tug at you.
I find you most attractive,
But you are not to be trusted.1
His reply:
Onusa to
Na ni koso tatere
Nagarete mo
Tsui ni yoru se wa
Ari to iu mono o.
I am indeed reputed
To resemble a sacred wand—
Yet when its drifting is done
Is there not a shoal
Where the wand comes to rest ?2
48
Once a man planned an entertainment for someone who
was going away, but the guest failed to come. The man
sent him this:
102
Ima zo shim
Kurushiki mono to
Hito matamu
Sato o ba karezu
Toubekarikeri.
Now that I know
How hard it is to wait,
I shall call faithfully
At houses
Where I am expected.1
49
Once a man, stirred by the beauty of his younger sister,
composed this poem:1
Ura wakami
Neyoge ni miyuru
Wakakusa o
Hito no musubamu
Koto oshi zo omou.
How regrettable it is
That someone else
Will tie up
The young grass
So fresh and good for sleeping."
She replied,
Hatsukusa no
Nado mezurashiki
Koto no ha zo
Ura naku mono o
Omoikeru kana.
Why do you speak of me
In words novel as the first
Grasses of spring ?
Have I not always loved you
Quite without reserve ?3
5°
Once a man who was nettled by a lady's reproaches composed this poem:
Tori no ko o
To zutsu to wa
Kasanu tomo
Omowanu hito o
Omou mono ka wa.
How can I love someone
Who would care nothing for me
Even were I able
To pile up hens' eggs
Ten high and ten wide p1
She replied,
103
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Tales of Ise
Asatsuyu wa
Kienokorite mo
Arinubeshi
Tare ka kono yo o
Tanomihatsubeki.
Ue shi ueba
Aki naki toki ya
Sakazaran
Hana koso chirame
Ne sae kareme ya.
Of the morning dew
An occasional drop
May perhaps remain,
But a relationship with you
Is ephemeral indeed.2
52
Then he wrote,
Fuku kaze ni
Kozo no sakura wa
Chirazu tomo
Ana tanomigata
Hito no kokoro wa.
Once a man sent someone a pheasant in return for a gift of
decorated rice dumplings.1 His poem:
You have trudged
Ayame kari
Kimi wa numa ni zo Through marshes
Cutting sweet-flags,
Madoikeru
While I have gone forth to the
Ware wa no ni idete
fields.
Karu zo wabishiki.
Toilsome indeed, this hunting!2
That you should be trustworthy
Is less likely
Than that the winds
Should have spared
Last year's cherry blossoms.8
The lady's rejoinder:
Yuku mizu ni
Kazu kaku yori mo
Hakanaki wa
Omowanu hito o
Omou narikeri.
To love
Unloved
Is more futile
Than to write
On a flowing stream.*
53
Once a man visited a lady whom he ordinarily found it difficult to meet. The two talked of many things, and presently a cock began to crow. The man composed this:
The man:
Yuku mizu to
Suguru yowai to
Chiru hana to
Izure mate cho
Koto o kikuran.
Ika de ka wa
Tori no nakuran
Hito shirezu
Omou kokoro wa
Mada yo fukaki ni.
Flowing waters,
Passing years,
Scattering blossoms—
Which of them will listen
If someone cries "Wait" ?
In spite of their mutual accusations of infidelity, both
were quite likely involved in secret affairs with other
people.
' • ! '
51
;
?
Once a man set out a chrysanthemum plant in someone1!
garden. He composed this poem:
104
If it has been well planted,
It will fail to bloom
Only if autumn should fail to come,
And though the petals scatter
The roots will never die.1
Why does the cock
Herald the dawn
When the night is yet
Deep as this love of mine,
Unknown to others P1
54
Once a man sent this to a hard-hearted lady:
Yukiyaranu
Yumeji o tanomu
Tamoto ni wa
Amatsusora naru
Tsuyu ya okuran.
Is it dew from heaven
That wets the sleeve
Of one seeking in vain
To journey along
The path of dreams P1
105
*•*.*
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Tales of Ise
2
55
Once it began to seem unlikely that a man would win a
lady with whom he had fallen in love. He wrote,
Omowazu wa
Ari mo suramedo
Koto no ha no
Orifushi goto ni
Tanomaruru kana.
It is true, I suppose,
That you care nothing for me—
And yet I feel hope
Whenever I hear
Your least word.1
56
Once a man was tortured by love day and night. When his
suffering seemed beyond endurance he wrote,
Wa ga sode wa
My sleeve of course is not
Kusa no iori ni
A simple hut
Aranedomo
Thatched with grass—
Kurureba tsuyu no
Yet how the dew clings to it
Yadori narikeri.
As night closes in.1
57
Once a man sent this to an unresponsive lady with whom
he was secretly in love:
Koiwabinu
Ama no karu mo ni
Yadoru cho
Warekara mi o mo
Kudakitsuru kana.
Tormented by love,
I break under strains self-imposed,
Like the shell of the tvare\ara
Clinging to seaweed
The fisherfolk reap.1
establishment, and one day some of them caught sight of
the man as he was superintending the rice harvest in his
fields—it was after all a rural spot. The ladies came trooping in, calling, "Isn't this a rather odd occupation for a famous lover?" The man retreated in confusion to the privacy of an inside room, whereupon one of his tormenters
recited this poem:
Arenikeri
Aware ikuyo no
Yado nare ya
Sumiken hito no
Otozure mo senu.
Poor neglected house!
No doubt it has seen
Many generations pass
And thus its former resident
No longer cares to come here.3
They were by then clustered around the mansion itself.
The man sent out this reply:
The fiends who swarm around
Mugura oite
At the least opportunity—
Aretaru yado no
Uretaki wa
They are what is disagreeable
Kari ni mo oni no
About the ruined house
Sudaku narikeri.
Choked with weeds.4
"Would you like us to pick up the gleanings for you ?"B
the ladies asked next. He retorted,
If I were to learn
Uchiwabite
That poverty impelled you
Ochibo hirou to
To pick up fallen ears,
Kikamaseba
I should be most happy
Ware mo tazura ni
To join you in the fields.8
Yukamashi mono o.
58
59
A man who was a great gallant once built himself a house
at Nagaoka and took up residence there.1 Several very attractive ladies were in service at a neighboring imperial
Once a man took it into his head to live in the Eastern
Hills.1 (What can he have been thinking about the capital?) He wrote this poem:
106
107
Tales of Ise
Sumiwabinu
Ima wa kagiri to
Yamazato ni
Mi o kakusubeki
Yado motometen.
I shall no longer
Live here in misery.
Let me seek shelter
In some mountain village
Where I can sink from sight.
Thus he left the capital. Presently he fell ill and lapsed
into a deathlike coma. His people sprinkled his face with
water, whereupon he revived and recited,
Wa ga ue ni
Tsuyu zo oku nam
Ama no kawa
To wataru f une no
Kai no shizuku ka.
Something like dew
Touches my face.
Can it be spray from the oars
Of the boat that crosses
The Straits of the River of Heaven ?8
60
Once there was a man whose palace duties kept him so
busy that his wife, tired of being neglected, ran off to another province with someone who had promised to treat
her better. Some time later the first man was appointed
Messenger to Usa.1 As he was journeying toward the shrine
he learned that his former wife was now married to one of
the local officials responsible for providing him with accommodations on the way. He gave orders that the lady
was to serve his wine. "Otherwise I shall not drink it," he
said. When she presented the cup, he took a tangerine from
a dish of relishes and recited this poem:
Satsuki matsu
Hanatachibana no
Ka o kageba
Mukashi no hito no
Sode no ka zo suru.
108
Scenting the fragrance
Of tangerine flowers
Blossoming in the Fifth Month,
I recall the perfumed sleeves
Of someone I loved.2
Tales of Ise
The lady, deeply ashamed, became a nun and entered a
ountain retreat.
61
nee when a certain man had journeyed to Tsukushi,1 he
eard a lady say from behind a blind, "That fellow is a
dyed-in-the-wool flirt." He recited,
Somegawa o
Wataramu hito no
Ika de ka wa
Iro ni naru cho
Koto no nakaran.
When one crosses
The "River of Dyes,"
Is there a way
To prevent oneself
From falling in love ?2
She replied,
Na ni shi owaba
Ada ni zo arubeki
Tawarejima
Nami no nureginu
Kiru to iu nari.
Judged solely by name,
"Flirtation Island"
Were fickle indeed—
But there it is simply a matter
Of wave-drenched clothes.3
62
Once there was a woman whose husband had neglected her
for years. Perhaps because she was not clever, she took the
advice of an unreliable person and became a domestic in a
provincial household. It happened one day that she served
food to her former husband. That night the husband told
the master of the house to send her to him. "Don't you
know me?" he asked. Then he recited,
Inishie no
Nioi wa izura
Sakurabana
Kokeru kara to mo
Narinikeru kana.
Where is the beauty
Of yesteryear ?
Of cherry blossoms
This tree's branches
Are now quite bare.1
109
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Tales of Ise
The woman, acutely embarrassed, made no reply. "Why
don't you answer me?" he demanded. "I am blind and
speechless with tears," she said. He recited,
Kore ya kono
Here is someone
Ware ni au mi o
Who has wished to be free
Nogaretsutsu
Of her ties to me.
Toshitsuki furedo
Much time has passed,
Masarigao naki.
Yet her lot is little improved.
Then he began to get ready to go out. The lady rushed
home, bumping into brambles and briers, and retired to
her bed. After a time Narihira arrived and began to peep
in from a sheltered spot, just as she had done. She had
stopped expecting him and was disconsolately composing
herself for sleep. She recited,
He removed his cloak and gave it to her, but she left it
and ran off—nobody knows where.
63
Once a lonely lady longed desperately to meet a man who
would love her. Since it was not something she could talk
about, she pretended to have had a certain dream, which
she described to her three sons. Two of the sons made noncommittal replies and let the matter drop, but to her delight the youngest said, "This means that you are going to
find a good husband."
"Most men have little capacity for honest affection. If
only I could arrange for her to meet Ariwara Narihira,"
the third son thought. One day when Narihira was on a
hunting excursion, the boy intercepted him, caught hold of
his horse's bridle, and poured out the story. Narihira found
it so touching that he went to the lady's house and slept
with her. But afterward he failed to reappear. At length
the lady went to his house and peered in. He half glimpsed
her and recited,
Momotose ni
The lady with thinning hair—
Hitotose taranu
But a year short
Tsukumogami
Of a hundred—
Ware o kourashi
Must be longing for me,
Omokage ni miyu.
For I seem to see her face.1
no
Samushiro ni
Koromo katashiki
Koyoi mo ya
Koishiki hito ni
Awade nomi nemu
Must I again tonight
Spread a single sleeve
On the narrow mat
And sleep without
My beloved ?2
Moved by pity, he spent the night with her.
Most men show consideration for the women they love
and disregard the feelings of the ones who fail to interest
them. Narihira made no such distinctions.8
64
Once a man received some letters from a lady who showed
no inclination to arrange a private meeting with him; furthermore he was not at all sure who she was. He sent her
this poem:
Fuku kaze ni
Wa ga mi o nasaba
Tamasudare
Hima motometsutsu
Irubeki mono o.
Were I but
The whistling wind,
Then might I seek you out
And enter through a crack
In those elegant blinds.1
Her reply:
Toritomenu
Kaze ni wa ari tomo
Tamasudare
Ta ga yurusaba ka
Hima motomubeki.
Though you were the wind
No hand can grasp,
Who would permit you
To find a crack
In these blinds ?
in
Tales of Ise
Tales of Ise
65
Once there was a lady whom an emperor had noticed, taken into his service, and permitted to wear the forbidden
colors.1 (She was his mother's cousin.) She became involved in an affair with a courtier from the Ariwara family2
—someone who was still a boy—and this youth, who had
free access to the chambers used by the ladies in waiting,
fell into the habit of seeking her out and monopolizing her
company. "This kind of behavior is most improper and can
only lead to the gravest difficulties for both of us; you must
stop it," she said. He replied,
Omou ni wa
Shinoburu koto zo
Makenikeru
Au ni shi kaeba
Sa mo araba are.
Caution has been vanquished
By love—
Let me but see you
And I shall be content,
Happen what may.8
If she retired to her private apartments, he would chase
after her as usual, with no attempt at concealment, and
when she retreated in confusion to her own home he visited her there, apparently considering the new arrangement
even more convenient than the old. Everyone heard about
it and found it most entertaining. He would return to the
palace in the early hours of the morning, ignoring the
stares of the Intendance Bureau functionaries," and toss his
shoes well inside before entering.6
Fearful lest he lose his official position and be ruined if
his indiscretions continued, he implored the gods and buddhas to make him fall out of love, but instead his passion
became an obsession. Once he summoned diviners and
priestesses, told them to prepare purification offerings to
rid him of all affection for the lady, and went with them
to the river, but after the purification his agony merely
112
increased—his passion was stronger than before. As he left
the river he recited this poem:
Koiseji to
Alas! The gods have rejected
Mitarashigawa ni
The ritual of ablution
Seshi misogi
Performed at the Stream
Kami wa ukezu mo
Of Purification
Narinikeru kana.
To win surcease from love.6
The emperor was a most handsome man. Listening to
him chant the sacred name of the Buddha with impressive
reverence and dignity, the lady shed bitter tears. "What a
cruel karma it is that binds me to someone else instead of
letting me serve such a sovereign," she sobbed.
In time the emperor learned of the affair and banished
the youth.7 The lady's cousin, the emperor's mother, made
the lady leave the palace, and shut her up in a back room
to punish her. The weeping lady composed this poem in
her prison:
Ama no karu
Mo ni sumu mushi no
Warekara to
Ne o koso nakame
Yo o ba uramiji.
I weep aloud
For my own fault,
Blaming no other.8
Each night the youth returned from his place of exile,
played his flute with great feeling, and sang melancholy
ballads in a moving voice. The lady, listening from her
back-room prison, knew that it must be her lover but had
no way of meeting him. A poem came to her mind:
Sari tomo to
Omouran koso
Kanashikere
Aru ni mo aranu
Mi o shirazu shite.
How pitiful!
He comes hoping
Against hope,
Not knowing that I now
Scarcely exist.9
"3
Tales of Ise
Tales of Ise
The youth, frustrated in his attempts to see the lady, had
no recourse but to continue his nightly pilgrimages. Back
in his place of exile he wrote,
>
traveled. After an overcast morning, the sky cleared around
noon, and they saw fallen snow, pure and white, blanketing the treetops. Gazing at the scene, one of the company
recited,
Itazura ni
Yukite wa kinuru
Monoyueni
Mimaku hoshisa ni
Izanawaretsutsu.
Though it be in vain—
This going and coming—
My longing to see her
Draws me back
Again and again.10
;
These things happened, one may assume, during the
reign of the Mizunoo Emperor. "The emperor's mother"
must mean the Empress from Somedono, or perhaps the
Empress from the Fifth Ward.31
66
A man who owned property in the province of Settsu once
went to a spot near Naniwa1 with his brothers and some
friends. Gazing at the shore fringed with boats, he recited,
Naniwazu o
This morning at last
Kesa koso mitsu no
I behold Naniwa Harbor:
i
Ura goto ni
Are those innumerable boats,
Kore ya kono yo o
I wonder,
?
Umi wataru fune.
The craft that journey wearily
Through the sea of this world ?a
The others, deeply moved, went home without compos?
ing poems.
67
1
Around the Second Month of a certain year, a man set out
with a group of companions on a pleasure jaunt to the
province of Izumi. Mount Ikoma2 in Kawachi, swathed in
restless, billowing clouds, slipped in and out of sight as they
114
Kino kyo
Kumo no tachimai
Kakurou wa
Hana no hayashi o
Ushi to narikeri.
It was through reluctance
To reveal the woods in bloom
That yesterday and today
Clouds soared and swirled
And the mountain hid itself.8
68
Once a man made a trip to the province of Izumi. As he
traveled along the Beach of Sumiyoshi at Sumiyoshi Village in Sumiyoshi District,1 he dismounted again and again
to sit quietly and enjoy the glorious view. "Let us compose
poems using the phrase 'the Beach of Sumiyoshi,'" some*
one proposed. The man recited,
Kari nakite
Kiku no hana saku
Aki wa aredo
Haru no umibe ni
Sumiyoshi no hama.
In autumn the wild geese cry
And chrysanthemums are in
flower,
Yet how pleasant to dwell
By the sea in spring
On the Beach of Sumiyoshi."
The others refused to attempt poems of their own.
69
Once a man went to the province of Ise as an Imperial
Huntsman.1 The Ise Virgin's mother had sent word that
he was to be treated better than the ordinary run of imperial representatives, and the Virgin accordingly looked
after his needs with great solicitude, seeing him off to hunt
115
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Tales of Ise
in the morning and allowing him to come to her own residence when he returned in the evening.2
On the night of the second day of this hospitable treatment, the man suggested that they might become better
acquainted. The Virgin was not unwilling, but with so
many people about it was impossible to arrange a meeting in private. However, since the man was in charge of
the hunting party, he had not been relegated to some distant quarter, but had been lodged rather close to the Virgin's own sleeping chamber, and so the Virgin went to his
room around eleven o'clock that night, after the household
had quieted down. He was lying on his bed wide awake,
staring out into the night. When he saw her by the faint
light of the moon, standing with a little girl in front of her,
he led her joyfully into the bedchamber; but though she
stayed from eleven o'clock until two-thirty, she took her
leave without exchanging vows with him.
The man, bitterly disappointed, spent a sleepless night.
The next morning, despite his impatience, he could not
very well send a message, and was obliged to wait anxiously
for word from the Virgin. Soon after dawn she sent this
poem without an accompanying letter:
Kimi ya koshi
Did you, I wonder, come here,
Ware ya yukikemu
Or might I have gone there ?
Omoezu
I scarcely know . . .
Yume ka utsutsu ka
Was it dream or reality—
Nete ka samete ka.
Did I sleep or wake ?s
Then he went off on a hunting excursion. As he galloped
over the plain his thoughts strayed to the coming night.
Might he not hope to meet the Virgin as soon as the others
had gone to bed ? But word of his presence had reached the
governor of the province, who was also in charge of the
Virgin's affairs, and that official proceeded to entertain him
at a drinking party that lasted all night. It was impossible
to see the Virgin, and since he was to leave at dawn for
Owari Province there could be no further opportunity, even
though he was quite frantic with longing, as indeed was
the Virgin.
As dawn approached, the Virgin sent him a farewell cup
of wine with a poem inscribed on the saucer. He picked up
the vessel and examined it.
Kachibito no
Since ours was a relationship no
Wataredo nurenu
deeper
E ni shi areba
Than a creek too shallow
To wet a foot-traveler's garb . . .
Shedding tears of distress, he sent her this:
Kakikurasu
I too have groped
Kokoro no yami ni
In utter darkness.
Madoiniki
Can you not determine tonight
Yume utsutsu to wa
Which it might have been—
Koyoi sadameyo.
Whether dream or reality ?*
116
The last two lines were missing. He took a bit of charcoal from a pine torch and supplied them:
Mata Ausaka no
I shall surely again cross
Seki wa koenan.
Osaka Barrier.5
At daybreak he set out toward the province of Owari.
The Virgin was the one who served during the reign of
Emperor Seiwa; she was a daughter of Emperor Montoku
and a sister of Prince Koretaka.8
70
Once a man lodged at Oyodo Crossing1 on his way back
from a mission as Imperial Huntsman. He recited this
poem to one of the Ise Virgin's child attendants:
117
Tales of Ise
Mirume karu
Kata ya izuko zo
Sao sashite
Ware ni oshieyo
Ama no tsuribune.
Point with your oar,
Fishing boat,
And show me
Where to reap
The seaweed called "Seeing.'
71
Once a man visited the Ise Virgin1 as an imperial envoy.
One of the princess's ladies, who was rather romantically
inclined, took it upon herself to send him this poem:
Chihayaburu
To see this person
Kami no igaki mo
From the imperial court,
Koenubeshi
I should be willing
Omiyabito no
To cross the sacred fence
Mimaku hoshisa ni.
Of the mighty gods.2
His reply:
Koishiku wa
Kite mo miyo kashi
Chihayaburu
Kami no isamuru
Michi naranaku ni.
If you are so inclined,
Pray come,
For the mighty gods
Forbid no one
To travel the path of love.8
Tales of Ise
Uramite nomi mo
Kaeru nami kana.
For they come no closer than the
beach
And then go back again.1
73
Once a man wrote this, thinking of a lady to whom he
could not so much as address a message, even though he
had managed to find out where she was living:
Me ni wa mite
Te ni wa torarenu
^
Tsuki
no uchi no
Katsura no gotoki
Kimi ni zo arikeru.
My love is like
The cinnamon tree
That grows on the moon—
Though one may see her
She is untouchable.1
74
Once a man felt that he had been shabbily treated by a certain lady. He wrote,
You and I are separated
Iwane f umi
By no craggy mountains
Kasanaru yama ni
Rising one above the other—
Aranedomo
Yet how many are the miserable
Awanu hi oku
days
Koiwataru kana.
I must spend without seeing you.1
72
75
There was once a man who had been unable to arrange a
second meeting with a certain lady in Ise, and who thus
felt exceedingly disgruntled as he prepared to depart for
another province. The lady sent him this poem:
Once a man proposed to a lady that he take her to live with
him in the province of Ise. Her reply was more discouraging than anything she had thus far said:
Though we have not exchanged
Oyodo no
vows,
Hama ni ou cho
The pleasure of seeing you
Miru kara ni
Has made me quite content.1
Kokoro wa naginu
Katarawanedomo.
Oyodo no
Matsu wa tsuraku mo
Aranaku ni
118
The pine of Oyodo
Is not inaccessible;
The resentful waves are them- 1
selves to blame,
r
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He wrote,
Sode nurete
Ama no karihosu
Watatsuumi no
Miru o au nite
Yamamu to ya suru.
Do you propose merely
To substitute
Seeing
For meeting?2
Who is to say ?
If we continue
To see one another,
Something may come of it.
The man:
Namida ni zo
Nuretsutsu shiboru
Yo no hito no
Tsuraki kokoro wa
Sode no shizuku ka.
Wringing my tear-drenched sleeves,
I wonder if perhaps
Your icy heart
Has been transformed
Into those drops of moisture/
She was indeed a most unapproachable lady.
76
Once in the days when the Empress from the Second
Ward 1 was still known as the Mother of the Crown Prince,
she made a pilgrimage to the shrine of her ancestral deity.2
When presents were distributed to the people in her party,
a certain elderly Imperial Guards officer8 received his gift
directly from her carriage. He composed this poem:
120
Ohara ya
Oshio no yama mo
Kyo koso wa
Kamiyo no koto mo
Omoiizurame.
On this auspicious day
The divinity of Mount Oshio at
Ohara
Will surely remember
What happened long ago
In the Age of the Gods.4
Perhaps she felt a pang of sorrow—but that is something
we have no way of knowing.5
The lady:
Iwama yori
Ouru mirume shi
Tsurenaku wa
Shio hi shio michi
Kai mo arinan.
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77
During the reign of the Tamura Emperor,1 there was an
imperial consort called Takakiko.2 The lady died, and Buddhist services were held for her at Anjoji Temple.3 Offerings presented by various people, a thousand or more in all,
were displayed on branches of trees, which were set in
front of the hall, creating the effect of a sudden invasion of
forested hills. After the sacred texts had been expounded,
Fujiwara Tsuneyuki,4 the Captain of the Right, assembled
a group of poets and called for poems that would commemorate the ceremonies while evoking the atmosphere
of spring. The aged Commander of the Right Horse Bureau5 mistook the artificial trees for real ones and recited,
Yama no mina
Utsurite kyo ni
Au koto wa
Haru no wakare o
Tou to narubeshi.
That all the mountains
Have moved
To attend today's rites
Is surely because they mourn
This springtime parting.8
His poem no longer strikes anyone as particularly praiseworthy. Possibly it impressed people at the time because it
was better than the others.
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i
78
1
Once there was an imperial consort called Takakiko. She
died, and Forty-ninth Day ceremonies2 were held for her
at Anjoji Temple.8 On his way back from the services, a
Captain of the Right named Fujiwara Tsuneyuki* went to
the Yamashina6 residence of a certain monk-prince8 who
had a most interesting garden with an artificial waterfall
and stream. "For years I have admired and respected you
from a distance," Tsuneyuki said to the prince, "but I have
never placed myself at your immediate disposal. May I offer
my services tonight?" The prince, greatly pleased, began
to make arrangements for Tsuneyuki's entertainment, and
Tsuneyuki excused himself to consult with his attendants.
"I should like to do something rather out of the ordinary
to mark my first service to the prince," he said. "When the
emperor was preparing to visit the Third Ward,7 someone
gave my father a handsome rock from the Beach of Chisato8 in Kii Province, but it arrived too late for the occasion
and was deposited in a watercourse facing one of the ladies'
apartments. Since the prince likes gardens, I shall give it to
him." He sent some of his escorts and attendants to fetch
the rock, and presently they returned bearing it. It was an
even finer specimen than he had heard. Merely to say of
such an object, "Here it is; take it," would, he thought,
be tasteless. He called on his attendants to write poems,
selected the composition of the Commander of the Right
Horse Bureau, and scraped away the green moss from the
rock until the Commander's words stood out like the raised
design on a piece of lacquerware.9 Then he presented it to
the prince.
122
Akanedomo
Iwa ni zo kauru
Iro mienu
Kokoro o misemu
Yoshi no nakereba.
Inadequate though it be,
This rock must represent
Those feelings that by their nature
Have no color to arrest the eye
And thus cannot be made visible.
79
Once a daughter of a certain house1 bore an imperial prince.
Among the poems composed for the birth celebrations was
this one, written by the baby's elderly great-uncle:
Wa ga kado ni
Now that a mighty bamboo
Chihiro aru kage o
Has been planted
Uetsureba
At our gate,
Natsu fuyu tare ka
We shall all find shelter
Kakurezarubeki.
Summer and winter.3
The child was Prince Sadakazu. People said at the time that
he was the Middle Captain's son.8 The mother was the
daughter of Middle Counselor Yukihira, the Middle Captain's elder brother.4
80
Once there was a man, rather down on his luck, who
owned a flowering wisteria vine. On a drizzly day late in
the Third Month, he decided to pick some of the blossoms
and send them off as a gift to a certain personage. He composed this poem:
Nuretsutsu zo
Though I got wet,
Shiite oritsuru
I was determined to pluck them,
Toshi no uchi ni
Mindful
Ham wa ikuka mo
That of this year
Araji to omoeba.
But few spring days remain.1
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»
81
A certain Minister of the Left1 once lived in a very interesting house on the bank of the Kamo River near Rokujo
Avenue. Late in the Tenth Month one year, when the
white chrysanthemums had taken on a reddish tinge and
all the trees and bushes blazed in autumn hues, the minister invited some imperial princes to visit him for a night
of wine and music. As dawn approached, the guests fell to
composing poems in praise of the mansion's elegance. A
humble old fellow who had been creeping about below the
veranda recited this after the others had finished:
Shiogama ni
Itsu ka kinikemu
Asanagi ni
Tsuri suru fune wa
Koko ni yoranan.
When might I have come
To Shiogama ?
How pleasant it would be
Were fishing boats to approach
In the morning calm.2
A traveler to Michinoku Province finds countless unusual and intriguing places. In all the sixty and more provinces of our country there is nothing quite like Shiogama;
thus to praise the host's garden, the old man made use of
the lines, "When might I have come / To Shiogama?"
82
There was once an imperial prince named Koretaka.1 He
owned a house at Minase, beyond Yamazaki,2 where he
went each year when the cherry trees were in full bloom,
always taking with him a man who served as Commander
of the Right Horse Bureau. (It was so long ago that I have
forgotten the man's name.) Though the prince would go
out hawking during these visits, the hunts themselves did
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not greatly interest him, and were indeed little more than
pretexts for sipping wine and composing verses. On one excursion, he noticed some exceptionally lovely cherry blossoms at the Nagisa House in Katano.3 He and some of the
others dismounted, seated themselves under the trees, decorated their caps with sprays of flowers, and began to compose poems. The Commander of the Right Horse Bureau
recited,
Yo no naka ni
Taete sakura no
'Nakariseba
Haru no kokoro wa
Nodokekaramashi.
If this were but a world
To which cherry blossoms
Were quite foreign,
Then perhaps in spring
^
Our hearts would know peace.
Someone else retorted,
Chireba koso
Itodo sakura wa
Medetakere
Ukiyo ni nani ka
Hisashikarubeki.
It is precisely because
Cherry blossoms scatter
That we find them appealing.
Does anything endure for long
In this world of sorrows ?5
At dusk, just after they had left the trees to ride in the
direction of Minase, the rest of the prince's attendants came
over the fields toward them with servants bearing wine,
and the party continued together, looking about for an
attractive spot in which to drink. Presently they arrived at
a place called Amanogawa,8 and there the Commander of
the Right Horse Bureau started to offer the prince a cup.
"When you present the wine," the prince said, "recite a
poem on the theme 'Coming to Amanogawa after a hunt
at Katano.'" The Commander recited,
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Karikurashi
Tanabatatsume ni
Yado karamu
Ama no kawara ni
Ware wa kinikeri.
Having hunted until dark,
Let us borrow a lodging
From the Weaver Maid,
For we have come to the banks
Of the River of Heaven.7
After the prince had chanted the poem several times
without hitting on a reply, Ki no Aritsune,8 who was one
of the party, responded thus:
Hitotose ni
Hitotabi kimasu
Kimi mateba
Yado kasu hito mo
Araji to zo omou.
There is, I suspect,
No other man
Who will be granted a lodging
By the maiden who awaits
Her lover's yearly visit.9 ..
Back at the mansion, they drank and spun yarns far into
the night. When the prince, somewhat befuddled, finally
prepared to retire, the eleven-day-old moon was just ready
to disappear behind the hills. The Commander of the Right
Horse Bureau recited,
Akanaku ni
Madaki mo tsuki no
Kakururu ka
Yama no ha nigete
Irezu mo aranan.
Must the moon disappear
In such haste,
Leaving us still unsatisfied ?
Would that the mountain rim
might flee
And refuse to receive her.10
Ki no Aritsune answered for the prince:
Oshinabete
Mine mo taira ni
Narinanamu
Yama no ha naku wa
Tsuki mo iraji o.
126
Would that all peaks
Everywhere
Might become flat,
For without ridges
The moon could not hide.11
83
Once an elderly Commander of the Right Horse Bureau1
went along on one of Prince Koretaka's frequent hunting
excursions to Minase.2 The prince returned to his palace in
the capital a few days later, but instead of dismissing the
Commander (who had intended to see him home and then
go to his own house), he detained him, saying that he
wanted to drink with him and give him a present. The
Commander, impatient to be off, recited,
Makura tote
Kusa hikimusubu
Koto mo seji
Aki no yo to dani
Tanomarenaku ni.
I shall pull up
No grasses to bind
Into a pillow.
It is not as though one might
expect
An autumn night.. . 8
(It was late in the Third Month.) Nevertheless, the prince
stayed up the whole night.
Such was the manner in which this Commander made
himself useful to the prince; but one day, while he was still
in constant attendance at the palace, he was astonished to
learn that his patron had become a monk. When the First
Month came around, he resolved to go and pay his respects
to him at Ono,4 a place blanketed with snow at the foot of
Mount Hiei.6 With much difficulty he made his way to the
hermitage, and found the prince looking bored and forlorn.6 He lingered on and on, reminiscing about the past;
but though he would have liked to remain still longer, his
official responsibilities obliged him to start back at nightfall. As he set out he recited,
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Wasurete wa
Yume ka to zo omou
Omoiki ya
Yuki f umiwakete
Kimi o mimu to wa.
When for an instant I forget,
How like a dream it seems...
Never could I have imagined
That I would plod through snowdrifts
To see my lord.7
He went back to the capital in tears.
84
Once there was a man of rather low rank whose mother
was an imperial princess.1 The mother lived at Nagaoka,2
and since the son was in imperial service at the capital, he
found it hard to visit her as often as he would have liked.
He was her only child, and she loved him dearly.3 In the
Twelfth Month of a certain year a letter came from her;
it was, according to the messenger, a matter of the utmost
urgency. In great alarm the man opened it and read this
poem:
Oinureba
Saranu wakare no
Ari to ieba
Iyoiyo mimaku
Hoshiki kimi kana.
More than ever
I yearn to see you,
For old age is said to bring
A parting
None can evade.4
Weeping bitterly, the son wrote,
Yo no naka ni
Saranu wakare no
Naku mo gana
Chiyo mo to inoru
Hito no ko no tame.
128
For the sake of sons
Who pray that their parents
May live a thousand years,
Would that in this world
There were no final partings.6
Tales of Ise
85
Once there was a man who called on his former patron, a
Buddhist monk, during the First Month of each year. He
had attended this personage since his childhood,1 and
though he was now in service at court and could not visit
him regularly, he made his annual pilgrimage with undiminished loyalty. One year the hermitage was crowded
with gentlemen and monks, all former attendants of the
owner, and since the New Year was a special occasion the
host served wine, while outside a heavy snow fell hour after
hour. Somewhat tipsily, the company began to compose
verses on the theme "Snowbound." The man of whom I
speak recited,
Omoedomo
It pleases me
Mi o shi wakeneba
To see the snow
Mekare senu
Fall and fall, and pile in drifts,
Yuki no tsumom zo
For though I think of you always,
Wa ga kokoro nam.
A man's body cannot be split in
two.3
The prince, deeply moved, took off his robe and gave it
to him.8
86
Once a very young man and a young girl fell in love, but
since both were afraid of their parents, they concealed their
relationship and finally broke it off altogether. Some years
later the man sent the girl this poem—perhaps because one
of them wanted to revive the old affair.
Ima made ni
There is, I suppose, no one
Wasurenu hito wa
Who would still remember,
Yo ni mo araji
Now that years have passed
Ono ga samazama
And each has gone
Toshi no henureba.
His own way.1
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Both the man and the girl were by then in service in the
same imperial household.
87
Once a man went to stay on an estate that he owned at the
village of Ashiya, in Mubara District1 in Settsu, the very
one described in the old poem,
Ashinoya no
Nada no shioyaki
Itoma nami
Tsuge no ogushi mo
Sasazu kinikeri.
Tending salt-fires by the wild sea
Fringed with reed-thatched huts,
The fisher girls have no leisure
Even to dress their hair
With simple wooden combs.2
(From this the place came to be called Ashiya-no-nada,
"Sea Bordered by Reed-thatched Huts.")
The man held a minor official post, which involved no
onerous duties, and certain Assistant Guards Commanders
used the connection as an excuse for joining him.8 His older
brother was a Guards Commander.*
One day as the gentlemen were cantering on horseback
across the beach in front of the host's house, with no particular destination in mind, someone proposed an ascent
into the mountains for a view of Nunobiki Falls.5 The falls
were spectacular—a rock face 200 feet high and 50 feet
across, swathed, it seemed, in white silk. From the top jutted a rock the size of a straw cushion,6 against which the
rushing waters dashed and shattered in cascades of globules
as big as tangerines and chestnuts. The host called for waterfall poems, and the Guards Commander recited,
Wa ga yo o ba
Kyo ka asu ka to
Matsu kai no
Namida no taki to
Izure takaken.
130
Which, I wonder, is higher—
This waterfall or the fall of my tears
As I wait in vain,
Hoping today or tomorrow
To rise in the world.7
Next the host composed this:
Nukimidaru
Hito koso arurashi
Shiratama no
Ma naku mo chiru ka
Sode no sebaki ni.
It looks as though someone
Must be unstringing
Those clear cascading gems.
Alas! My sleeves are too narrow
To hold them all.8
The others seem to have been much amused. They all
praised the poem and refused to go on with their versifying.
The return journey was long, and twilight was falling as
they reached the dwelling that had belonged to Mochiyoshi, the late Minister of the Imperial Household.9 Gazing
ahead toward the Ashiya house, they saw the fires of thickly clustered fishing craft. The host recited,
Haruru yo no
Might they be the clear night's stars,
Hoshi ka kawabe no
Or fireflies by the river bank,
Hotaru kamo
Or perhaps fires
Wa ga sumu kata no
Kindled by the fisherfoik
Ama no taku hi ka.
Near my dwelling ?10
So they returned.
During the night the waves reared and tossed, whipped
by a south wind, and early the next morning servant girls
went out to gather the floating seaweed that had been
washed ashore. The lady of the house arranged some on
a pedestal tray and presented it to the guests, covered with
an oak leaf on which she had scribbled this poem:
Watatsumi no
Kazashi ni sasu to
Iwau mo mo
Kimi ga tame ni wa
Oshimazarikeri.
For these lords
The god of the sea
Has gladly relinquished
The seaweed he treasures
To adorn his head.11
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How are we to judge this country-dweller's poem ? Was
it good or bad ?
88
Once a group of friends, no longer very young, were admiring the moon together. One of them recited,
v
Okata wa
Tsuki o mo medeji
Korezokono
Tsumoreba hito no
Oi to naru mono.
As a general thing
I have but little heart
For praise of the glorious moon
Whose every circuit
Brings old age closer.1
*
Once a man of quite respectable rank had for many years
been hopelessly in love with a lady whose status was higher
than his.
Were I to die
Of this hidden love,
What innocent god
Would be subjected
To unjust accusations P1
90
Once there was a man who for some time had been trying
desperately to win an unresponsive lady. Moved perhaps
by pity, the lady at length agreed to receive him on the
following night with only a screen between them. The
man was overjoyed, but he could not help worrying lest
she change her mind. He sent her this poem attached to a
gorgeous spray of cherry blossoms:
132
Alas! Could one but feel certain
That the cherry blossoms
So radiant today
Would still be the same
Tomorrow night.
No doubt his fears were justified.
91
89
Hito shirezu
Ware koishinaba
Ajiki naku
Izure no kami ni
Nakinaosen.
Sakurabana
Kyo koso kaku mo
Niou tomo
Ana tanomigata
Asu no yo no koto.
Once there was a man who had been much depressed
merely by the passage of time.1 Toward the end of the
Third Month he composed this poem:
Oshimedomo
Haru no kagiri no
Kyo no hi no
Yiigure ni sae
Narinikeru kana.
With all my heart
I willed it otherwise,
Yet now it has grown dark
On this,
The last day of spring.2
92
Once a man, deeply in love, journeyed time and again to
the neighborhood where a certain lady lived, but was always obliged to go home without seeing her. He could not
even send her a letter. At length he wrote this poem:
Ashibe kogu
Tananashiobune
Ikusotabi
Yukikaeruran
Shiru hito mo nami.
How many dozens of times
The little boat,
Rowing among the reeds,
Goes and returns
Unknown to anyone.1
93
Once a man of humble position fell in love with a lady
who belonged to the very highest rank. Can it be supposed
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that he had cause for optimism ? He thought of her waking
and sleeping, and one day, feeling utterly wretched, he
composed this poem:
Onaona
Omoi wa subeshi
Nazoe naku
Takaki iyashiki
Kurushikarikeri.
One should love
According to one's station,
For bitter it is indeed
To join the extremes
Of high and low.1
f*
The lady's reply:
Chiji no aki
Hitotsu no haru ni
Mukawame ya
Momiji mo hana mo
Tomo ni koso chire.
Can a thousand autumns
Equal a single spring ?
Yet when it comes to scattering
There is little difference
Between maple leaves and cherry
blossoms.2
95
Even in earlier times, it seems, such unhappy attach
ments were not uncommon.
94
Once there was a man who for some reason stopped visiting a certain lady. She formed another alliance, but since
she had borne him a child he continued to send her an
occasional letter, though with no great display of ardor.
One day he asked her to paint him a picture—she was
something of an artist—but she replied that her new husband was with her just then. After first one day and then a
second had passed with no sign of the painting, he wrote in
considerable irritation, "It is, I suppose, quite natural that
you have not yet bothered to do as I wished, but you will
understand that I find it annoying." He sent along a sarcastic poem (the season was autumn):
Akinoyowa
Haruhi wasururu
Mono nare ya
Kasumi ni kiri ya
Chie masaruran.
134
Autumn nights, it appears,
Have made you forget
The days of spring—
Else why should fog be deemed
So vastly superior to mist P1
(
Once there was a man who was in the service of the Empress from the Second Ward. For some time he had been
in love with a lady in waiting whom he encountered constantly, and finally he begged to be allowed to visit her,
keeping her curtains between them if necessary, "for I
should like to try to clear up a matter that has been very
much on my mind." The lady received him, taking great
pains not to be observed. He chatted awhile and then recited this poem:
Hikoboshi ni
Koi wa masarinu
Ama no kawa
Hedatsuru seki o
Ima wa yameteyo.
More cruel than the Herdsman
Star's
Is the love that consumes me.
Pray give it up now—
The barrier that stands between us
Like the River of Heaven.1
Deeply affected, the lady drew aside the curtains.
96
Once there was a man who wooed a lady with such persistence that she gradually began to return his affection. (Not
being made of stone or wood, she could scarcely have
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helped feeling sorry for him.) Unfortunately, it was by
then the middle of the Sixth Month, and a boil or two had
appeared on the lady's skin. "Though I think of no one but
you, I am suffering from a boil or two just now—and then,
too, it is so frightfully hot. I promise that we shall meet as
soon as the autumn winds begin to blow," she sent him
word. But while she was waiting for autumn to arrive,
some of the people around her started to complain that she
intended to go off with the man, and her older brother suddenly came to take her away. The lady ordered a servant to
gather some maple leaves that were just turning red. Then
she composed a poem:
the minister's fortieth birthday, held at the Ninth Ward
House,2 an elderly Middle Captain composed this poem:
Aki kakete
Iishinagara mo
Aranaku ni
Ko no ha furishiku
E ni koso arikere.
"In autumn . . . " I said,
But it was not to be—
Our relationship has proved no
deeper
Than a shallow creek
Strewn with fallen leaves.1
She scribbled the poem on a bit of paper, attached it to
the leaves, and left it behind as she set out. "If anyone comes
from there, give him this," she said. To this very day no
one knows what became of her—whether she was happy
or miserable, or even where she went to live. The man is
reported to have clapped his hands and uttered bloodcurdling imprecations. "We shall soon learn," he said,
"whether one human being has the power to injure another through curses."
97
There was once a personage known as the Minister of State
from Horikawa.1 On the day of a banquet celebrating
136
Sakurabana
Chirikaikumore
Oiraku no
Komu to iu nam
Michi magau ga ni.
Scatter in clouds,
Cherry blossoms,
That you may hide the path
By which old age
Is said to approach.*
98
One year during the Ninth Month, a man who served a
certain Chancellor1 attached a pheasant to a branch of artificial plum blossoms and presented it to his master with
this poem:
Wa ga tanomu
Kimi ga tame ni to
Oru hana wa
Toki shi mo wakanu
Mono ni zo arikeru.
Just as my devotion
Is ever unchanging,
So to these blossoms
Plucked for my lord
All seasons are alike.
The Chancellor, pleased by the conceit, gave the messenger a reward.
99
On the day of an archery meet at the riding grounds of the
Imperial Guards of the Right, a certain Middle Captain
glimpsed a lady's face through the silk curtains of a carriage opposite him. He sent her this poem:
Bewitched by someone
Mizu mo arazu
Not unseen
Mi mo senu hito no
Nor yet quite seen,
Koishiku wa
Must I to no purpose spend this day
Aya naku kyo ya
Lost in melancholy revery ?x
Nagamekurasan.
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Her reply:
Shiru shiranu
Nani ka aya naku
Wakite iwan
Omoi nomi koso
Shirube narikere.
Why for no reason
Must one construct distinctions
Between knowing and not
knowing ?
The heart alone
Can serve as guide.2
Later he found out who she was.
IOO
One day as a man was walking along the corridor between
the Koroden and the Seiryoden,1 a hand thrust out a sprig
of greenery from inside a high-ranking lady's apartment.
"Can forgetting-grass2 be called 'herb of remembrance' ?"a
a voice asked. He took the plant and replied,
Wasuregusa
Ouru nobe to wa
Miruramedo
Ko wa shinobu nari
Nochi mo tanoman.
Though the fields may seem
O'ergrown with forgetting-grass, \
This is the herb of remembrance—
And remembering,
I look to the future.4
IOI
There was once a man called Ariwara Yukihira, the Commander of the Military Guards of the Left.1 A group of
courtiers, learning that Yukihira's household had produced
some excellent wine, visited him one day to sample it, and
he entertained them with a feast at which Fujiwara Masachika, the Middle Controller of the Left, was designated as
guest of honor.2 It happened that Yukihira, whose tastes
were most refined, had arranged several sprays of flowers
in a vase, among them a remarkable cluster of wisteria
blooms over three feet long. The guests began to compose
poems about the wisteria, and were just finishing when the
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host was joined by his younger brother, who had been told
of the festivities. They caught hold of the newcomer, demanding a poem. At first he tried to decline, since he knew
little of the art of poetry, but they refused to let him off.
He recited,
Saku hana no
Longer than ever before
Shita ni kakururu
Is the wisteria's shadow—
Hito o omi
How many are those
Arishi ni masaru
Who shelter beneath
Fuji no kage kamo. Its blossoms !3
"What is the point of your poem?" someone asked. "I
was thinking about the Chancellor's brilliant career and
the splendid accomplishments of other members of the
Fujiwara family," he replied. The critics were satisfied.
102
There was once a man who understood human emotions
rather well, even though he was not much of a poet.1 He
sent this poem to a high-born lady (one of his kinswomen)
who had become a nun and gone to a remote mountain
village to get away from the capital and its society:
Somuku tote
One cannot hope to ride a cloud
Kumo ni wa noranu
Merely by renouncing the world—
Mono naredo
And yet, I am told,
Yo no uki koto zo
One is no longer afflicted
Yoso ni naru cho.
By the sorrows of life.2
That was the princess who had served as Ise Virgin.8
103
There was once a man, most honorable, upright, and faithful, who served the Fukakusa Emperor.1 Through some
misunderstanding, perhaps, he exchanged vows with a
139
Tales of Ise
Tales of Ise
lady favored by one of the imperial princes. The next
morning he sent her this poem:
The man considered it a most discourteous reply, but
nevertheless his love for her increased.
Nenuru yo no
Yume o hakanami
Madoromeba
Iya hakana ni mo
Narimasaru kana.
106
A certain man, off on an excursion with some imperial
princes, once composed this poem on a bank of the Tatsuta
River:1
Grieved by the insubstantiality
Of last night's dream,
I seek to recapture it
By dozing off again—
Yet it grows ever more unreal.2
Hardly an admirable poem!
104
Once there was a lady who for no very good reason had
renounced the world. But though she had put on a nun's
somber garb, she had, it seems, retained an interest in mundane things, for she went out one day to view the Kamo
Festival.1 A certain man sent her this poem:
Yo o umi no
Ama to shi hito o
Miru kara ni
Me kuwaseyo to mo
Tanomaruru kana.
Weary of the world,
You have become a nun—
Yet seeing you a spectator here
I cannot but hope
For a sidelong glance.2
(It is said that the lady was the Ise Virgin, and that she
stopped watching and went home after the man sent the
poem to her carriage.)3
105
Once a man sent word to a lady, "I shall surely die if things
continue thus." She answered,
Shiratsuyu wa
Kenaba kenanan
Kiezu tote
Tama ni nukubeki
Hito mo araji o.
140
If the clear dew must vanish
Then let it vanish.
Even were it to linger,
No one would wish
To string the drops like gems.1
Chihayaburu
Kamiyo mo kikazu
Tatsutagawa
Karakurenai ni
Mizu kukuru to wa.
Unheard of
Even in the age
Of the mighty gods—
These deep crimson splashes
Dyed in Tatsuta's waters.2
107
Once a Private Secretary named Fujiwara Toshiyuki1 began to court a girl who served a certain nobleman. The
girl was still too young to write a decent letter or express
herself properly—much less compose a poem—and so her
master wrote something for her to copy out and send. Toshiyuki, quite dazzled, responded with this poem:
Tsurezure no
Nagame ni masaru
Namidagawa
Sode nomi hijite
Au yoshi mo nashi.
Unable to meet you,
I lose myself in idle revery,
My sleeves drenched with tears
Abundant as the waters of a river
Swollen by long rain.2
The girl's master composed her reply:
Asami koso
Sode wa hizurame
Namidagawa
Mi sae nagaru to
Kikaba tanomamu.
Shallow indeed the river of tears
That drenches sleeves alone!
I shall believe in your sincerity
When I hear that you yourself
Are being carried away.3
141
Tales of he
Tales of he
Toshiyuki is said to have been so impressed that he rolled
up the poem and put it in his letter box, where it remains
to this day.
Somewhat later, after Toshiyuki had succeded in winning the girl, he sent her a letter: "I am much disturbed
to see that it seems likely to rain. If I am lucky it won't."
The girl's master wrote this poem for her to send him:
Kazukazu ni
Omoi omowazu
Toigatami
Mi o shiru ame wa
Furi zo masareru.
I have been powerless to gauge
The measure of your love,
But harder and harder
Falls the rain
That must reveal the truth.4
Toshiyuki went rushing off to see her without even stopping to put on a raincoat or hat, and arrived soaking wet.
108
Once a lady who was embittered by a man's lack of affection fell into the habit of repeating this poem:
Kaze fukeba
Towa ni nami kosu
Iwa nare ya
Wa ga koromode no
Kawaku toki naki.
These sleeves of mine,
Never dry—
One might think them rocks
Eternally submerged
By wind-tossed waves.1
The man felt rather guilty when he heard about it. He
sent her this:
Yoi goto ni
Kawazu no amata
Naku ta ni wa
Mizu koso masare
Ame wa furanedo.
142
Though no rain falls,
Water rises in the fields
Where the singing frogs
Wail in doleful chorus
Night after night.2
109
Once a man sent this to a friend who had lost someone he
loved:
Hana yori mo
Hito koso ada ni
Narinikere
Izure o saki ni
Koin to ka mishi.
Which had you thought
To mourn first—
The cherry blossoms
Or that lady, shorter-lived
Than the flowers themselves P1
no
A certain man was visiting a lady in secret. Once she sent
him word that he had appeared to her in a dream that
night, whereupon he replied,
It must have been my spirit
Omoiamari
Venturing
out alone
Idenishi tama no
Because
I
miss
you so.
Aru naran
If you should see it later on,
Yo f ukaku mieba
Pray cast a spell and catch it.
Tamamusubi seyo.
Ill
Once a man sent this poem to a high-born lady, supposedly as an expression of sympathy prompted by the death
of someone close to her:
Inishie wa
Ari mo ya shiken
Ima zo shiru
Mada minu hito o
Kouru mono to wa.
Such things perhaps occurred
In days gone by,
But only now have I learned
That a man can love someone
He has never seen.1
Her reply:
143
Tales of he
Shitahimo no
Shirushi to suru mo
Tokenaku ni
Kataru ga goto wa
Koizu zo arubeki.
I do not think your love
Is as you profess,
For there has been no loosening
Of my under-sash
To prove it.2
His rejoinder:
Koishi to wa
Sara ni mo iwaji
Shitahimo no
Tokemu o hito wa
Sore to shiranan.
I shall not say again
That I love you—
But should you find
Your under-sash loosening,
You will know the reason.8
112
After many earnest declarations of devotion to a certain
man, a lady fell in love with someone else. The first man
composed this poem:
Suma no ama no
Shio yaku keburi
Kaze o itami
Omowanu kata ni
Tanabikinikeri.
Captured by the gale,
The smoke from the salt-fires
Of the fisherf oik at Suma
Has drifted off
In an unforeseen direction.1
113
A poem composed by a man who had been left to live
alone:
Nagakaranu
Inochi no hodo ni
Wasururu wa
Ika ni mijikaki
Kokoro naruran.
144
How deficient in feeling
Is the heart
That can forget
In the short span
Of a human life.1
Tales of he
114
1
Once the Ninna Emperor commanded a certain man to
handle a falcon on an outing2 to the Serikawa River3—
someone who had done such work in the past but who
now considered himself beyond an age when he could
with dignity undertake it. The man appeared for the hunt
in a figured costume with this poem on the sleeve:
Let none find fault
Okinasabi
With an old man's appearance,
Hito na togame so
For he who wears this hunting
Karigoromo
costume
Kyo bakari to zo
Shares the plaint of the crane—
Tazu mo naku nam.
"Today must be the end."4
The poem put the emperor quite out of sorts. The poet
had been thinking of his own advancing years, but to
others who were no longer young the words struck home
with disagreeable force.
115
A man who had been living with a woman in the province
of Michinoku announced one day that he intended to leave
for the capital. The woman, in great distress, begged him
to at least stay for a farewell dinner. At a place called Okinoite Miyakojima,1 she served him wine and recited this
poem:
Oki no ite
Mi o yaku yori mo
Kanashiki wa
Miyako shimabe no
Wakare narikeri.
More bitter than the anguish
Of flesh seared by fiery coals
Is this parting at Miyakoshima,
One to go to the capital
And one to remain on a lonely
shore.3
145
Tales of Ise
Tales of Ise
116
Once there was a man who for no particular reason had
wandered all the way to the province of Michinoku. He
sent this poem to a lady in the capital with whom he was
in love:
How long it has been
Namima yori
Since last we met—
Miyuru kojima no
Long as the eaves of a cottage
Hamabisashi
By the shore of a tiny island
Hisashiku narinu
Glimpsed between waves.1
Kimi ni aimide.
"I have," he added, "become quite a paragon of virtue."
117
Once an emperor journeyed to Sumiyoshi.1
Ware mite mo
Hisashiku narinu
Sumiyoshi no
Kishi no himematsu
Ikuyo henuran.
When I recall the long years
Since I myself beheld it first—
Countless indeed the generations
Witnessed by this beautiful pine
On the beach at Sumiyoshi.2
The god of Sumiyoshi manifested himself and recited,
Mutsumashi to
Kimi wa shiranami
Mizugaki no
Hisashiki yo yori
Iwaisometeki.
Do you not know
Of the tie that unites us ?
Since times as ancient
As my sacred fence
Have I protected you.3
118
After a prolonged silence, a man once sent word to a lady
that he had not forgotten her and intended to visit her
soon. She composed this poem:
146
Tamakazura
Hau ki amata ni
Narinureba
Taenu kokoro no
Ureshige mo nashi.
I can find no happiness
In talk of devotion
From one who has become
A vine that creeps
To tree after tree after tree.1
119
Once a lady composed this poem while gazing at some
objects left behind as keepsakes by a fickle man:
These very keepsakes
Katami koso
Are now a source of misery,
Ima wa ada nare
For without them
Kore naku wa
There would perhaps be times
Wasururu toki mo
When I might forget.1
Aramashi mono o.
120
Once a man learned that a certain lady, whom he had supposed to be quite without experience in matters of the
heart, had secretly exchanged vows with another suitor.
Some time later he sent her this poem:
Would that the festival
6mi naru
Tsukuma no matsuri Of Tsukuma in Omi
Might soon take place,
Toku senan
For I should like to count
Tsurenaki hito no
1
Nabe no kazu mimu. A cruel lady's pots.
121
Once a man caught sight of a rain-drenched lady leaving
the Umetsubo.1 He composed this:
Uguisu no
What a pity that I lack
Hana o nuu cho
A bonnet of plum blossoms
147
Tales of Ise
Tales of Ise
Kasa mo gana
Nurumeru hito ni
Kisete kaesan.
Such as warblers sew—
I should give it to a rain-drenched
lady
To wear home.2
Her reply:
Uguisu no
Hana o nuu cho
Kasa wa ina
Omoi o tsukeyo
Hoshite kaesan.
I have no need
Of a plum-blossom hat
Such as warblers sew,
But if you can spare a bit of burning
passion,
I shall dry my garments and return it.
122
Once a man sent this to a lady who had been false to her
vows:
Yamashiro no
Ide no tamamizu
Te ni musubi
Tanomishi kai mo
Naki yo narikeri.
Ours has proved a relationship
In which it was futile
To put one's faith in vows.1
She made no reply.
123
Once a man gave this poem to a lady at Fukakusa1—someone in whom, it seems, he had been gradually losing interest.
Toshi o hete
Sumikoshi sato o
Idete inaba
Itodo Fukakusa
No to ya narinan.
148
Were I to leave the house
Where I have dwelt
These years,
Might the luxuriant garden
Become a tangled wilderness ?a
The lady's reply:
No to naraba
Uzura to narite
Nakioran
Kari ni dani ya wa
Kimi wa kozaramu.
If it be a wild field,
Then I shall be a quail
Calling plaintively—
And surely you will at least
Come briefly for a hunt.3
The man, deeply moved, no longer felt inclined to leave.
124
What thoughts on what occasion, do you suppose, prompted a man to compose this poem ?
Omou koto
Iwade zo tada ni
Yaminubeki
Ware to hitoshiki
Hito shi nakereba.
It will be best
To keep silent
And not say what I think,
For there is no other
Who shares my feelings.1
125
Once a man was taken ill. Sensing the approach of death,
he recited,
Tsui ni yuku
This road,
Michi to wa kanete
I have long been told,
Kikishikado
Man travels in the end—
Kino kyo to wa
Yet I had not thought to go
Omowazarishi o.
Yesterday or today.1
SECTIONS MISSING FROM TEIKA TEXTS
126
A poem sent to someone during an early morning downpour after a day of steady rain:
149
Tales of Ise
Furikurashi
Furikurashitsuru
Ame no oto o
Tsurenaki hito no
Kokoro to mogana.
The reply:
Yayamosureba
Kaze ni shitagau
Ame no oto o
Taenu kokoro ni
Kakezu mo aranan.
Would that the heart
Of a cruel lady
Were filled with devotion
Constant as the sound
Of this eternal rain.
Do not compare
A steadfast heart
To the sound of rain
That comes and goes
As the wind dictates.
Once there was a man who ran off with a certain lady. As
they traveled they came to a place where there was fresh
water. "Would you like some?" the man asked. The lady
nodded, and since he had no cup he scooped it up with his
hands for her. Thus he took her to the capital. Later he
died and she set out to return to her old home. When she
reached the spot where he had given her water, she recited
this poem:
Where is he now—
The man who scooped up
Handful upon handful
Of Ohara's clear water,
Asking, "Is it enough P"1
A most affecting story.
128
A certain man and woman were constantly exchanging
tender vows, but one day the man for some reason composed this poem:
150
Kokoro o zo
Wari naki mono to
Omoinuru
Katsu miru hito ya
Koishikaruran.
The human heart,
I have come to think,
Is beyond comprehension,
For why should I love a lady
I have scarcely seen T
129
127
Ohara ya
Sekai no mizu o
Musubitsutsu
Aku ya to toishi
Hito wa izura wa
Tales of he
A man who lived in the area called Western Palace1 set out
one day for the marketplace. On the way he struck up a
conversation with a lady in a carriage, and after chatting
agreeably for a time he asked if he might know where she
lived. She replied,
Even were I to tell you,
Wa ga ie wa
You could not go there,
Kumoi no mine shi
For I dwell
Chikakereba
Near a mountain peak
Oshiu tomo kon
Veiled in clouds.2
Mono naranaku ni.
The man:
Karisome ni
If the feeling awakening
Somuru kokoro shi
Within my heart
Mame naraba
Should indeed be love,
Nado ka kumoi o
Nothing will prevent me
Tazunezarubeki.
From visiting the clouds.
With that he took his leave.
130
Once a man was secretly visiting a certain lady. She sent
him this:
As a cloud
Nakazora ni
Hanging in midair
Tachiiru kumo no
Dissolves without a trace,
Ato mo naku
So indeed must end
Mi no hakanaku mo
This evanescent life.1
Narinubeki kana.
151
Tales of Ise
Tales of Ise
J
3J
Once a rather passionate lady sent this poem to a man who
seemed to be tiring of her:
Ima wa tote
Ware ni shigure no
Furiyukeba
Koto no ha sae zo
Utsuroinikeru.
Now that I am entering
The winter of life,
Your ardor has faded
Like foliage ravaged
By late autumn rains.1
The reply (Ki no Sadafun):
Hito o omou
Kokoro no hana ni
Araba koso
Kaze no manimani
Chiri mo midareme.
Were my love for you
But a fragile blossom,
Then perhaps
It might scatter
And blow with the wind.3
132
Once a man went to the Nara capital, intending to inquire
after someone he knew there, but instead of getting in
touch with his friend he decided to send this poem to a
lady with whom he had earlier, in some annoyance, broken
off correspondence:
Haru no hi no
Itari itaranu
Sato wa araji
Sakeru sakazaru
Hana no miyuran.
Since there is no village
Untouched by the rays
Of the sun in spring,
Why should one see flowers
Blooming and not blooming P1
Amata araba
Sashi wa sezu tomo
Tamakushige
Aken oriori
Omoide ni seyo.
If you have too many
To make use of this,
Pray keep it with your combs
And think of me when now and
then
You open the box.
J
34
For a long time a man had been deeply in love with a lady
whom it seemed impossible for him to meet.
Wa ga yado ni
Makishi nadeshiko
Itsu shika mo
Hana ni sakanan
Yosoete mo mimu.
How impatient I grow
To see the bloom
On the wild pink
Planted in my garden,
For I shall think of it as you.1
135
Once a man paid a visit in a rather dubious quarter. The
next morning some of the people there began to create a
commotion as he was leaving. He recited,
Tsuki shi areba
Arawan koto mo
Shirazu shite
Nete kuru ware o
Hito ya mitsuran.
Perhaps the moon
Has bathed me in light
Without my noticing,
And thus I have been seen
Returning from sleeping here.1
J
33
As a token of interest, the same man once sent a girl an
ornamental hairpin after her coming-of-age ceremony.1 His
poem:
152
136
Once a man named Ariwara Yukihira sent this poem to a
lady:
153
Tales of Ise
Omoitsutsu
Oreba subenashi
Mubatama no
Yoru ni narinaba
Ware koso yukame.
The longing in my heart
Is quite beyond endurance.
With the coming of night,
Black as leopard-flower berries,
I shall surely visit you.1
The lady:
Konu hito o
Ima mo ya kuru to
Machishi ma no
Nagori ni kyo mo
Nerarezarikeri.
Today too have I been sleepless,
Remembering hours spent
In tense anticipation,
Waiting for someone
Who never came.2
!37
Once a man who was tormented by a hopeless passion sent
this poem to a certain place:
Yuzukuyo
Akatsukigata no
Asakage ni
Wa ga mi wa narinu
Kimi o kou tote.
For love of you
I have grown thin
As a shadow
Cast by the sun
In early morning.1
It nevertheless proved impossible to arrange a meeting.
Tales of Ise
J
39
Once there lived a romantic lady and a man of much the
same turn of mind. The man was eager to find an affectionate wife, and the lady longed with all her heart to marry; and so when they chanced to meet it was not long before they exchanged vows. But though they were deeply in
love, both lived in dread of being abandoned, and the lady
finally decided to go away. She left this poem:
Iza sakura
Chiraba arinan
Hitosakari
Narenaba ukime
Mie mo koso sure.
Would that I too
Might scatter like you,
O cherry blossoms,
For I shall be quite ugly
When my brief flowering ends.1
Awakening to find her gone, the man recited this in a
fit of exasperation:
Isasame ni
Chirinuru sakura
Nakaranamu
Nodokeki haru no
Na o mo tatsumeri.
How pleasant it would be
Were there no cherry blossoms
To bloom a bit and scatter.
Then indeed might spring be called
The season of tranquillity.2
i38
140
A man who was in love woke up one night and lay staring
outside. As he listened to the shrill voices of insects chirping in the shrubbery, he recited,
Once a group of people with elegant tastes were composing
verses incorporating the names of things. One man recited,
on the watercourse bamboo,
Kashigamashi
Kusaba ni kakaru
Mushi no ne ya
Ware dani mono o
Iwade koso omoe.
Sayo f ukete
Nakaba take yuku
Hisakata no
Tsuki fukikaese
Aki no yamakaze.
154
If speechless I endure the pain
Of unrequited love,
Why must insects on the leaves
Lift up their voices
In noisy lamentation ?
The night grows late,
And the moon rides
Quite halfway through the sky.
Blow her back, I pray,
Autumnal mountain breeze.2
155
Tales of he
141
A man traveling in remote regions sent a piece of colored
leather to someone who had asked for a souvenir from
Tsukushi.1 His poem:
Miyako yori
Koko made kureba
Tsuto mo nashi
Tachi no ogawa no
Hashi nomi zo aru.
Now that I have come here,
So far from the capital,
No souvenirs are to be found;
There is only
My sword-string's leather tip.2
The poem no doubt contains an allusion to a place.
142
Once a fickle man received this from a lady whom he no
longer visited:
Omoitsutsu
Nureba ya hito no
Mietsuran
Yume to shiriseba
Samezaramashi o.
Was it because I fell asleep
Tormented by longing
That you appeared to me ?
Had I but known I dreamt,
I should have wished never to
awaken.1
143
Once a man was about to start for home after visiting a
lady. How short, he thought, even the long nights of autumn sometimes seem. He recited,
Aki no yo mo
This autumn night
Na nomi narikeri
Was long in name alone,
Au to aeba
For scarcely had we met
Koto zo tomo naku When daylight appeared,
Akenuru mono o.
Leaving everything unsaid.1
156
Appendixes
APPENDIX A
Kokinshu Poems of the Six
Poetic Geniuses
POEMS BY BUN YA YASUHIDE
KKS 8 (Spring)
On the Third of a certain First Month,
the Empress from the Second Ward, who was then known
as the Mother of the Crown Prince, summoned Yasuhide
to receive some instructions. As he bowed below her veranda, she observed that snow was falling on his head while
the sun was shining. She commanded him to compose a
poem.
Haru no hi no
Hikari ni ataru
Ware naredo
Kashira no yuki to
Naru zo wabishiki
As I rejoice
In the sunlight of spring
I regret only
That my hair has grown
White as this snow.1
KKS 249 (Autumn)
Composed for a poetry contest at
the residence of Prince Koresada.2
Fuku kara ni
Aki no kusaki no
Shiorureba
Mube yamakaze o
Arashi to iuramu.
When it blows,
It ravages the autumn woods—
Which of course must explain
Why a wind from the mountains
Is called a tempest.8
159
Appendix A
Kokinshu Poems
KKS 250 (Autumn)
Composed for a poetry contest at
the residence of Prince Koresada.
POEMS BY OTOMO K U R O N U S H I
Kusa mo ki mo
Iro kawaredomo
Watatsuumi no
Nami no hana ni zo
Aki nakarikeru.
Every herb and tree
Changes color,
But autumn never visits
The flowers
Of the ocean waves.4
KKS 445 (Names of Things)
Once, in the days when
she was still known as the Mother of the Crown Prince,
the Empress from the Second Ward decorated a clump of
bush clover with some artificial flowers made of wood shavings, and called on Yasuhide to compose a poem about
them.
Hana no ki ni
Arazaramedomo
Sakinikeri
Furinishi ko no mi
Naru toki mo gana.
Though this bush
Ought not to bear flowers now,
It is in bloom.
Let us hope next
For some antique fruit!6
KKS 846 (Laments)
Composed on the anniversary of
the death of the Fukakusa Emperor.
Kusa fukaki
Kasumi no tani ni
Kage kakushi
Teru hi no kureshi
Kyo ni ya wa aranu.
160
Has it not been a year today
Since the shining sun hid its
radiance
Behind the mists of a valley
Rank with wild grasses,
And grew dark ?8
KKS 88 (Spring)
Harusame no
Furu wa namida ka
Sakurabana
Chiru o oshimanu
Hito shi nakereba.
Subject unknown.
Is the spring rain
Falling tears ?
For there is no one
Unmoved by cherry blossoms
Soon to scatter.
KKS 735 (Love)
After secretly visiting a lady, Kuronushi found it impossible to meet her again. One day, hearing the call of a wild goose as he walked near her house,
he sent her this poem.
Omoiidete
Koishiki toki wa
Hatsukari no
Nakite wataru to
Hito shirurame ya.
Do you know, I wonder,
That when my love grows
unendurable
I pace near your house, crying
aloud
Like the first wild goose of autumn
Winging its way across the sky.
KKS 899(Miscellaneous)
Kagamiyama
Iza tachiyorite
Mite yukan
Toshi henuru mi wa
Oi ya shinuru to.
Before journeying on
I shall go closer
And look at Mirror MountainFor I have no doubt begun
To show my age.
(Attributed by some to Otomo Kuronushi.)
161
Kokinshu Poems
Appendix A
KKS1086 (Poems for the Gods)
Omi no ya
Kagami no yama o
Tatetareba
Kanete zo miyuru
Kimi ga chitose wa.
Because the gods have raised
A Mirror Mountain in Omi,
We have long been able to see
That our sovereign will live
A thousand years.
POEM BY KISEN
KKS 119 (Spring)
Sent to some ladies who had returned to the capital after stopping to see the wisteria blossoms at Kazan on their way back from Shiga Temple.8
Yoso ni mite
Kaeran hito ni
Fuji no hana
Haimatsuwareyo
Eda wa oru tomo.
KKS 983 (Miscellaneous)
KKS 165 (Summer)
Wa ga io wa
Miyako no tatsumi
Shika zo sumu
Yo o ujiyama to
Hito wa iu nari.
Hachisuba no
Nigori ni shimanu
Kokoro mote
Nani ka wa tsuyu o
Tama to azamuku.
Thus I dwell
In my hermitage
Southeast of the capital
At the place others call
Gloomy Mt. Uji.
POEMS BY ARCHBISHOP H E N J O
KKS 27 (Spring)
ern Temple.7
Asamidori
Ito yorikakete
Shiratsuyu o
Tama ni mo nukeru
Haru no yanagi ka.
KKS gi (Spring)
Hana no iro wa
Kasumi ni komete
Misezu tomo
Ka o dani nusume
Haru no yamakaze.
162
On the willows near the Great Westr
Pale green
Twisted threads
Piercing beads
Of white dew—
Willows in spring.
A spring poem.
Though jealous mists
Begrudge us the sight
Of the flowers' beauty,
Steal us the scent, at least,
Spring breeze from the hills.
KKS 226 (Autumn)
Na ni medete
Oreru bakari zo
Ominaeshi
Ware ochiniki to
Hito ni kataru na.
Though your branches snap,
Twine yourselves, wisteria blossoms,
Around those who would go home
Without paying respects
To our buddha.
On seeing dew on a lotus.
How is it that the lotus leaf,
Untainted by impurity,
Yet practices deceit—
For it would have us think
Dewdrops gems.
Subject unknown.
I have but plucked you,
Maiden flower,
For your name's sake—
Do not say to others
That I am false to my vows.9
KKS 248 (Autumn)
Once when the Ninna Emperor
[Emperor Koko] was still a prince, he stopped at the home
of Hen jo's mother on his way to view Furu-no-taki Waterfall. The garden had been redesigned to suggest a field in
autumn. At an opportune moment in the conversation,
Henjo recited this poem.
Sato wa arete
Hito wa furinishi
The dwelling is desolate,
Its occupant old-fashioned—
163
Kokinshu Poems
Appendix A
Yado nare ya
Niwa mo magaki mo
Aki no nora nam.
That, I suppose, is why
h
Garden and fence have vanished,
And only an autumnal field
remains.
KKS 292 (Autumn)
at Urin'in Temple.
Composed as he stood under a trcf
Wabibito no
Wakite tachiyoru
Ko no moto wa
Tanomu kage naku
Momiji chirikeri.
Faithlessly
The tree
Chosen to shelter
A man hard-pressed
Sheds its scarlet leaves.11
Is this the handiwork
Of some mighty god ?
With its help I shall be able
To climb the hill of old age
For a thousand years.
KKS 392 (Parting)
Composed as someone was preparing to return to the capital at dusk after coming to worship
at Kazan.
Yiigure no
Magaki wa yama to
Mienanamu
Yoru wa koeji to
Yadori torubeku.
164
Would that someone
Might take our fence for hills
In the dusk
And lodge with us,
Unwilling to cross by night*.
Yamakaze ni
Sakura fukimaki
Midarenan
Hana no magire ni
Kimi tomarubeku.
How pleasant if the cherry blossoms
Were blown by a mountain breeze
In swirling chaos,
And our guest, lost amid the petals,
Were obliged to stop with us.
->'v
KKS 348 (Felicitations)
While the Ninna Emperor
was still a prince, he sent his aunt a silver-trimmed staff as
a present on her eightieth birthday. When Henjo saw the
staff, he composed this poem on the aunt's behalf:
Chihayaburu
Kami ya kiriken
Tsuku kara ni
Chitose no saka mo
Koenuberanari.
KKS 394 (Parting)
Composed under the cherry blossoms as the Prince of Urin'in Temple [Henjo's patron]
prepared to return to the capital after coming for a Buddhist service.
KKS 435 (Names of Things)
Chirinureba
Nochi wa akuta ni
Naru hana o
Omoishirazu mo
Madou cho kana.
KKS 770 (Love)
Wa ga yado wa
Michi mo naki made
Arenikeri
Tsurenaki hito o
Matsu to seshi ma ni.
KKS 771 (Love)
Ima kon to
lite wakareshi
Ashita yori
Omoikurashi no
Ne o nomi zo naku.
On the \utani plant.1
The infatuated butterfly
Little knows
That those petals
When they scatter
Will return to dust.
Subject unknown.
At my house
Even the path has disappeared,
Swallowed by rank growth,
As I wait and wait
For an unfeeling man.13
Subject unknown.
Since the morning when you left,
Promising to come back soon,
I have spent my days in misery,
Crying aloud
Like a wailing cicada.1
165
Kokinshu Poems
Appendix A
KKS 84J (Laments)
During the reign of the Fukakusa
Emperor, the poet was in constant attendance on the throne
as Director of the Archivists' Bureau. When the emperor
died, he abandoned court life, went to Mt. Hiei, and became a monk. He wrote this poem in the following year,
when everyone had stopped wearing mourning and he
had begun to hear of rejoicings about promotions and the
like.
Mina hito wa
Hana no koromo ni
Narinu nari
Koke no tamoto yo
Kawaki dani seyo.
Everyone else, it seems,
Is now gaily dressed.
Will you not at least
Remain dry,
O monkish sleeve ?
KKS 8j2 (Miscellaneous)
15
ers.
Amatsu kaze
Kumo no kayoiji
Fukitojiyo
Otome no sugata
Shibashi todomen.
On seeing the Gosechi danc-
Blow, winds of heaven!
Close the path
That leads through the clouds,
And detain for a while
These beautiful maidens.
KKS 985 (Miscellaneous)
On a visit to Nara, Yoshimine Munesada [Henjo's name as a layman] heard a lady
playing the koto inside a run-down house. He sent in this
poem.
Wabibito no
Sumubeki yado to
Miru nabe ni
Nageki kuwawaru
Koto no ne zo suru.
166
As I gaze,
Thinking this the dwelling
Of someone in distress,
A koto's plaintive notes
Increase my sadness.
KKS 1016 (Miscellaneous Forms) Subj ect unknown.
O maiden flowers
Marching in coquettish ranks,
Self-assertive,
Through autumnal fields—
Your blossoms, too, will soon be
Aki no no ni
Namamekitateru
Ominaeshi
Ana kashigamashi
Hana mo hitotoki.
18
gone.
POEMS BY ONO NO KOMACHI
KKS 113 (Spring)
Subject unknown.
Alas! The cherry blossoms
Have flowered in vain and faded
During these long rains
Interminable as my own
Melancholy reveries.
Hana no iro wa
Utsurinikeri na
Itazura ni
Wa ga mi yo ni furu
Nagame seshi ma ni.
KKS 552 (Love) IM142
Omoitsutsu
Nureba ya hito no
Mietsuran
Yume to shiriseba
Samezaramashi o.
KKS $$3 (Love)
Utatane ni
Koishiki hito o
Miteshi yori
Yume cho mono wa
Tanomisometeki.
Subject unknown.
Was it because I fell asleep
Tormented by longing
That you appeared to me ?
Had I but known I dreamt
I should have wished never to
awaken.
Subject unknown.
Since encountering my beloved
While I dozed,
I have begun to feel
That it is dreams, not reality,
On which I can rely.
167
Kokinshu Poems
Appendix A
KKS 554 {Love)
Subject unknown.
Ito semete
Koishiki toki wa
Mubatama no
Yoru no koromo o
Kaeshite zo kiru.
When longing for him
Tortures me beyond endurance,
I reverse my robe—
Garb of night, black as leopardflower berries—
And wear it inside out."
KKS 557 (Love) Reply [to a poem in which someone
had referred to his tears as gems].
Oroka naru
Namida zo sode ni
Tama wa nasu
Ware wa sekiaezu
Tagitsu se nareba.
Tears that but form gems on sleeves
Must come, I think,
From an insincere heart,
For mine, though I seek to repress
them,
Gush forth in torrents.
KKS 623 (Love) IM 25
Mirume naki
Wa ga mi o ura to
Shiraneba ya
Karenade ama no
Ashi tayuku kuru.
Subject unknown.
In this bay
There is no seaweed.
Does he not know it—
The fisherman who persists in
coming
Until his legs grow weary ?18
KKS 635 (Love) IM 143
Aki no yo mo
Na nomi narikeri
Au to ieba
Koto zo tomo naku
Akenuru mono o.
168
Subject unknown.
This autumn night
Was long in name alone,
For scarcely had we met
When daylight appeared,
Leaving everything unsaid.
KKS 656 (Love)
Utsutsu ni wa
Sa mo koso arame
Yume ni sae
Hitome o moru to
Mini ga wabishisa.
KKS 657 (Love)
Kagiri naki
Omoi no mama ni
Yoru mo komu
Yumeji o sae ni
Hito wa togameji.
KKS 658 (Love)
Subject unknown.
In waking daylight,
Then, oh then it can be understood,
But when I see myself
Shrinking from those hostile eyes
Even in my dreams: this is misery
itself.18
Subject unknown.
Yielding to a love
That knows no limit,
I shall go to him by night—
For the world does not yet censure
Those who tread the paths of
dreams.
Subject unknown.
Though I visit him
Yumeji ni wa
Ceaselessly
Ashi mo yasumezu
In my dreams,
Kayoedomo
The sum of all those meetings
Utsutsu ni hitome
Mishi goto wa arazu. Is less than a single waking
glimpse.
KKS 727 (Love)
Ama no sumu
Sato no shirube ni
Aranaku ni
Ura min to nomi
Hito no iuran.
Subject unknown.
I know nothing
About villages
Where fisherfolk dwell;
Why must you keep demanding
To be shown the seashore P20
169
Kokinshu Poems
Appendix A
KKS 782 (Love) IM131
Ima wa tote
Wa ga mi shigure ni
Furinureba
Koto no ha sae ni
Utsuroinikeri.
Now that I am entering
The winter of life,
Your ardor has faded
Like foliage ravaged
By late autumn rains.21
KKS 797 (Love)
Subject unknown.
Iro miede
Utsurou mono wa
Yo no naka no
Hito no kokoro no
Hana ni zo arikeru.
KKS 822 (Love)
Subject unknown.
Find mutability
In that being which alters
without fading
In its outward hue—
In the color, looks, and the
deceptive flower
Of the heart of what this world
calls man I23
Subject unknown.
Akikaze ni
Au tanomi koso
Kanashikere
Wa ga mi munashiku
Narinu to omoeba.
How bitter it is to see
Autumnal blasts
Strike the rice ears;
I shall, I fear,
Reap no harvest.23
KKS 938 (Miscellaneous)
When Bun'ya Yasuhide was
named a third-ranking provincial official in Mikawa, he
sent Komachi a message: "Can you not set out for some
sightseeing in the countryside ?" She composed this poem
by way of reply. [Mikawa Province occupied what is now
the eastern part of Aichi Prefecture. The provincial seat,
near modern Toyohashi, was about 200 km. from Heian.]
170
Wabinureba
Mi o ukigusa no
Ne o taete
Sasou mizu araba
Inan to zo omou.
Misery holds me fixed,
And I would eagerly cut loose
these roots
To become a floating plant—
I should yield myself up utterly
If the inviting stream might be
relied upon.2*
KKS 939 (Miscellaneous)
Aware cho
Koto koso utate
Yo no naka o
Omoihanarenu
Hodashi narikere.
Subject unknown.
What men call love
Is simply
A chain
Preventing escape
From this world of care.
KKS 1030 (Miscellaneous Forms)
Hito ni awan
Tsuki no naki ni wa
Omoiokite
Mune hashiribi ni
Kokoro yakeori.
Subject unknown.
On such a night as this
When the lack of moonlight shades
your way to me,
I wake from sleep my passion
blazing,
My breast a fire raging, exploding
flame
While within me my heart chars.25
KKS 1104 (Names of Things) IM 115 On Okinoi Miyakojima.
More bitter than the anguish
Oki no ite
Of flesh seared by fiery coals
Mi o yaku yori mo
Is this parting—
Kanashiki wa
One to remain in the capital
Miyako shimabe no
And one to visit lonely shores.
Wakare narikeri.
171
Appendix A
Kokinshu Poems
POEMS BY ARIWARA NARIHIRA
KKS 268 (Autumn) IM 5/
A poem attached to a chrysanthemum plant that he set out in someone's garden.
For notes on Narihira's poems, see Notes to the appropriate IM sections.
KKS 53 (Spring) IM 82
the Nagisa House.
Yo no naka ni
Taete sakura no
Nakariseba
Haru no kokoro wa
Nodokekaramashi.
On seeing the cherry trees at
If this were but a world
To which cherry blossoms
Were quite foreign,
Then perhaps in spring
Our hearts would know peace.
KKS 63 (Spring) IM 17
Reply [to a poem received
from a lady during the cherry blossom season, complaining that he had stayed away until the flowers were in
bloom, and protesting her faithfulness. Here the flowers
represent the lady.]
Kyo kozu wa
Asu wa yuki to zo
Furinamashi
Kiezu wa ari tomo
Hana to mimashi ya.
If I had not come today
They would have fallen tomorrow
Like snow.
Though they have not yet melted
away,
They are scarcely true flowers.
Ue shi ueba
Aki naki toki ya
Sakazaran
Hana koso chirame
Ne sae kareme ya.
If it has been well planted,
It will fail to bloom
Only if autumn should fail to come,
And though the petals scatter
The roots will never die.
KKS 294 (Autumn) IM 106
Topic: A picture of autumn leaves floating on the Tatsuta River, painted on a
screen owned by the Empress from the Second Ward.
Composed while the empress was still known as the
Mother of the Crown Prince.
Chihayaburu
Kamiyo mo kikazu
Tatsutagawa
Karakurenai ni
Mizu kukuru to wa.
Unheard of
Even in the age
Of the mighty gods—
These deep crimson splashes
Dyed in Tatsuta's waters.
KKS 349 (Felicitations) IM 97 Composed on the occasion of a fortieth birthday celebration for the Minister of
State from Horikawa, held at the Ninth Ward House.
KKS 133 (Spring) IM 80
Sent to someone with a spray
of wisteria flowers plucked on a rainy day late in the Third
Month.
Sakurabana
Chirikaikumore
Oiraku no
Komu to iu naru
Michi magau ga ni.
Nuretsutsu zo
Shiite oritsuru
Toshi no uchi ni
Haru wa ikuka mo
Araji to omoeba.
KKS 410 (Travel) IM 9
Once Narihira was traveling
toward the eastern provinces with one or two friends.
When the party reached a place in Mikawa called Eight
Bridges (Yatsuhashi), they dismounted to sit under the
172
Though I got wet,
I was determined to pluck them,
Mindful
That of this year
But few spring days remain.
Scatter in clouds,
Cherry blossoms,
That you may hide the path
By which old age
Is said to approach.
173
Appendix A
Kokinshu Poems
trees, attracted by the sight of some clumps of irises blooming beside the river. Narihira composed this poem, his object being to express sentiments suitable for a traveler,
while beginning each line with the appropriate syllable
from the word kakjtsubata ("iris").
KKS 418 (Travel) IM 82
Once when Narihira was on
a hunting excursion with Prince Koretaka, the party dismounted on the bank of a stream called the Amanogawa
("River of Heaven"). As they were drinking there, the
prince commanded Narihira to offer him a wine cup with
a poem expressing sentiments appropriate for a hunter arriving at the River of Heaven.
Karagoromo
Kitsutsu narenishi
Tsuma shi areba
Harubaru kinuru
Tabi o shi zo omou.
I have a beloved wife,
Familiar as the skirt
Of a well-worn robe,
And so this distant journeying
Fills my heart with grief.
KKS 411 (Travel) IM g
When they reached the bank
of the Sumida River, which flows between the provinces of
Musashi and Shimosa, they were all bitterly homesick for
the capital. They dismounted for a time and drew together
on the bank, thinking involuntarily of home as they stared
at the water. "How very far we have come!" The ferryman
interrupted their laments, saying, "Come aboard quickly;
it's getting late." They got into the boat and prepared to
cross, all in wretched spirits, for there was not one among
them who had not left someone dear to him in the capital.
A white bird with a red bill and red legs chanced to be
frolicking near the riverbank. Since it was of a species
unknown in the capital, none of them could identify it.
"What kind of bird is that?" they asked the ferryman.
"A capital-bird, of course," he replied with an air of surprise. Then Narihira recited this poem.
Na ni shi owaba
Iza koto towamu
Miyakodori
Wa ga omou hito wa
Ari ya nashi ya to.
174
If you are what your name implies,
Let me ask you,
Capital-bird,
Does all go well
With my beloved ?
Karikurashi
Tanabatatsume ni
Yado karan
Ama no kawara ni
Ware wa kinikeri.
Having hunted until dark,
Let us borrow a lodging
From the Weaver Maid,
For we have come to the banks
Of the River of Heaven.
KKS 476 (Love) IM 99 On the day of an archery meet
at the riding grounds of the Imperial Guards of the Right,
Narihira glimpsed a lady's face through the silk curtains of
a carriage opposite him. He sent her this poem.
Mizu mo arazu
Mi mo senu hito no
Koishiku wa
Aya naku kyo ya
Nagamekurasan.
Bewitched by someone
Not unseen
Nor yet quite seen,
Must I to no purpose spend this day
Lost in melancholy revery ?
KKS 616 (Love) IM 2
Composed during a drizzling
rain and sent to a lady whom he had secretly wooed since
early in the Third Month.
Oki mo sezu
Ne mo sede yoru o
Akashite wa
Haru no mono tote
Nagamekurashitsu.
After a night
Neither waking nor sleeping,
I have spent the day
Staring at the rain—
The long rain of spring.
175
Kokinshu Poems
Appendix A
KKS 618 (Love) IM 107 A reply [to a suitor's poem]
composed on the lady's behalf.
KKS 644 (Love) IM 103
after a tryst.
Asami koso
Sode wa hizurame
Namidagawa
Mi sae nagaru to
Kikaba tanoman.
Nenuru yo no
Yume o hakanami
Madoromeba
Iya hakana ni mo
Narimasaru kana.
Shallow indeed the river of tears
That drenches sleeves alone!
I shall believe in your sincerity
When I hear that you yourself
Are being carried away.
KKS 622 (Love) IM 25
Aki no no ni
Sasawakeshi asano
Sode yori mo
Awade koshi yo zo
Hijimasarikeru.
On nights when I come home
without meeting you,
My sleeves are wetter
Than when of a morning
I have pressed through bamboo
grass
Crossing the fields in autumn.
KKS 632 (Love) IM 5
Narihira was once visiting a
lady in the neighborhood of the eastern Fifth Ward. Since
the liaison was a secret one, he could not enter by way of
the gate, but came and went through a broken place in the
hedge. His constant visits finally became known to the
house's owner, who posted a night guard beside the entrance, and when he came he was obliged to go home
without having seen the lady. He sent her this poem.
Hito shirenu
Wa ga kayoiji no
Sekimori wa
Yoiyoigoto ni
Uchi mo nenanan.
176
Would that he might fall asleep
Every night—
This guard
At the secret place
Where I come and go.
KKS 646 (Love) IM 69
Virgin].
Kakikurasu
Kokoro no yami ni
Madoiniki
Yume utsutsu to wa
Yohito sadameyo.
Sent to a lady on the morning
Grieved by the insubstantiality
Of last night's dream,
I seek to recapture it
By dozing off again—
Yet it grows ever more unreal.
Reply [to a poem from the Ise
I too have groped
In utter darkness.
Someone else must decide
Which it might have been—
Whether dream or reality.
KKS 705 (Love) IM 107 Once when Fujiwara Toshiyuki was visiting a girl who lived in Narihira's house, he
sent her a letter saying that he was planning to call shortly
unless it began to rain too hard. Narihira wrote this on the
girl's behalf.
Kazukazu ni
Omoi omowazu
Toigatami
Mi o shiru ame wa
Furi zo masareru.
I have been powerless to gauge
The measure of your love,
But harder and harder
Falls the rain
That must reveal the truth.
KKS 707 (Love) IM 47 Reply [to a lady's poem complaining of his fickleness].
177
Kokinshu Poems
Appendix A
Onusa to
Na ni koso tatere
Nagarete mo
Tsui ni yoru se wa
Ari cho mono o.
I am indeed reputed
To resemble a sacred wand—
Yet when its drifting is done
Is there not a shoal
Where the wand comes to rest ?
KKS 747 (Love) IM 4
Once, quite without premeditation, Narihira began to make love to a lady who lived in
the western wing of a palace belonging to the Empress
from the Fifth Ward. Shortly after the Tenth of the First
Month the lady moved away with no word to him, and
though he learned where she had gone, it was impossible
to communicate with her. In the spring of the following
year, when the plum blossoms were at their height, poignant memories of the preceding year drew him back to
the western wing on a beautiful moonlit night. He lay on
the floor of the bare room until the moon sank low in the
sky.
Tsuki ya aranu
Haru ya mukashi no
Haru naranu
Wa ga mi hitotsu wa
Moto no mi ni shite.
Is not the moon the same ?
The spring
The spring of old ?
Only this body of mine
Is the same body . . .
KKS 78$ (Lope) IM ig
Reply [to a letter from Ki no
Aritsune's daughter, complaining that though he visited
her by day, he no longer spent the nights with her].
Yukikaeri
Sora ni nomi shite
Furu koto wa
Wa ga iru yama no
Kaze hayami nari.
178
That I go and return,
Remaining always
Aloof in the heavens,
Is the fault of the gales
At my mountain home.
KKS 861 (Laments) IM 125
ill and failing.
Tsui ni yuku
Michi to wa kanete
Kikishikado
Kino kyo to wa
Omowazarishi o.
This road,
I have long been told,
Man travels in the end—
Yet I had not thought to go
Yesterday or today.
KKS 868 (Miscellaneous) IM 41
his brother-in-law.
Murasaki no
Iro koki toki wa
Me mo haru ni
No naru kusaki zo
Wakarezarikeru.
Composed when he was
On sending a cloak to
When the murasaki's hue
Is strong and deep,
One can distinguish
No other plant
On the vast plain.
KKS 871 (Miscellaneous) IM 76
Composed when the
Empress from the Second Ward, then known as the Mother
of the Crown Prince, made a pilgrimage to Oharano.
Ohara ya
Oshio no yama mo
Kyo koso wa
Kamiyo no koto mo
Omoiizurame.
On this auspicious day
The divinity of Mt. Oshio at Ohara
Will surely remember
What happened long ago
In the Age of the Gods.
KKS 879 (Miscellaneous) IM 88
Okata wa
Tsuki o mo medeji
Kore zo kono
Tsumoreba hito no
Oi to naru mono.
As a general thing
I have but little heart
For praise of the glorious moon
Whose every circuit
Brings old age closer.
179
Appendix A
Kokinshu Poems
KKS 884 (Miscellaneous) IM 82
Once Narihira accompanied Prince Koretaka on an excursion. Back at their
lodgings, the prince's party drank wine and talked late
into the night. When the eleven-day-old moon was about
to set, the prince, somewhat befuddled, prepared to retire,
whereupon Narihira recited this poem.
planned a farewell dinner for him, but though the hour
grew exceedingly late, Toshisada, busy with last-minute
errands, failed to appear. Narihira sent him this.
Akanaku ni
Madaki mo tsuki no
Kakururu ka
Yama no ha nigete
Irezu mo aranan.
Must the moon disappear
In such haste,
Leaving us still unsatisfied ?
Would that the mountain rim
might flee
And refuse to receive her.
f
KKS 901 (Miscellaneous) IM 84
Reply [to a letter from
his mother begging him to visit her and referring to her
advancing years].
Yo no naka ni
For the sake of sorrowing sons
Saranu wakare no
Who wish that their parents
:l
Naku mo gana
Might live a thousand years,
Chiyo mo to nageku
Would that in this world
Hito no ko no tame.
There were no final partings.
KKS 923 (Miscellaneous) IM 87
Composed when a
group of people were reciting poems below Nunobiki
Falls.
Nukimidaru
Hito koso arurashi
Shiratama no
Ma naku mo chiru ka
Sode no sebaki ni.
It looks as though someone
Must be unstringing
Those clear cascading gems.
Alas! My sleeves are too narrow
To hold them all.
KKS 969 (Miscellaneous) IM 48
When Ki no Toshisada was appointed Vice-Governor of Awa, Narihira
180
Ima zo shim
Kurushiki mono to
Hito matan
Sato o ba karezu
Toubekarikeri.
Now that I know
How hard it is to wait,
I shall call faithfully
At houses
Where I am expected.
KKS 970 (Miscellaneous) IM 83
In the days when Narihira attended Prince Koretaka, the prince became a monk
and went to live at Ono. Narihira set out to call on him
there in the First Month. Since Ono was at the foot of
Mount Hiei, the snow was very deep, but he managed to
struggle to the hermitage, where he found the prince looking bored and forlorn. After returning to the capital, he
sent the prince this poem.
Wasurete wa
Yume ka to zo omou
Omoiki ya
Yuki fumiwakete
Kimi o min to wa.
When for an instant I forget,
How like a dream it seems...
Never could I have imagined
That I would plod through
snowdrifts
To see my lord.
KKS 971 (Miscellaneous) IM 723
Sent to someone at
Fukakusa as he prepared to return to the capital after having lived there for a time.
Toshi o hete
Sumikoshi sato o
Idete inaba
Itodo Fukakusa
No to ya narinan.
Were I to leave the house
Where I have dwelt
These years,
Might the luxuriant garden
Become a tangled wilderness ?
I»I
Texts
APPENDIX B
Texts of Ise Monogatari
Under some circumstances the textual history of a book
may be uneventful—for example, when the author and the
date of writing are known, when the work has been transmitted only in a few printed editions, or when limited circulation has resulted from inaccessibility, lack of interest
among potential readers, or some other cause. But no such
limiting factors have been operative in the case of he monogatari. No work of Japanese literature has been better
known, more widely read, or more assiduously studied;
none is of more obscure origin. IM is the creation not
merely of a single anonymous author, but of a series of
faceless writers working over decades or perhaps centuries.
Its episodic structure has invited modification. And during most of its thousand-year history it has been transmitted and reproduced solely in manuscript copies. Quite
naturally, texts and traditions have blossomed, proliferated,
disappeared (except for tantalizing hints), and influenced
one another in countless subtle, ill-understood ways.
Japanese scholars, in their efforts to reduce the resultant
chaos to comprehensible patterns, have produced an imposing periodical and monographic literature many times
thicker than the slender object of their scrutiny. Much has
182
been learned; much remains elusive. The following pages
attempt not to report in detail on the findings of specialists
but merely to outline what is now known.
It has not been possible to trace the lineage of any IM
text farther back than the end of the twelfth century. Considering the years of intensive effort that have been devoted
to the task, and especially the high degree of sophistication
displayed by modern researchers, it seems fair to conclude
that the first two hundred years of the book's history must
remain forever obscure. One can say only that by the beginning of the eleventh century he monogatari was a recognized classic, containing episodes still present in extant
versions,1 and that by around the year 1200 there were in
existence two or more very different lines of texts.
During the closing years of the twelfth century and the
early decades of the thirteenth, two men interested themselves in he monogatari with lasting effect—the Buddhist
monk Kensho and the court noble Fujiwara Teika, poetscholars once almost equally prominent, although the years
have been unkind to Kensho. Kensho (1130-ca. 1210) was
a central figure in the conservative Rokujo faction, which
dominated court poetry for a time in the twelfth century before being eclipsed by the rival Nijo (Mikohidari)
family. The Rokujo were active for several generations as
poets and compilers of imperial poetic anthologies, but they
made their most valuable contribution to Japanese letters
through their studies of poetry, and in that field Kensho
was one of their brightest luminaries. Two of his projects
are pertinent to our interests: (1) he discussed poems common to IM and KKS in his Kokinshuchu (A Commentary
on Kokinshu), a work consolidating and carrying forward
the labors of earlier Rokujo family members, and (2) he
copied, collated, and commented on IM texts, preparing
183
Appendix B
Texts
annotations that are very likely preserved, in part at least,
in certain extant versions.
Kensho and other turn-of-the-century scholars mentioned the existence of a number of IM texts, most of them
identified by the names of earlier court figures who were
thought to have owned or copied them. One, said to be a
copy in the hand of Ariwara Narihira,the supposed author
of IM, was described as different from any other, beginning
with what is now Section 43 in the 125-episode texts, and
ending with section 125. Whether such a text ever existed
is uncertain. If it did, it has disappeared without a trace.
Kensho ignored it in his classification of texts extant in his
day. Those fell, he said, into two broad categories: (1) texts
that began with the first poem in the present translation,
Kasugano no, and ended with the Tsui ni yu\u poem in
Section 125; and (2) texts that began with the present Section 69, dealing with the "man of old" at Ise, ended with
a poem now contained in Section 11 (Wasuru na yo), and
exhibited other conspicuous structural differences from the
first group. Kensho described texts of the first group as in
general circulation and those of the second as rare.
Fujiwara (Nijo) Teika (1162-1241), the head of the
Nijo family, was the leading literary figure of his generation and one of the great poets of the Japanese classical
tradition. He is indeed so well known as a poet that his
distinguished scholarly attainments are sometimes overlooked. In his later years, in particular, he devoted long
hours to the study of old texts. He was especially interested
both in Kokinshu, which he annotated and copied 14 times
between 1209 and 1237, and in Ise monogatari. During the
first three and a half decades of the thirteenth century he
made at least half a dozen copies of IM, using a parent text
that cannot now be reconstructed, but that probably did not
vary drastically from the versions he handed on to posterity, which all resemble one another closely. Japanese specialists have supposed that Teika's basic text belonged to
his family, and that he collated it with other current versions familiar to him. He is known to have been a careful
and discerning textual critic.
By the end of Teika's life, his prestige was such that the
rival force represented by Kensho and other members of
the Rokujo faction had lost all hope of recovering their old
influence in court poetic circles. Teika passed on his position of preeminence to his son Tameie (a lesser figure, both
as a poet and as a scholar), whose descendants dominated
classical Japanese poetry for many generations thereafter.
The family also continued Teika's interest in classical studies, and the names of Tameie, his sons Tameuji and Tamesuke, and others are attached to some of the best-known extant IM texts. The Rokujo meanwhile persevered in their
own textual labors, preserving and studying IM versions
that apparently differed significantly from those on which
the Nijo school relied. The latter, which were of course
the ones transmitted by Teika, were also, because of Teika's
great prestige, those most widely circulated from Teika's
day on. Modern research has traced the existence of other
lines in the medieval period, including some that probably
stemmed from Kensho's work; but Teika's texts very nearly swept the field. Most variants remained out of sight in
shrines and temples.2
The scholars of national learning (\o\uga\ushd) of the
Tokugawa period approached the study of he monogatari
with lively interest and open minds. During the medieval
period (ca. 1185-1600) Nijo, Rokujo, and other commentators had concentrated on elucidating the meanings of obscure words and passages, investigating ancient customs
184
185
Texts
Appendix B
and ceremonies, and the like. The challenging problems of
the work's date, authorship, title, and development had
been met only by repetitions of vague surmises and groundless theories handed on from teacher to disciple for generation after generation. Tokugawa scholars adopted a fresh,
independent approach to such questions, and as part of
their researches they made determined efforts to find texts
other than the ubiquitous fruits of Teika's labors. In the
field of textual studies, the outstanding Tokugawa accomplishment was the publication in 1817 of a collated edition,
Sanko Ise monogatari, compiled by Yashiro Hirokata
(1758-1841), who checked one of the best Teika texts
against two other Teika texts, a third text written in \ata\ana* a fourth written in Chinese characters, and a short
fifth text stemming from an entirely different line.4 Really
fruitful analysis and comparison, however, did not begin
until the twentieth century.
Important pioneer structural studies, which demonstrated highly refined comparative techniques, were published
in the 1930's by Ikeda Kikan (d. 1956) and by Otsu Yuichi, coeditor of the text used in the present translation.5
Since World War II, a number of previously unknown
texts have come to light, making it necessary to revise
some of the conclusions tentatively reached in the thirties.
Professor Otsu and others have continued to work actively,
along with a brilliant and dedicated young scholar, Fukui
Teisuke, who has devoted himself to the study of this work
ever since his days as a student under Ikeda and Hisamatsu Sen'ichi at Tokyo University. In outlining below the
results of their investigations, I have adopted a classification system based on one devised by Ikeda and further developed by Fukui.
It is possible to distinguish four classes of extant texts.
186
6
I. 125-EPisoDE TEXTS. This is by far the largest of the four
categories. The texts contain 209 poems. They begin with
a story about a young man recently come of age, and proceed in roughly chronological order until the man's death.
There are few textual variations. All except "old texts"
(B below) contain colophons that associate them with Teika's copies. The oldest extant manuscript appears to date
from the early Kamakura period.
The principal subdivisions are as follows:
A. Teika texts. Most extant 125-episode texts clearly stem
from one or another of the copies made by Teika (all holographs are believed to have been lost by the end of the
Tokugawa period). They have traditionally been divided
into three groups.
1. Takeda texts. The parent text, once owned by the
Takeda warrior house of Wakasa Province, is known to
have survived until the early Edo period. Extant copies contain a distinctive colophon, signed by Teika, which discusses texts and authorship.
Important MSS are (a) a copy associated with the
poet-critic Shotetsu (1381-1459), (b) a copy, now at Kanazawa University, associated with the poet-scholar Nakanoin Michikatsu (1558-1610), and (<:) a text owned by the
Archives and Mausolea Division of the Imperial Household Agency.
2. Tempuku texts, so called from their distinctive colophon, which states that Teika made the copy for his granddaughter in the second year of the Tempuku era (1234).
The entire history of the original can be traced until its
destruction by fire in the Edo period. There are many extant copies.
Important MSS: (a) A "Teika holograph" formerly
owned by the Sanjonishi court noble family, who at one
187
Appendix B
Texts
time owned the original. Now reported to belong to Kokugakuin University. Believed to be a careful Muromachiperiod copy made by someone in the Sanjonishi family.
Collation with b and c below has convinced specialists that
this is an almost perfect reproduction of the original, and
that it is the best extant version of Ise monogatari. It is the
basic text used in the present translation, (b) A 1458 copy
attributed to the monk Genshin. Owned by Momozono
Library, (c) A copy attributed to Reizei Tamekazu (14861549), a descendant of Teika's grandson Tamesuke. Archives and Mausolea Division, Imperial Household Agency.
3. Common editions (rufubon). A catch-all category
for less precisely identifiable texts stemming from Teika
originals. These texts have in common a lengthy colophon,
signed by Teika, that discusses problems of authorship and
title. Wide circulation, frequent copying, and influences
from other lines have produced many corruptions and individual idiosyncracies.7
Important Kamakura-period MSS are (a) the Chiba
text, (b) a copy attributed to Teika's son Tameie (11981275), now in Tenri Library, and (c) another copy attributed to Tameie, now at Kyushu University.
B. Old texts. In addition to the 125-episode texts containing Teika colophons, there are others of obscure lineage, usually called "old texts" (\ohon). They are identical with Teika texts in number of episodes, number of
poems, and arrangement, but exhibit some textual idiosyncrasies and lack the Teika colophons.
Representative MSS:
1. A copy traditionally attributed to Teika's grandson
Tamesuke (1263-1328). It is perhaps even older. Thought
by Ikeda to be among the oldest extant IM manuscripts.8
2. A copy traditionally attributed to the regent Ho jo
Tokiyori (1226-63); probably dates from mid-Kamakura.
A katakana version, collated with Teika texts.
3. A copy attributed to the statesman-poet Fujiwara
Yoshitsune (1169-1206); probably mid-Kamakura.
4. A copy traditionally attributed to the Buddhist prelate Jichin (1155-1224), author of the famous history Gu\ansho\ probably late Kamakura.
188
II. EXTENDED TEXTS.9 These are longer than the 125-episode
texts. They resemble the 125-episode lines, but often differ
materially from them, and also from one another, in structure and content. Most have appendixes and are extensively
annotated. The oldest extant manuscript dates from the
Kamakura period.
The principal subdivisions are:
A. A copy traditionally attributed to Teika's grandson
Tameuji (1222-86). Formerly owned by the Oshima family; called the Tameuji or Oshima text. Present whereabouts unknown. May date from the first half of the Kamakura period.10 121 annotated sections and 206 poems, beginning with Sec. 1 and ending with Sec. 125 of the 125episode texts; two appendixes of 12 and 24 episodes, stated
in colophons to have derived from two lost texts."
B. A copy traditionally attributed to Teika's grandson
Tamesuke (1263-1328). Now owned by Isseido Bookstore
in Tokyo. Lacks the 24-section appendix, but otherwise
closely resembles the Oshima text. May date from the first
half of the Kamakura period.12
C. Ise Shrine Library text. A basic text of 120 episodes
plus a 14-episode appendix of unknown provenance; 220
poems. Many copyist's errors. The notes present in other
Extended texts are thought by Fukui to have been omitted
189
Appendix B
Texts
13
by the copyists of this and the next two texts. Dated 1783.
D. Tanimori text. Now owned by the Archives and
Mausolea Division of the Imperial Household Agency. 119
sections plus a 14-section appendix; 219 poems. Edo period.
Believed to be a corrected version of the Ise Shrine Library
text.14
E. A text formerly in the Awa Provincial Library; now
owned by the Archives and Mausolea Division of the Imperial Household Agency. Appears to be a superior copy
of the Tanimori text.15
F. Senshu text. 133 sections, 219 poems. The additional
episodes have been worked into a context beginning with
Sec. 1 and ending with Sec. 125 of the 125-episode lines.
Presence and nature of annotations suggest a close relationship to texts of the Oshima line.19 May date from midKamakura.
These are combined texts. According to the Oshima colophons, each of that text's three sections represents the collation of two or more manuscripts. The basic texts (first
sections) diverge most conspicuously from the 125-episode
lines, and also from one another, in the second half, where
there are many differences in arrangement and contents.
The Extended texts were probably compiled by scholars
of the Rokujo family with the assistance of Kensho's collated text. Their notes resemble those preserved in Kensho's Kohjnshuchu and other Rokujo treatises on poetry.
Extremely minute textual analysis by Fukui and others
suggests that the basic text used, which cannot now be
reconstructed entirely, was in fairly wide circulation at the
end of the twelfth century, and that it differed somewhat,
but not radically, from the 125-episode text postulated as
the immediate ancestor of the Teika lines.
III. SHORT TEXTS." 115 episodes, 198 poems; shortest of all
versions. Episodes found in 125-episode lines are sometimes
combined or divided. Structurally closest to Extended lines.
The oldest extant manuscript may date from before the
middle of the Kamakura period.
The parent text is a copy attributed to Lady Mimbukyo
(Teika's daughter); presently owned by Homma Art Museum, Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture. Probably copied
before mid-Kamakura but not circulated until Tokugawa.18 Discovered in 1953. The Shinobazu Library text is a
copy of the Lady Mimbukyo text, once preserved in Yashiro Hirokata's private Shinobazu Library. Whereabouts
unknown since World War II.
No lineage has been traced for the Lady Mimbukyo
copy, but Fukui's comparative structural analyses point to
a common ancestor for it and the Extended texts.19 According to its colophon, it was copied from a text, in the hand
of an early Heian court noble, Takashina Naritada (d.
998), that had been kept in the storehouse (nurigome} of
Suzaku Palace in Kyoto.20 It is believed, however, that the
colophon merely represents a traditional attribution.
IV. CHINESE-CHARACTER VERSIONS.21 125 episodes in chronological order; 208 poems. Generally resemble Teika texts,
but have some structural discrepancies. Episodes are supplied with titles. Whereas most other versions employ the
hiragana syllabary and contain relatively few Chinese characters, texts of this line are recorded entirely in characters.
As in Man'yoshu, characters are used both for their semantic values and to represent Japanese and Sino-Japanese
sounds. Established rules of usage are not consistently observed, and there are occasional baffling passages that prove
to be elaborate puns.22
190
191
\
Appendix B
Texts
The oldest extant manuscript dates from the Tokugawa
period.
Representative texts are the Naikaku Bunko text, the
Katsuragu text (now owned by the Archives and Mausolea
Division of the Imperial Household Agency), the Temmei
text (dated 1788), the Kujo text, and the Eikokan Library
text.
The first reference to a Chinese-character {mana) version appears in a work written around 1367.23 Such texts
seem to have had a certain limited importance during the
late fourteenth century, but not to have circulated or assumed final form until the Edo period. Their reappearance
in Tokugawa times was at first hailed as a significant development in IM studies: the great scholar Kamo Mabuchi
(1697-1769) believed the line to date back very nearly to
the period of IM's genesis. It is now generally accepted,
however, that the first mana versions appeared no earlier
than the Kamakura period, and perhaps not until the late
fourteenth century. Fukui views the addition of episode
titles and the conversion of the text into Chinese characters
as symptomatic of medieval scholars' and critics' proclivity
for commentating. (Medieval literary commentaries were
usually written in a species of Chinese.)
The mana versions seem to derive from a kana original
that differed somewhat from the parent texts of all three
categories discussed above. Their 125-episode structure suggests to Fukui that they may date from a period when Teika's texts were already well known.
In addition to texts belonging to the above four categories, extant fragments attest to the existence of other
versions that have disappeared. Of these the most interesting and important is the line of texts bearing the name of
Lady Koshikibu no Naishi (d. 1025), the daughter of the
famous poetess Izumi Shikibu (fl. late 10th c.-early 1 1 n t h
a ) . Texts of this line, also called "Imperial Huntsman"
texts, are known only from the 24-section fragment appended to the Oshima text and from descriptions in the
writings of late Heian scholars. Careful textual analysis
and examination of other primary sources has led Fukui
to conclude that the texts were, indeed, as described by
Heian scholars, unorganized collections of episodes beginning with the Ise Virgin story (Section 69 in the present
translation) and ending with an episode containing the
poem Wasuru na yo (Section n ) . In other words, they
seem to have belonged to the second of Kensho's two major categories described above. It is tempting to suppose
that we have here a vestige of an ur-IM that eventually
dropped out of circulation because of the greater appeal
of the better integrated versions known to us today, which
all belong to Kensho's first category. At present, however,
there is no evidence to substantiate such a theory, because
no extant line of texts, whether complete or fragmentary,
can be traced farther back than the late Heian period.
192
193
Notes
The following abbreviations are used in the notes. For complete authors'
names, titles, and publication data, see Works Cited, pp. 263-66. All imperial anthologies of wa\a are printed in KT, and all references to them
cite KT numbers rather than pages.
B/M
DCJ
DNS
GSS
GYS
IM
KKS
KT
KTe
KWR
MYS
NCD
NKBT
NRD
O/T
SCSS
SGSIS
SGSS
ShokuGSIS
ShokuGSS
ShokuKKS
Brower and Miner, Japanese Court Poetry
Yoshida, Dai Nihon chimei jisho
Tokugawa, Dai Nihonshi
Gosenshu (2d imperial anthology)
Gyo\uyoshu (14th imperial anthology)
he monogatari
Kofonshu (1st imperial anthology)
Matsushita and Watanabe, Ko\\a tai\an
Kokumin Tosho Kabushiki Kaisha, Ko\\a tai\ei
Ko\in wa\a ro\up (printed in ZKT)
Man'yoshu (printed in K T )
Sawada, Nihon chimei daijiten
Iwanami Shoten Henshubu, Nihon \oten bunga\u
tai\ei
Kawade, Nihon re\ishi daijiten
Sakakura, Ta\etori monogatari
Shincho\usenshu (9th imperial anthology)
Shingoshuishu (20th imperial anthology)
Shingosenshu (13th imperial anthology)
Sho\ugoshuishu (16th imperial anthology)
Sho\ugosenshu (10th imperial anthology)
Sho\u\o\inshu ( n t h imperial anthology)
!95
Notes to Pages 12-35
Notes to Pages 4-9
ShokuSZS
SIS
SJ
Shokusenzaishu
Kuroita,
Nihon
Shin\o\inshii
SSZS
Shinsenzaishu
ZKT
anthology)
Shuishu ( 3 d imperial anthology)
SKKS
SZKKS
(15th imperial
(8th
sandai ]itsuro\u
imperial
anthology)
(18th imperial anthology)
Shinzokukp\inshu
(21st
imperial
anthology)
Matsushita, Zo\u \o\\a tai\an
NOTES TO INTRODUCTION
1. See Waley, The Tale of Genji; Bonneau; Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkokai, The Manyoshii: One Thousand Poems; and B/M. Vos's study of
IM includes a literal translation of the best text, but it is not intended
for the general reader. Keene's anthology, pp. 67-75, contains a selection
from IM translated by Vos and Richard Lane.
2. There are 209 poems in most versions of IM. About a dozen of them
appear in MYS, and thus belong to an earlier period. Sixty-two others,
or approximately 30 percent of the total, appear in KKS (completed ca.
905); 11 others in the second imperial wa\a anthology, GSS (commissioned in 951); and 23 others in a large private collection, KWR, which
probably dates from around the third quarter of the tenth century.
(IM and KWR share 68 poems, including five in MYS, 33 in KKS, and
six in GSS.) Of 96 poems shared by IM with KKS, GSS, or KWR, onethird or more were written by Ariwara Narihira, about 15 by people
associated with Narihira or roughly contemporary with him, and virtually all of the remainder by anonymous authors. Most of the anonymous poems probably date from the early ninth century. This leaves in
question about a hundred additional poems, many of which were attributed to Narihira by medieval commentators. Some may actually be his,
others were very likely composed by one or another in IM's putative
succession of authors, and others were probably old poems either preserved in now vanished collections or otherwise known to an IM author.
Of the group as a whole, it can be said only that they are at least as old
as IM itself, i.e. that they are for the most part probably no more recent
than the mid-tenth century. For further discussion of IM's date and authorship, see pp. 64-65.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
B/M, p. 171.
Sansom, A History of Japan to 1334, Chap. IX.
Seidensticker, pp. 33-34.
Ikeda et al., p. 507.
Waley, The Tale of Genji, 1,122.
196
'•'>
8. B/M, p. 13.
9. Ibid., p. 14.
10. Ibid.
11. A chapter (ca. 200 B.C.?) in the Confucian Boo\ of Rites (Li-chi).
It says, in a famous passage, "The ancients who wished clearly to exemplify illustrious virtue throughout the world would first set up good
government in their states. Wishing to govern well their states, they
would first regulate their families. Wishing to regulate their families,
they would first cultivate their persons." Translation from de Bary et al.,
Sources of Chinese Tradition, I, 115.
12. There were no important literary movements at the barbarian capitals in the north.
13. Ami, p. 221. For the Weaver Maid and the Herdsman, see Section
59, n. 3, below.
14. Ibid., p. 220.
15. Sei Shonagon, a fastidious, witty court lady who lived at the beginning of the eleventh century, expressed a point of view that probably
was not uncommon when she wrote, "All preachers must be handsome;
if they are not, one's attention wanders, and then ugliness becomes a
positive cause of sin." Paraphrased from Waley, The Pillow-Boo^ of Sei
Shonagon, p. 114.
16. B/M, p. 310.
17. Hisamatsu, Nihon bunga\ushi, II, 2iff.
18. Kojima, Kaifuso, pp. 24-25.
19. The poems in the three Heian anthologies do display certain stylistic features that distinguish them from the poems in Kaifuso, the Nara
collection. Most Kaifuso poems consist of five-word lines, a form popular
in the late Six Dynasties and still found in early T'ang, while those in
the later anthologies favor the four seven-word lines of the chueh-chu
style, typical of early and middle T'ang.
20. On the general subject of the waka revival, see Kawaguchi, pp.
294fl.
21. Kawaguchi, pp. 305-6.
22. Kojima, Joddi, III, 1828-31.
23. Ibid., p. 1827.
24. Kubota, Kol{inwakashu hyosha\u, 1,140.
25. The Japanese term for what I have called sensuousness is en, variously defined as "a gay, buoyant tone," "the vivid, immediate impression
created by rich, beautiful colors," and "a feeling as of something dimly
floating." Hisamatsu, The Vocabulary of Japanese Literary Aesthetics,
pp. 18-19.
26. In addition to Tsurayuki's kana preface, Ko\inshu has a Chinese
preface similar in content.
197
Notes to Pages 35-49
Notes to Pages 50-69
27. Ko\inshii contains 17 of Henjo's poems and only five of Yasuhide's, three of Kuronushi's, and one of Kisen's. The compilers' reason
for honoring them with special mention is not clear.
28. Saeki Umetomo, pp. 337-39.
29. Ibid., p. 339.
30. Ibid.
31. The poem may actually be by someone else. KKS says only that it
is sometimes attributed to Kuronushi, though the kana preface calls it
typical of his work.
32. Saeki Umetomo, p. 339.
33. For an analysis, see Sec. 25, n. 2.
34. Saeki Umetomo, p. 339.
35. KKS 1030 (translation from B/M, p. 206).
36. SJ, pp. 475-76. For details see also Vos, I, 49; Fukui, pp. 332ff;
Oka, pp. 98ff. For information concerning court ranks and titles, see
Sansom, "Early Japanese Law and Administration," pp. 72-108.
37. SJ, p. 475.
38. See Yumoto, p. 353.
39. For the Yoshitsune legend, see Helen C. McCullough, Yoshitsune.
40. See Fukui, p. 342.
41. Aoki, p. 18.
42. See Saeki Ariyoshi, p. 441.
43. As evidence of the esteem in which Narihira was apparently held,
note his generous representation in Ko\inshu (30 poems, exceeded only
by the compilers and one other m a n ) , Tsurayuki's respectful references
to him in the travel journal Tosa nityi, and the descriptions in he monogatari of other people's responses to verses composed by the book's
chief figure, the Narihira-like "man of old." See Porter, pp. 39, 115-16;
Suzuki et ah, pp. 34, 54; IM 66, 68, 85, 87, 95, and 107.
44. In all, 87 poems are attributed to Narihira by imperial anthologies.
The tendency among specialists is to accept the 30 attributions in Ko\inshu, to tentatively accept some or all of the n in Gosenshu, and to view
the remainder with extreme suspicion.
45. See KKS 53, p. 172; 418, p. 175; and 884, p. 180.
46. See KKS 8, p. 159; 445, p. 160; 249, p. 173; and 871, p. 179.
47. Matsumura, pp. 43-44.
48. IM 3, 5, 6, 29, and 76. Some of the identifications are probably late
Heian interpolations.
49. See KKS 705, 785, and 969; IM 16, 38, 48, 77, 78, 82, and 107.
50. Princess Tenshi (also called Yasuko; d. 913). She was Prince Koretaka's full sister, and thus the niece of Ki no Aritsune, Narihira's fatherin-law.
51. Fukui, p. 470.
52. By the poet Liu Hsi-i. See Kojima, fodai, III, 1835-36.
53. B/M, p. 199.
54. Many older commentators followed ( a ) . Modern scholars tend to
divide between (b) and (c). In my view ( d ) , which is essentially a compromise between (a) and ( b ) , is the most satisfactory. See O / T , p. 113,
n. 28; Vos, II, 69, n. 13; Kaneko, p. 754; Arai, p. 99. For an interpretation
differing somewhat from all of the above, see B/M, p. 193.
55. Saeki Umetomo, p. 339. (All subsequent references to Saeki mean
Saeki Umetomo.)
56. MYS 892; translated in B/M, p. 121.
57. Waley, The Tale of Genji, "The Picture Competition," I, 336, and
"Agemaki," II, 878; Yamagishi, II, 180, and IV, 443-44. These are the
earliest known references to IM.
58. See Appendix B.
59. For details, see Fukui, pp. 192!!.
60. The Tale of Genji refers to it in one passage as he monogatari and
in the other as Zaigo ga monogatari, "Tales of Narihira." See Yamagishi,
IV, 443. Another Heian novel, Sagoromo monogatari, calls it Zaigo
chiijo no ni\\i, "The Journal of Narihira." See Fukui, pp. 38-39.
61. Extant collections of Narihira's poems are thought to be relatively
late. None contains poems not found in KKS, IM, GSS, and/or Yamato
monogatari (an uta monogatari slightly later than IM). For a discussion,
see Fukui, pp. 227-52.
62. For details, see Vos, I, 66ff; Fukui, pp. 1-15.
63. See Appendix B.
64. Fukui, pp. 2i5ff.
65. Ibid., p. 224. Fukui meets the problem of the title, which reappears
if his theory is adopted, by reviving old alternatives—suggesting that the
name of Ise Province was once associated with love (as there is some reason to believe), or that a court lady named Ise (not the poetess) may
have been connected in some way with the work.
66. For fuller discussions, see Vos, I, 54!!; Fukui, pp. iff.
67. It should be noted that The Tale of Genji, though written around
1000, is often said to describe a period corresponding to the reign of Emperor Murakami (r. 946-67).
198
NOTES TO TALES
I
1. "Kasuga village" probably refers to the vicinity of Kasugano (Kasuga Plain), now within the city of Nara. The plain, famous in classical
poetry, lies at the western edge of the Kasugayama hills, between To-
199
\
Notes to Page 6g
Notes to Pages 70-71
daiji Temple and the Kofukuji Great Eastern Torii (an area now occupied in part by Nara Park).
2. "Moss-fern design" translates shinobuzuri.a term of uncertain meaning. Suri {zuri, "rubbing") was an ancient dyeing process that originally
entailed stretching a length of cloth on a natural object, such as a rock,
and rubbing it with the flowers, leaves, and/or stems of various plants.
(During the Heian period the old method prevailed in rural districts,
but artisans in the capital devised the more sophisticated technique of
laying the cloth on a carved board and rubbing with a dye plant. The
design of the garment described in the first poem was presumably imprinted in that way, with murasaki, discussed below, as the dye plant.)
Of numerous theories concerning the meaning of shinobu in shinobuzuri (also called shinobu mojizuri), the one on which I have based
the translation appears to be favored by modern IM scholars. It explains
the term as a rubbing process employing the plant shinobu {Davallia
bullata), a species of small, moss-like fern with short, thickly clustered,
deep green leaves, found typically on rocks and earth in shady spots. The
shinobu is thought to have produced a tangled, highly irregular pattern
when rubbed against cloth—the "random pattern" of the poems.
From medieval times on, Minamoto Toru's poem Michinoku no (the
second below) has been cited in support of another theory concerning
the origin of the term shinobuzuri, namely, that it derives from Shinobu
District in Michinoku Province (now Shinobu District, Fukushima Prefecture), said to have been famous in antiquity for producing this kind
of cloth. Supporters of the moss-fern theory maintain that references to
Shinobu District in Michinoku no and other poems are merely plays on
words suggested by the identity of sound.
For the moss-fern theory, see Arai, p. 71; O / T , p. 188, n. 6. Many dictionaries take the compromise position that the fabric was produced at
Shinobu through use of the moss-fern. See also Vos, II, 66, n. 13, and
Minnich, p. 113. For a description of the suri process, see Nagashima,
pp. 105-6.
3. Kasugano no. K W R (ZKT 34155), anon.; SKKS 994, Narihira. On
the question of attributions to Narihira, see pp. 35, 64-65. It is most unlikely that Narihira would have composed a variation on a poem by a
contemporary, since the object of the "allusive variation" (honkadori)
technique was to give additional depth to one's own composition by associating it with a famous old poem. Arai, pp. 70-71.
"Young purple" is a reference to the plant tnurasaki (Lithospermum
officinale var. erythrorhizon), a gromwell common in dry meadows
throughout Japan. Its hairy-leaved stalk, about two feet high, produces
small, white, five-petalled flowers in summer; and its thick, purple roots
yield a colored pigment that was prized as a dye agent in the Heian
period. The roots were also used for medicinal purposes. (Cf. borage, a
related plant used in Europe as a demulcent and diaphoretic; and several
plants of the genus Lithospermum that produce colored pigments, e.g.
goldenseal [Hydrastis canadensis], the root of which yields a yellow
dye.)
Murasakj appears frequently in classical poetry, often as a metaphor.
Here "young purple" refers obliquely to the two sisters who are responsible for the poet's agitated feelings.
Shinobu no midare means both "random-patterned shinobu [-zuri]"
and "confused feelings caused by love."
4. Michinoku no. KKS 724, Minamoto Toru (822-95); K W R (ZKT
34158), anon. Toru, a son of Emperor Saga, had a successful career that
culminated in his appointment as Minister of the Left in 872 and his
elevation to Junior First Rank in 887. He is best remembered for his
magnificent house and grounds in the capital and his elegant villa at Uji,
which later became the Byodoin Temple.
I have treated Michinoku no as a preface introducing shinobu. The
other possible interpretation would be, "My thoughts have grown disordered / As random patterns / On cloth from Shinobu in Michinoku."
In line 4, -some has the dual meaning "begin" and "dye"—thus the line
means both "I have begun to be confused" and "dyed in a random pattern." Some ("dye") is also an associative word (engo) linked to shinobu mojizuri.
200
2
i. 0\i mo sezu. KKS 616, Narihira; K W R (ZKT 31335 and 33439),
Narihira. Nagame is a kfikc\otoba meaning both "prolonged rain" and
"gazing pensively."
3
1. Hijikimo, believed to be the same as the edible brownish-yellow
aquatic plant now called hijiki (variously identified in dictionaries as
Cystophyllum jusijorme and Higikia fusiformus [Harv.] Okam.). T h e
poem reveals the reason for this seemingly eccentric gift.
2. Omoi araba. T h e word used for mattress, hijikimono, is a pun on
hijikimo, seaweed.
3. The Empress from the Second Ward was Fujiwara Koshi. See pp.
45-47. There is no evidence that would connect either Narihira or Koshi
with the poem. T h e last sentence is said to be an interpolation.
4
1. Fujiwara Junshi, aunt of Koshi. The text hints that the principals
in the episode are Koshi and Narihira, and many old commentaries say
201
Notes to Pages 71-74
Notes to Pages 74-7$
that when the lady disappeared it was because her male relatives took
her to the imperial palace. Kaneko, p. 754.
2. Tsuki V aranu. KKS 747, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 33750), Narihira.
direction of the capital, or of a place associated with the name of a famous exile, or of some object suggesting his own forlorn state ("A derelict boat on the evening tide / Drifted like his friendless self"). Goto, I,
68; Helen Craig McCullough, The Taiheikj, p. 39Narihira's poem turns on the word \aeru, "return" (used here of
waves receding from the shore, returning to the offing), which has the
specific meaning of returning home. The poet feels a sense of isolation
and nostalgia as he watches the waves roll in and recede; though they
can return, he must journey on.
5
1. The reader is probably intended to infer that this was Koshi's aunt.
2. Hito shirenu. KKS 632, Narihira.
3. This sentence is believed to be an interpolation.
6
8
1. Shiratama \a. SKKS 851, Narihira. The poem's rather slight interest
lies in a conventional play on the resemblance between dew and the
ephemerality of human life. If the writer had but known of the tragedy
to come, he would have preferred to die—to vanish swiftly as the dew—
rather than experience the grief he now suffers.
2. The last paragraph is probably an interpolation. Koshi's cousin was
Meishi, "the Empress from Somedono." Note that the earlier implication
has been that the affair with Narihira occurred while Koshi was living
with her aunt, Junshi, "the ex-Empress from the Fifth Ward" (Sections
3,4, and 5).
1. Shinano nam. SKKS 903, Narihira. The poem is evidently intended
to demonstrate a cultivated man's reaction to a rare natural phenomenon, the still-active volcano of Mt. Asama on the border between the
provinces of Shinano and Kozuke (Nagano and Gumma prefectures)
in eastern Japan. T h e traveler from the far-off capital is attracted by the
novelty of the scene and awed by the presence of the god who was believed responsible for the smoke.
In the preceding episode the traveler is journeying along the Eastern
Sea Road, from which Asama's smoke is invisible. Many of the older
commentaries concerned themselves with this point and attempted to
explain away the difficulty (the smoke was more widely visible in the
Heian period, the traveler had wandered off the Eastern Sea Road, etc.),
but it is probable that IM authors knew little of the geography of the
provinces and were not particularly interested in such details. Arai, p.
138; Kubota, SKKS, II, 132; O / T , p. 115, n. 44.
7
1. This and related episodes (8-15, 115-16) are responsible for a wellestablished tradition that Narihira traveled extensively in the eastern
provinces, either because he was banished after his elopement with Koshi or because he thought it prudent to avoid the displeasure of her powerful relatives. References to such travels also appear in KKS, but there
is no mention of them in contemporary histories, diaries, or other primary sources. It has been suggested that the elopement and its sequel
were kept out of the official history because of the high social positions
of the principals, and that the tradition may be based on fact (Arai,
p. 131); but in any case it is impossible to accept the IM episodes as
historically accurate. Even the places mentioned are difficult to identify,
and some may be fictitious, e.g. "the beach between Ise and Owari."
2. Itodoshlku. GSS 1353, Narihira. T h e GSS headnote resembles the
IM introduction, but places the poet at an unnamed river.
It is a convention of classical Japanese literature that a member of the
upper classes leaves the capital with the utmost reluctance, even for a
night, and that he suffers pitifully while traveling, both from the hardships of the road and from the reminders of home and loved ones that
his refined sensibilities suggest to him—the sight of a bird flying in the
202
9
1. Yatsuhashi was located somewhere in what is now eastern Chiryii
Township, Hekikai District, Aichi Prefecture, just off the Eastern Sea
Road, the old main route between the capital and the eastern provinces.
T h e bridges apparently disappeared before the end of the Heian period
(Arai, p. 139), but memory of them has lingered in countless literary
references and works of art, almost all linked in some way to Narihira
and the present episode, which is among the best known in IM.
2. Karagoromo. KKS 410, Narihira; KWR ( Z K T 34650), Narihira.
This poem, rather flat and unadorned in translation, is a technical tour
de force, much less characteristic of Narihira's best poetry than of the
court style proper. (For the court style, see the Introduction, pp. 31-38
and passim.) In addition to complying with the rules of the \a\hsubata
game (ha and ba are written with the same sign and were originally
identical in sound), the poet has contrived to include a pillow word, a
203
Notes to Pages 75-76
Notes to Pages 76-77
preface, two pivot words, and four associative words. He has also demonstrated his sensibility and his acquaintance with the Six Dynasties
technique of reasoning ("I have a beloved w i f e . . . and so
" ) . Although the poem has 33 syllables instead of the conventional 31, it is
witty, elegant, and a marvel of virtuosity; it could scarcely be accused by
Tsurayuki or anyone else of containing too much matter and too little
art.
Karagoromo ("robe") originally meant a robe of Chinese fabric, a
garment of exceptional beauty and rarity. The term thus has connotations of elegance that qualify it as a pillow word. It is ordinarily used,
as here, with him ("to wear"), \inarasu ("to wear habitually"), etc.
Karagoromo \itsutsu is a preface to the pivot word nare- (a form of
the verb nam, "to grow accustomed to," "to grow fond of").
Pivot words: nare, the verb stem in narenishi, "having grown accustomed to" and "having grown fond of"; tsuma ("skirt," "wife").
Associative words linked to \kara\goromo ("robe"): kjru ("to wear,"
used here in the continuative form kjtsutsu); nare {nareginu, an everyday garment); tsuma ("skirt"); haru ("to full cloth"; the sound is incorporated in harubaru, "distant").
3. Suruga nam. SKKS 904, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 31715), anon.
The translation perhaps overemphasizes the first two lines, which are
merely an ingenious preface introducing utsutsu ("reality," "one's waking moments") and suggesting the poet's present whereabouts. The poet
plays on the similarity in sound between Utsu and utsutsu.
The poem hinges on the belief that a person's spirit could visit the
dreams of someone he loved. The author says, in effect, "It would be
too much to hope to meet you here in this remote spot, but if you still
loved me your spirit would at least visit my dreams." Kubota, SKKS,
II, 133; Arai, pp. 151, 154.
Mt. Utsu is a hill (279 m.) on the mountainous border between Shida
and Abe districts in the present Shizuoka Prefecture (Suruga Province).
One of the famous places on the Eastern Sea Road.
4. In the lunar calendar the end of the Fifth Month fell between midJune and mid-July.
5. Tohj shiranu. SKKS 1614, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 31564), anon.
6. Mt. Fuji on the Shizuoka-Yamanashi prefectural boundary (old
Suruga-Kai border) is Japan's tallest (3776 m.) as well as its most famous
mountain. It is not, of course, 20 times as high as Mt. Hiei (848 m . ) ,
the most conspicuous peak in the capital area, and, as the site of the great
Enryakuji monastery, correspondingly prominent in early Japanese history. Mt. Hiei rises northeast of Kyoto on the Kyoto-Shiga prefectural
boundary (old Yamashiro-Omi border).
7. Shiojiri. The meaning of the word is uncertain, but it is usually explained as a high mound of sand used in producing salt. Sea water is
thought to have been poured on such mounds and left to evaporate.
6 / T , p. 117, n. 34; Arai, p. 153.
8. Sumidagawa (Sumida River). Probably to be identified with the
present Tone River, the largest watercourse in the Kanto Plain, which
is believed to have followed the Musashi-Shimosa border to Tokyo Bay
until the seventeenth century, and to have been called the Sumida in its
lower reaches. (Okami, p. 404, supp. n. 14; N C D , V, 4262.) It is still
usual for different stretches of a Japanese river to have different names.
Between 1621 and 1654, the government diverted the Tone River into
its present channel, which carries the waters of five prefectures into the
Pacific Ocean at Choshi. There is disagreement about the exact location
of the old channel. Some writers identify it with the one presently occupied by the much smaller Edo River (formerly called the Futoi), which
flows along the old Musashi-Shimosa border (present Tokyo-Chiba border) into the bay (NRD, XI, 76) ; others identify it with the nearby Naka
River channel (NCD, V, 4260).
The present Sumida River, which flows through the eastern part of
the city of Tokyo into the bay, apparently was a tributary that joined
the old Tone further upstream, where it is still known as the Arakawa.
It seems to have begun to follow its present course, and thus to have
acquired its present name of Sumida, only after the Tone's diversion.
N C D , V, 4260, but see Kaneko, p. 485; O / T , p. 117, n. 35.
A probably erroneous theory, based on a statement in a Heian diary,
Sarashina ni\\i, identifies Narihira's river with the present Tama River,
which empties into Tokyo Bay at Kawasaki. Arai, p. 156; DCJ, II, 2975-
204
9. Capital-bird (miya\odori). Believed to be identical with the modern
yurikjimome (Larus ridibundus sibiricus Buturlin), a small gull with red
bill and legs, indigenous to the northeastern part of the Asiatic mainland.
The yuri\amome's head plumage is dark brown in summer and white in
winter, when the birds migrate to Japan. For a picture, see Yamashina,
p. 181.
10. Na ni shi owaba. KKS 411, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 32104), Narihira. Although this is one of the best known of the poems attributed to
Narihira, it has been argued that the KKS headnote is a clumsy adaptation from IM, and that both this and the "iris poem" (n. 2 above) may
originally have been listed in KKS as anonymous. See Arai, pp. 161-63.
10
1. Now a part of Sakato Township in northern Iruma District, Saitama Prefecture. Linguistic evidence shows that this ineptly positioned
sentence is an interpolation.
2. Miyoshino no. K W R (ZKT 35223), anon.; ShokuGSIS 800, anon.
Tanomu ("depend on," "seek shelter with") is a pivot word meaning
205
Notes to Pages 77-78
Notes to Pages 78-79
also ta no mo ("on the surface of the rice fields"). Kari ("wild goose")
is a metaphor for the daughter.
3. Wa ga \ata ni. KWR (ZKT 35224), anon.; ShokuGSIS 801, Narihira.
2. Musashi stirrups (Musashi abumi). Musashi Province appears to
have produced famous stirrups in antiquity. There is debate concerning
their exact design, but they were probably either simple rope loops or
iron rings suspended from the saddle by leather straps. O / T , p. 119, n.
31. For diagrams, see Kamata, p. 98.
As in the present section, which incidentally marks the beginning of
the term's literary career, "Musashi stirrups" appears in classical poetry
and prose because of its association with \a\u and \akaru, two verbs
with a wide range of meanings, most of them derived in some way from
the idea of "hanging from" or "putting up against." Stirrups suggest
those verbs because they hang from the saddle, or, according to one
tiieory, because the rider puts his feet in them. (Vos, II, 77, n. 4; Arai,
p. 185.) By writing "Musashi stirrups" on his letter instead of the conventional return address, "From Musashi," the man refers obliquely to
omoi o \a\u, \o\oro 0 \a\u, or some similar phrase meaning "to love"
("hang one's thoughts [heart] on"), and so assures the lady of his continued devotion.
3. Musashi abumi. Here the lady takes up the phrase "Musashi stirrups" and uses it as a pillow word preceding \a\ete, an abridgement of
omoi o \a\ete, "loving." Complexity is added by the insertion of sasuga
ni, meaning both "yet, nevertheless" and "from the buckle (sasuga)."
T h e translation omits line 1 and renders only one of the meanings implicit in line 2. An alternative might be:
11
1. Wasuru na yo. SIS 470. According to the SIS headnote, the poem
was composed by a minor courtier, Tachibana Tadamoto (d. 955), who
sent it to a lady while he was away on a journey. Its inclusion in IM
has been regarded by some scholars as evidence for a cut-off date of
around 960. O/T, p. 191, supp. n. 23; DNS, II, 196.
In Fujiwara Shunzei's Komi fitteisho (1197), an important critical history of classical Japanese poetry, the poem is attributed to the poet Oe
Tamemoto (fl. ca. 989). Arai, p. 177.
12
1. Musashino, an old name for the part of the Kanto Plain extending
south from Kawagoe City in Saitama Prefecture to Fuchu in the Tokyo
Metropolitan District. More broadly, Musashi Province (now Tokyo Metropolitan District, Saitama Prefecture, and part of Kanagawa Prefecture).
2. Musashino wa. KKS 17, anon. The KKS poem is identical with the
present version except for the first line, where "Kasugano" appears instead of "Musashino." In setting and tone, however, the two differ sharply. The KKS verse pictures a young couple enjoying an early spring
outing on Kasuga Plain (see Sec. 1, n. 1). They see some burners preparing to set fire to a field (a common practice, designed to clear away
dead growth) and beg them to spare it, at least for a day.
Wa\a\usa ("young grass") was often used as a pillow word for tsuma
("spouse"), probably because the fresh green blades were regarded as
particularly beautiful and appealing. (Another theory: wa\a\usa was
thought to symbolize ever-young conjugal love.) Kaneko, p. 104; O / T ,
p. 191, supp. n. 24.
3. In this episode the author summarizes his story (first two sentences)
and then goes back to fill in the details. Evidently the man had not run
very far.
13
1. The letter informs the lady that the writer is having an affair with
someone in Musashi. Because of his old relationship with her, he would
rather not confess the truth, but to conceal it would, he feels, create a
barrier between them and thus destroy a cherished intimacy.
206
Loving you in spite of all,
And still relying on you—
Even as Musashi stirrups
Depend from their buckles—
I think your silence cruel indeed.
Yet I should find it most unpleasant
Were you to ask for news of me.
The last line (last two lines of the translation) means that the lady
would consider it hypocritical for the man to express concern about her
while visiting another woman.
4. Toeba iu. Musashi abumi reappears as a pillow word preceding \akaru. Here \a\aru is not a verb but a homophonous adjective, "such,"
and thus there is no logical relationship between Musashi abumi and the
rest of the poem.
J
4
1. ~Nakanaka ni. T h e poem closely resembles MYS 3086. The last line
contains an elegant metaphor—tama no o, "a string of gems," representing a short life (symbolized by the shortness of the distance between any
207
Notes to Pages 79-80
two gems on the string)—but the poem is damned by the unacceptable
word \uwa\o, "silkworm." O / T , p. 191, supp. n. 25; Arai, p. 192. Male
and female silkworms were thought to live together happily.
2. By leaving in the middle of the night, a man indicated lack of interest.
3. Yo mo a~keba. Again, deplorably inelegant. Some of the terms in the
poem are obscure. For other possible interpretations, see O / T , p. 192,
supp. n. 26; Vos, II, 79, notes 14-16.
4. Karihara no. Except for the place name, the poem is identical with
KKS 1090, anon. IM merely substitutes a Michinoku landmark famous
in legend and classical poetry, the Pine of Aneha at Kurihara, for KKS's
Ogurosaki Mitsu-no-kojima (no longer identifiable). Aneha is now a part
of Kannari Township, Kurihara District, Miyagi.
The man implies that he would like to take the girl home with him,
but the poem can also mean "I don't love you; in fact, I consider you
scarcely human. Naturally I won't take you with me." This rather cruel
farewell scarcely seems to illustrate the hero's kindly nature, but perhaps
country folk were thought incapable of grasping the subtleties of city wit.
There is a conventional pun on matsu ("pine tree" and "wait").
1. Shinobuyama. KWR (ZKT 31743), anon.; SCSS 944, Narihira. Possibly an adaptation of KKS 1038.
One theory identifies Mt. Shinobu (Shinobuyama) with the present
hill of that name (273 m.) in northern Fukushima City, Shinobu District, Fukushima Prefecture (Vos, II, 80, n. 8; Arai, p. 202; Kamata,
p. 113), but considerable evidence suggests that it was, rather, a general
name loosely applied at various times to all or some of the peaks along
the western boundary of Shinobu District (NCD, IV, 3235; DCJ, III,
3922-23). It figures here as a Michinoku place-name introducing an inflected form of the homophonous verb shinobu ("to conceal"; here "concealing oneself," thus "unobserved").
Kayou ("travel"), michi ("road," "way"), and o\u ("interior") are
associative words linked with yama ("mountain"). The poet has also
woven the name of the province into the last three lines: MICHI mo
gana I Hito NO l{o\oro no I OKU mo mirube\u.
2. Distrusting her ability to compose a suitable poem, she decides not
to reply at all. The text no doubt intends a contrast with the brash young
lady in the preceding section. Here the implication is that sensibility is
to be found even in the provinces, and that the cultivated traveler recognizes and respects it. See Arai, pp. 203-4.
Notes to Pages 81-82
16
1. Aritsune (815-77) belonged to one of the old court families who
in the ninth century were gradually being pushed out of influential positions by the Fujiwara. Two of his three sisters were minor imperial consorts, and one of them, Seishi (Shizuko; d. 866), bore the first son of
Emperor Montoku. The son, Prince Koretaka, was his father's favorite,
but he failed to win nomination as crown prince because his backing
was less powerful than that of the emperor's fourth son, Prince Korehito
(Emperor Seiwa). When Korehito was born, his maternal grandfather,
Fujiwara Yoshifusa, held the high office of Minister of the Right, while
Prince Koretaka's grandfather, Ki no Natora, had died three years earlier
as a mere guards officer, and his only uncle, Aritsune, was likewise a
minor guards officer.
Prince Koretaka had represented Aritsune's sole hope for advancement
at court. During the first six years of the prince's life, while he was still
a potential emperor, Aritsune enjoyed a good deal of influence in spite
of his low office, but his prestige diminished abruptly after Prince Korehito's appointment as crown prince, in 850, and vanished completely
after Prince Koretaka became a monk following an illness in 872. He
held only provincial governorships and other insignificant offices, and
the IM description of his impoverishment is probably essentially accurate.
Aritsune's daughter was at one time Narihira's wife, and he and Narihira appear to have been intimate friends, drawn together partly by hostility to the Fujiwara and partly by a mutual interest in poetry.
2. Te o orite. There is no independent evidence to support the attribution of this and other poems in Section 16 to Aritsune, or to identify the
friend with Narihira, as was done by the compilers of ShokuSZS and
most of the older commentaries.
3. Toshi dani mo. ShokuSZS 1542, Narihira.
4. Kore ya \ono. According to a popular legend, the inhabitants of
earth were occasionally visited by heavenly maidens, crowned with garlands of flowers and dressed in many-hued skirts, who danced with marvelous grace. Diaphanous robes made of birds' feathers enabled the maidens to fly between heaven and earth. See the celebrated No play Hagoromo (Feather Robe), translated in Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkokai, Japanese Noh Drama, III, igff.
The poem implies that the friend is someone of high social status.
Ama is perhaps to be taken as a pivot word, in which case the second
line would mean also "Feather robe for a nun {ama)."
5. Akj ya \uru. SKKS 1496, Ki no Aritsune, with the headnote "Responding to the gift of a robe from Lord Narihira." The attribution is
probably based on IM.
Autumn was regarded as the season of sad reveries and melancholy.
208
209
Notes to Pages 82-83
J
7
1. Ada nari to. KKS 62, anon. Headnote resembles IM introduction.
The cherry blossoms represent the lady. "People say that my affections
are evanescent, but I have been faithful in spite of your neglect. It is
you who are fickle."
2. Kyo kpzu wa. KKS 63, Narihira; K W R ( Z K T 35053), Narihira.
"If I hadn't come today, you would probably have been entertaining
someone else tomorrow." The poem has been much admired for its wit.
18
1. Kurenai ni. The gift of a fading white chrysanthemum, its petals
tinged with pink, showed that the lady appreciated the poignancy of the
changes that time imposes on nature and man. (Her professed inability
to see the reddened petals was a fashionable pose.) The real message of
the poem: "I have heard that you are something of a gallant, but I see
no indication of it." "Reddish tinge" suggests passion. Cf. kpsho\u ("red
color") and its homonym \osho\u ("amorousness").
2. Kurenai ni I Niou ga ue no. The man politely rejects the implied
invitation. Heian ladies wore several layers of lined and unlined widesleeved robes, carefully selected to create pleasing color harmonies appropriate to the season. The robe in the poem was perhaps the winter costume called "white chrysanthemum," a white robe lined with a color
defined by some authorities as dark red and by others as orchid. Ikeda
et al., p. 463, n. 36; Nagashima, p. 122. (Vos believes that the description "suggests the so-called sa\uragasane, in which . . . the outside of the
sleeve is white and the lining red." The sakuragasane, or "cherry blossom robe," was, however, a spring costume, and thus would not have
been worn in other seasons. See Vos. II, 83, n. 9.)
19
1. KKS lists the authors of the poems in this section as Aritsune's
daughter (784) and Narihira (785). The wording of 785 varies slightly.
The headnote to 784 says, "During Lord Narihira's marriage to the
daughter of Ki no Aritsune, he once became angry with her; he visited
her in the daytime but always left in the evening. Finally she sent him
the following poem .. ."
In the early Heian period, most married couples either lived together
in the wife's family home or took a house of their own. Some, however,
lived apart from one another, and in such cases the frequency, timing,
and duration of the husband's visits furnished a good indication of the
210
Notes to Pages 84-86
marriage's success. A satisfied husband spent the night. See W. H. McCullough, p. 105 and passim.
20
1. Kimi ga tame. GYS 1606, Narihira. "I send you this branch not only
so that you may admire its beauty, but also to remind you of the flaming
passion in my heart." (Some commentators take the poem to mean that
the man's ardor has turned the leaves red. O / T , p. 123, n. 31.)
The beginning of the Third Month in the lunar calendar usually fell
between March 20 and April 20.
2. Itsu no ma ni. The lady pretends to misunderstand the man's feelings. She accuses him of losing interest, making an implicit pun on a\i,
which means both "autumn" and "growing weary of." "How quickly
your sentiments have changed. For you, it seems, there is no such thing
as spring—only a\i."
21
1. Idete inaba is ascribed to Narihira in the two movable type editions
of KWR (ZKT 33317 and KTe IX, 434), both of which, however, carry
the notation "[according to] one text." Older KWR texts list Ki no Tomonori as the author. Some scholars have argued that IM borrowed the
verse from the original KWR, and that the attribution to Narihira represents an interpolation. See Arai, p. 249.
Ki no Tomonori (fl. ca. 890) was Tsurayuki's cousin and a KKS compiler.
2. Hito wa isa. SCSS 952, anon. Possibly an adaptation of MYS 149, an
elegy on a dead emperor (Arai, p. 253):
Hito wa yoshi
Omoiyamu tomo
Tamakazura
Kage ni mietsutsu
Wasuraenu kamo.
Though the thoughts of others
May turn elsewhere,
Never shall I forget,
For I see his face before me,
Luminous as a gemmed fillet.
A tamakazura, here translated "gemmed fillet," was in antiquity a
string of precious stones worn by a lady on her head, with the ends
hanging free. Like "Musashi stirrups" (Sec. 13, n. 2 ) , it was used as a
pillow word for the verb \a\u ("to hang," "to be attached to"). In this
poem it precedes the \age of omo\age ("face," "figure"), regarded as a
homophone of \a\e, the continuative stem of ka\u.
3. Ima wa tote. SCSS 881, anon. Wasuregusa ("forgetting-grass") is a
kind of day lily (Hemerocallis aurantiaca Bak.). It has long, narrow basal
leaves and faintly fragrant yellow flowers. Frequently mentioned in classical literature.
211
Notes to Pages 86-88
Notes to Pages 89-90
4. Wasuregusa. ShokuGSS 978, Narihira. "I still love you; otherwise I
should not find it necessary to try to forget you."
5. Wasururan to. SKKS 1361, anon., appears to be a minor revision of
KKS 718.
6. Na\azora ni. SKKS 1369, anon. "If you no longer trust me, I do not
wish to live."
Tatsutayama appears to have been a general name for the mountains
in what is now western Tachino, Misato Village, Ikoma District, Nara
Prefecture. This area on the old Yamato-Kawachi border, traversed by
the important Yamato-Naniwa road, was dreaded by travelers, not only
because of the wild and difficult terrain, but also because there was danger of attack by brigands. The lady's poem reflects such fears.
The first two lines, omitted in the translation, mean, "When the winds
blow, / White waves rear up (tatsu) in the offing." They constitute a
preface introducing Tatsutayama (with tatsu functioning as a pivot
word) and are irrelevant to the sense of the poem. (It has been suggested by numerous commentators, however, that "white waves" is a
metaphor for robbers.) O / T , p. 127, n. 22; N C D , IV, 3881a; Arai, pp.
290, 298-99.
5. Kimi ga atari. SKKS 1368, anon.; MYS 3032.
Mt. Ikoma is usually identified with the present peak of the same name
(642 m . ) , the highest point in the range forming the Nara-Osaka (Yamato-Kawachi) boundary. It stands on the border between Ikoma District in Nara Prefecture and Hiraoka City in Osaka Prefecture. (Hiraoka
City adjoins Yao City.) See Takagi et al., Ill, 293.
6. Kimi kpmu to. SKKS 1207, anon.
22
i. Ukj nagara. SKKS 1362, anon.
2. Aimite tea. ShokuGSS 833, Narihira. The translation follows O / T ,
p. 125, n. 28. It is also possible to read the first line as Aimide wa, in
which case the first two lines of the translation become, "Though we do
not meet / Yet are our hearts inseparable." The man, assured of the lady's
remorse, feels able to pretend a certain coolness. The message in his poem
is either, "Though you have behaved badly, I won't cast you off; I'll
come to see you one of these days," or "Perhaps it would be best not to
meet for a while; I'll come around some day."
The kawashi of \awashima ("river-island") is a pivot word, functioning also as the continuative stem of the verb \awasu ("to exchange") in
the phrase \o\oro o \awashi ("sharing feelings of love").
3. A\i no yo no. KWR (ZKT 32840), anon. The text does not state
clearly which of the lovers has composed the poem, but most commentators take it to be the man. Those who pronounce in favor of the lady
are perhaps influenced by KWR's notation, "Attributed to Lady Ise [fl.
ca. 935] in one text." The present version varies slightly from the one
preserved in KWR, possibly because the poem has been reworked by an
IM author. (Kamata, p. 151.)
4. Akj no yo no ... Tori ya nakjnan. ShokuKKS 1165, anon.
2
3
1. Tsutsui tsu no. T h e meaning of tsu in line 1 is unknown. Ka\eshi,
here translated "measured," may instead mean "talked about" (ii\a\eshi), or, possibly, "less than" ("my height, once less than the well
curb's"). See O / T , p. 126, n. 8.
2. The couple was presumably living with the wife's parents. See Sec.
19, n. 1.
3. Takayasu was a name for the area now occupied by Yao City in
Osaka Prefecture. It becomes clear below that the man and wife live
across the mountains in the adjoining province of Yamato.
4. Kaze fu\eba. KKS 994, anon., with a headnote resembling the IM
introduction; KWR (ZKT 31314), Kakuyama no Hananoko; ibid. (ZKT
31734), Kakonoyama no Hananoko. Nothing is known of Hananoko.
212
24
1. The ancient law codes permitted a deserted wife to remarry after
three years. O / T , p. 128, n. 1; Vos, II, 89, n. 4.
2. Aratama no. ShokuKKS 1218, anon. Aratama appears in classical
poetry as a pillow word for toshi ("year") and other terms involving
the concept of time, such as tsuki ("month"), hi ("day"), and haru
("spring"). Its meaning is no longer understood.
3. Azusayumi... Uruwashimi seyo. The first two lines consist of an
apparently irrelevant enumeration of different types of bows (yumi)—
azusayumi, mayumi, tsukjyumi—identified in each case by the type of
wood used in the weapon's construction. The tree known in antiquity
as azusa has not been satisfactorily identified, bat probably was a type
of birch (Betula ulmijolia Sieb. et Zucc.); tsuki is presently thought to
have been a name for the zelkova (Zelkpva serrata, now called keyakj.);
and mayumi is a spindle tree of the Euonymus genus (Euonymus sieboldianus).
Attempts to link the lines to the remainder of the poem are rather
unconvincing—"Just as there are different kinds of bows, so there are
different kinds of people [or love]," etc.—and it seems best to treat them
as a jo introducing toshi, with tsuki as a pivot word meaning both
"tsuki tree" and "month." The conceit may have been suggested to an.
213
Notes to Pages 90-91
Notes to Pages 91-92
IM author by an old song used in the dance form known as \agura. "A
bow is after all a bow. Birch bows, spindle tree bows, zelkova bows—all
will serve, all will serve." O / T , p. 193, supp. n. 33; Arai, pp. 310-11; Tsuchihashi and Konishi, p. 302.
4. Azusayumi.. . Yorinishi mono o. ShokuGSS 809, anon. Similar
poems: MYS 2985 and 2986, KKS 610.
Here azusayumi is clearly irrelevant to the sense of the poem, functioning only as a pillow word to introduce hi\edo hi\anedo, two forms
of the verb hi\u ("to pull," "to draw toward"). I have taken hikedo
hi\anedo to mean "Whether others woo me [draw me toward them]
or not." For other possible interpretations, see O / T , p. 194, supp. n. 34.
In the last line, yorinishi (from yoru, "to approach") is an associative
word linked to "bow," the rationale being that a bow bends toward the
archer when the string is pulled.
Mirume (also called tniru; Codium mucronatum J. Ag.) is a small,
prolifically branching, dark green, edible seaweed, found on rocks in the
shallow coastal waters of Japan.
26
1. Omoezu. SKKS 1357, anon. Possibly to be construed as a lighthearted verse in which the poet makes fun of his predicament. See Kubota, SKKS, II, 491.
27
1. Minakuchi ni. A polite reassurance.
For a slightly different interpretation of this section, see Vos, I, 193,
and Arai, p. 329.
28
2
5
1. A\i no no ni. KKS 622, Narihira (slightly different wording);
KWR (ZKT 33883), Narihira; KWR (ZKT 31435), anon.
Autumn, bamboo grass, and morning are all words associated in classical poetry with dew.
2. Mirume na\i. KKS 623, Ono no Komachi; KWR (ZKT 33879),
Komachi. The poem appears in KKS immediately after Narihira's Aki
no no ni, but the two are unrelated there. For Komachi, see pp. 39-41.
The poem is studded with witty ambiguities. The would-be gatherer
of seaweed, wasting his time in a barren bay, represents the lady's suitor,
who persists in calling at her house despite repeated rebuffs. The first
three lines can be read Mirume naki \wa ga mi o] ura to shiraneba ya,
with the bracketed words treated as an introduction to ura, irrelevant to
the general sense, which is: "Does he not know that there is no seaweed
in this bay?" (Komachi uses an identical device in KKS 938: Wabinureba I MI o i:\igusa no. See Saeki, p. 225; B/M, p. 222.) But because of
a play on mirume na\i—which can mean not only "no seaweed" but also
(1) "I whom you cannot meet," (2) "You who cannot meet me," and
(3) "I who am not at all an interesting person"—wa ga mi o acquires
a semantic role. The phrase mirume naki wa ga mi o u- means: "The
sorrow of being unable to meet" or "The sorrow I feel because I am such
an insignificant person." The man, in short, cannot be sure whether he is
being encouraged or discouraged. For other possible implications, see
O / T , p. 128, n. 17.
Ura ("bay"), \arenade ("incessantly," "not ceasing"; here translated
"persists in"), and ama ("fisherman") are associative words linked to
mirume ("seaweed")—\arenade because its dictionary form, \aru, is
homophonous with \aru ("to reap," as grain or seaweed).
214
1. Nadote \a\u. The phrase au go katami ni nariniken ("It has become impossible to meet") contains the names of two kinds of woven
baskets, ko (or go) and katami, and thus has the added meaning, "We
had become a k° ° r katami." Musubishi, a form of musubu ("to bind
together"), is an associative word for water because of the homophonous
musubu, "to scoop up water with the hands." The translation fails to reproduce the humor of the original, which intimates that the basket has
developed a leak. O / T , p. 194, supp. n. 36; Arai, p. 334.
29
1. The text hints that "the Mother of the Crown Prince" is Fujiwara
Koshi. (In some IM mss. the poet is identified as an officer in the Imperial Guards, an organization in which Narihira held several posts during
his career.) The party would presumably have been arranged by Koshi
to honor someone in her service. Arai, p. 336.
Birthday celebrations among the Heian nobility usually took the form
of decennial observances held from the individual's fortieth year on.
They were sponsored by relatives, or occasionally by friends or patrons—
even by the emperor if the person were sufficiently important. The festivities always included a banquet, dances, and the recitation of poems;
for exalted personages, there were also prayers at temples and largesse on
a grand scale.
A celebration of this kind ordinarily took place in the season thought
to be appropriate to the year of the individual's birth (spring for the
years of the Tiger, Hare, and Dragon; summer for the years of the Snake,
Horse, and Sheep, and so forth), and it apparently was timed to coincide, if possible, with a pleasant seasonal phenomenon. Ceremonies held
215
Notes to Pages 92-93
Notes to Pages 94-gS
in the spring were called cherry blossom celebrations {hana no ga);
those in the summer, fan celebrations (ogi no ga); those in the fall,
autumn leaf celebrations (momiji no ga); those in the winter, snow
celebrations {yukj no ga). See Jingu Shicho, XLI, 345, 355.
The desire to link events described in IM to historical incidents has
led some commentators to suggest that this particular party was sponsored by Koshi in honor of her cousin, Fujiwara Meishi, Emperor Seiwa's
mother. The theory overlooks the evidence of the chronicles, which show
that Meishi's fortieth birthday celebration took place in 868, the year before Yozei became crown prince (and thus before Koshi could have been
called "the Mother of the Crown Prince"), and that birthday celebrations honoring that lady regularly took place in the winter, not in the
spring. DNS, IV, 73; Arai, p. 337.
2. Hana ni a\anu. SKKS 105, Narihira. The attribution to Narihira,
though unverified, has been accepted by some commentators, who feel
that the poem's emotional intensity and simple diction are characteristic
of Narihira's work. (See Kubota, SKKS, I, 131; Arai, pp. 336, 338.)
Whether or not one wishes to accept this view, it seems likely that here,
as in many other instances, an IM author has tried to endow a verse with
new dimensions of interest by placing it in a fictitious setting. In the present context it can be interpreted either as a graceful expression of thanks
from a guest to a hostess or as a lament for a lost love, with the blossoms
symbolizing Koshi.
Shizu: a striped cloth made by dyeing the woof. It was woven from
thread obtained from hemp and other fibers in antiquity, before the introduction of advanced textile techniques from China. Nagashima, p. 25.
30
1. Au kpto wa. SCSS 951, anon.
31
1. "This grass looks splendid now, but wait until it withers!" ("You're
quite the lady's man, but you won't last forever.") The lady's two sentences are identical with the last two lines of an old poem, presumably
well known at the time. The poem is cited in O/T, p. 194, supp. n. 38.
2. Tsumi mo na\i. "It is not true, as you imply, that I have forgotten
you. To wish an innocent man bad luck will not hurt anyone but yourself; you are the one whom people will forget."
The man cleverly turns the lady's metaphor against her, buttressing his
position with a bit of Buddhist doctrine from the Lotus Sutra.
For forgetting-grass, see Sec. 21, n. 3; for the Buddhist doctrine, Vos,
II, 93, n. 9; Arai, p. 343.
32
1. This poem is not recorded elsewhere, but KKS 888 has the same
first two lines. See also K W R (ZKT 33003).
2l6
33
1. Mubara (Ubara) was an ancient district in the area of the present
city of Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture. O/T, p. 131, n. 20; N C D , I, 320, 865.
2. Ashibe yori. Probably adapted from MYS 617, which has the same
first three lines. (Arai, p. 351.) The first two lines (last three lines of the
translation) function as a preface introducing the pivot word iyamashi
("ever-increasing," "more and more").
3. Komorie ni. ShokuGSS 686, anon. The lady adopts the man's imagery, working in the associative words June ("boat"), sao ("pole"), \omorie ("hidden inlet"), and sasu ("to rise," as the tide, one of this verb's
many meanings). Sashite ("sounding") is a pivot word.
34
1. leba eni. SCSS 637, Narihira. The poem may be an adaptation of
one in KWR (ZKT 32950), which means essentially the same thing:
leba eni I lwaneba \urushi / Yo no na\a o / Nagekite nomi mo / Tsu\usubekj. \ana. Arai, p. 354.
35
1. Tama no o 0. SCSS 950, anon. Generally agreed to be a slight reworking of MYS 763 (Lady Ki, fl. early 8th c ) , a very similar poem that
appears also in KWR (ZKT 34054). Arai, p. 360.
Uncertainty about the meaning of awao has made this poem a knotty
problem for commentators. The translation "loose braid" represents the
present consensus, which links awao linguistically to awa ("bubble"),
and takes it to mean a secure but loose interlacement of the kind technically called a prolonge knot, easily unraveled at the wearer's convenience. Similar knots were used to secure necklaces in medieval Europe. See the illustrations in Nagata, p. 173, and Plummer, Sec. 147. See
also Takagi, I, 268; O / T , p. 132, n. 5; Arai, pp. 356-60.
A minority opinion is represented in Vos's translation (I, 197):
Because we tied
The threads of our lives,
Twisting them into a complicated knot
[Like] knotting [the ends of] a string of beads,
I think we shall certainly meet [again],
Even though [our relations] have ceased.
217
Notes to Pages 95-97
Notes to Pages 98-99
Tama no o functions both in its literal meaning, "a string of gems,"
and as a metaphor for the couple's lives. (See Sec. 14, n. 1.)
Man'yoshu, and shared in the compilation of Gosenshu. The last sentence
presumably refers to the fact that the princess and Itaru were related.
36
1. Tani sebami. Virtually identical with MYS 3507 and ShokuGSIS
905, anon. The first three lines are a preface ending with the pivot word
taemu (from tayu, "to come to an e n d " ) .
37
1. Ware narade. SCSS 823, Narihira.
2. Futari shite. Almost identical with MYS 2919.
38
1. Kimi ni yori. Narihira is listed by ShokuKKS as the author of this
poem (952). The attribution is suspect, but there appears to be an intended reference to Narihira or someone like him. Ki no Aritsune was
Narihira's friend and father-in-law; also, the element of humor in the
exchange hinges on the first poet's reputation as a gallant.
39
1. Emperor Junna (786-840; r. 823-33). After his abdication he lived in
the Western Palace (also called Junna Palace), usually said to have been
located east of Omiya Avenue and north of Shijo. See also Sec. 129, n. 1.
2. Princess Shushi, called Takaiko, died in 848 at the age of eighteen.
Arai, p. 373.
3. Minamoto Itaru, a grandson of Emperor Saga (r. 809-23), held a
succession of fairly high offices. His reputed prowess as a lover seems to
have been an invention of the IM author. O / T , p. 195, supp. n. 45.
4. Ho aware. A reference to the Lotus Sutra, in which the Buddha
says that nirvana is not extinction. T h e poem has the additional meaning, "Judging from the delay, she may not be dead after all." Arai, p.
376; Vos, II, 97, n. 26; de Bary et ah, Sources of the Japanese Tradition,
p. 123.
5. The author's criticism seems to me to mean that greater.sensitivity
was to have been expected of a man noted for his ability to understand
the feelings of others. For different interpretations, see O / T , p. 134, n. 6,
and Arai, p. 376.
6. The last paragraph is believed to be an interpolation. ( O / T , p. 134,
n. 7; Arai, p. 379.) Minamoto Shitago (911-83) was a scholar who compiled a pioneer Chinese-Japanese dictionary, helped prepare glosses for
2l8
40
1. Idete inaba. K W R (ZKT 33204), Narihira; ShokuGSS 836, Narihira. In both collections, and in some IM texts, the first line reads either
ltoite mo or Itoite wa ("When there is ill feeling"). Such a phrase seems
to fit the context better than ldete inaba, which would normally be translated, "If he/she leaves." It has been suggested (Arai, p. 394) that a copyist's error has produced the present first line, which is identical with that
of the first poem in the preceding section. My translation is a rather uneasy compromise between the two versions, as is Vos's (I, 201). For another interpretation, see O / T , p. 135, n. 22.
2. The Hour of the Dog was 7-9 P.M.
41
1. Blue was the color prescribed for use by officials of the Sixth Rank
(a low rank, presumably the one to which the sister's husband belonged).
2. Murasakj no. KKS 868, Narihira, with the headnote "On sending a
cloak to his brother-in-law"; KWR (ZKT 34347), Narihira. For murasakj, see Sec. 1, n. 3.
Since the KKS headnote fails to specify the color of the cloak, the
poet's intent is obscure. If the poem was indeed composed to accompany
a gift, there is some reason to conclude that the cloak's color was deep
purple {murasakj), the color worn by officials of the First Rank, since a
reference to the gift would normally be expected in the poem. In that
case, murasakj may have functioned as a metaphor for the recipient—a
complimentary comparison, since the plant would suggest the color worn
by men of the highest court rank and thus associated with exalted social
status, good breeding, and superior personal attainments and character.
See Kamata, p. 400.
In the IM context, murasakj stands for the poet's wife, and iro kpkj
means not only "strong, deep color" but also "strong, deep love." T h u s :
"When a man's love for his wife is strong and deep, his affection extends
to all who are associated with her; he makes no distinction between her
and them." (Some commentators have seen in the mention of plants
[kusakj] an implicit reference to the color of the Sixth Rank cloak, which
is identified as roso, or midori'iro. In the Heian period, however, midori,
now "green," meant "dark blue." See Yamagishi, III, 458, supp. n. 416.)
On first reading, it is tempting to conclude that the poem depicts a
carpet of flowers engulfing the other plants on the plain, but the adjective
219
"Notes to Pages 99-100
Notes to Pages 100-102.
koki h inappropriate for white blossoms. The reference could conceivably be to the fresh green of the murasa\i's new leaves, since spring,
rather than the summer blooming season, is suggested by the words me
("bud") and. ham ("to swell" and "spring"), concealed in the homophonous me ("'eye") and haru ('''"far") in the phrase me mo haru ni ("as
far as the eye can reach": "vast" in the translation). It is worth noting,
however, that the KKS compilers have classified Murasakj. no under
"Miscellaneous," rather than under either "Summer" or "Spring." Instead of striving tor realism, the poet seems to be playing with words:
"When the color of the mtii-asa\t (which is, of course, purple, because
murasa\i means purple 1 is strong and deep, then the whole plain is
purple." The poem, can perhaps best be understood as a witty variation
on KKS 867 below.
3. KKS 867, anon.
5. The season when the hototogisu sings. The bird was thus a suitable
topic.
6. Ion obi- "I shall believe you as long as you continue to meet me."
Murasaki no
Hitom.oto yue ni
M'usashino no
Kusa ws minagara
Aware to 20 mini.
Because of a single
Murasa\i plant,
1 look with affection
On all the grasses
Of Musashi Plai
am.
Here again murasaki is a metaphor for the poet's wife. The poem's
meaning approximates that of the IM poem. For Musashi Plain, see Sec.
12, n. 1.
42
1, Idete \oshi. SKKS 1408, Narihira.
44
1. See Sec. 85, n. 3.
2. Idete yu\u. KWR (ZKT 33203), Narihira. The point of the poem
is in a pun on mo, which can mean both "train" and "misfortune." "I
have removed the mo on your behalf; thus you will, I trust, suffer no
calamity while you are away. And since I have passed the mo on to you,
I shall henceforth have neither train nor misfortune."
45
1. The end of the Sixth Month in the lunar calendar fell roughly between mid-July and mid-August.
2. Yu\u hotaru. GSS 252, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 34854), anon. The
cool breeze, suggesting the approach of autumn, prompts the poet to use
the wild goose as a metaphor for the dead girl's spirit, since geese return
in the. fall after departing in the spring, -just as the girl has departed
from, the world in. the springtime of life. His message thus becomes, "Tell
the lady that we long for her return."
3. Kuregatak\i. ShokuKKS 270, Narihira. Some commentators assume
a lapse of time between, the preceding poem and this one. The man, they
suggest, has shown his respect for the dead, girl by staying in. seclusion
on one of the prescribed mourning days, and as a result has been feeling
rather bored. Aral, p. 430.
43
1. Prince Kaya (794-^71) was a son of Emperor Kammu (r. 781-806).
2. Hototogisu: a small bird of the cuckoo family (Cuculus poliocephalus), noted for the beauty of its song. Often mentioned in classical poetry.
For a picture, see Yamashina, p. 134.
3. Hototogisu. . . Oman mono kara. KKS 147, anon. The bird represents the girl.
4. Na non-ii tjisu, Here the hototogisu is called by its other name,
shide no taosa, which means something like "field boss" or "agricultural
overseer." Jon ("huts," "cottages") were used by the overseers as temporary quarters during busy seasons. (The rationale behind the name shide
no taosa is no longer understood. It may be of onomatopoetic origin,
based on a fancied resemblance to the bird's song. For other theories, see
Aral, pp. 413-17, and V'os. II. tea, n. 11.)
46
1. Me\aru to mo. KWR (ZKT 32913), Narihira.
47
1. Onusa no. KKS 706, anon, with the headnote "Sent to Lord. Narihira by a lady who thought him fickle."
"Sacred wands" translates onusa, branches of the sacred sa\a\i tree
(Cleycra japonica, a relative of the camellia) to which strips of cloth or
paper were attached. The. wands were used in Shinto purification ceremonies held on the banks of rivers. After 3 ceremony the spectators attempted to puli an onusa close enough to rub their bodies against it and
transfer their defilements to it. The wands were then thrown into the
Notes to Pages 102-3
Notes to Pages ioy-$
river. (Saeki, p. 241; Arai, p. 442; Vos, II, 104, n. 7.) In the poem onusa
is a pillow word for hi\u te ("pulling hands").
2. Onusa to. KKS 707, Narihira. The wording varies slightly.
interpretation: "I have always felt perfectly at ease with you before; why
must you spoil our pleasant relationship with talk of love?" O/T, p. 139,
n. 24; Vos, II, 105, n. 11.
Associative words linked to \usa ("grass"): me ("bud," homophonous
with the first syllable of mezurashi\i, "rare," "novel"), ha ("leaf," incorporated in \oto no ha, "words"), ura ("tip," homophonous with the ura
of ura na\u, "without reserve"). Hatsu\usa no was perhaps intended as
a pillow word for mezurashi\i (Arai, p. 451).
This frankly erotic exchange was a source of considerable embarrassment to medieval commentators anxious to protect Narihira, the supposed author of the first poem, from the charge of contemplated incest.
Most of them felt obliged to do violence to the meaning of the man's
poem by some such interpretation as, "How anxiously I hope that a good
husband can be found for this fresh young maiden." As eighteenthcentury scholars pointed out, however, marriage between half-siblings
occurred in Japan as late as the beginning of the tenth century. (One
reason for this, perhaps, was that children of the same man by different
mothers were reared separately, and often knew one another only slightly, if at all.) There is in any case no independent evidence that would
connect either the poem or the episode with Narihira. For extensive quotations from medieval and later commentaries, see Arai, p. 453-60.
48
1. Ima zo shim. KKS 969, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 32150), Narihira.
According to KKS, which has a headnote closely resembling the IM account, the friend who failed to appear was Ki no Toshisada (d. 881), a
minor official and KKS poet.
"Houses where I am expected" means ladies' houses.
The sensibility revealed in the poem was admired by eighteenth-century classical scholars, who regarded it as unquestionably authentic. Arai,
p. 448.
49
1. In some IM texts, the first sentence reads, "Once a man, stirred by
the sight of his beautiful younger sister playing the koto, composed this
verse." It was in that form that the episode was known to Murasaki
Shikibu, who made it the basis of a scene in the "Agemaki" chapter of
The Tale of Genji. (See Waley, The Tale of Genji, II, 878. For the koto
see Arai, p. 450.)
2. Ura wa\ami. KWR (ZKT 34394), Narihira; SSZS 1016, Narihira.
By a convention of classical literature, travelers invariably sleep on beds
of grass.
Ura ("tip," translated with wa\ami as "fresh"), musubu ("tie"), and
ne ("sleeping") are associative words linked to grass—ne because of the
homophonous ne ("root").
This allegorical poem might also be rendered,
How regrettable it is
That someone else
Will marry
The young maiden
So fresh and delightful to sleep with.
Wakakusa ("young grass"), which here represents the sister, has the
connotation of "spouse" (see Sec. 12, n. 2). Line 5 probably contains a
hidden reference to the koto (note 1 above) and its strings (o). O/T,
p. 139, n. 22; Arai, p. 451.
3. Hatsu\usa no. SSZS 1017, anon. Here I follow Murasaki Shikibu
and those commentators who take the lady's reply as evidence of an intimacy that she has no intention of ending. (Waley, The Tale of Genji,
II, 878; Yamagishi, IV, 443-44; Arai, p. 452.) There is another possible
222
5°
1. Tori no kp o. Probably based on a poem by Ki no Tomonori in
KWR (ZKT 33048), from which it differs only in the last two lines.
The conceit seems to be of Chinese origin. O/T, p. 196, supp. n. 51; Arai,
p. 464. For Tomonori, see Sec. 21, n. 1.
2. Asatsuyu wa. ShokuGSIS 1234, anon.
3. Fuku \aze ni. ShokuKKS 1293, Narihira. Probably adapted from a
verse in the Po-shih wen-chi, a collection of Po Chii-i's poetry well known
in tenth-century Japan. Arai, p. 466; O/T, p. 196, supp. n. 52.
4. Yuku mizu ni. KKS 522, anon. See O/T, p. 196, supp. n. 53, for
theories concerning the exact meaning of \azu \a\u.
51
1. Ue shi ueba. KKS 268, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 34575), Narihira.
52
1. Decorated rice dumplings (kazari chimakt) were a delicacy of Chinese origin, consumed annually on the Fifdi of the Fifth Month to celebrate the Sweet-Flag Festival (Tango no sechi). The exact nature of the
223
Notes to Pages 105-6
dish is no longer clearly understood, but the edible portion was probably
glutinous rice or a similar substance molded into a cylindrical shape,
wrapped in the leaves of reeds (chi), wild rice (ma\omo), or the like,
and steamed. The decorations apparently consisted of colored streamers,
possibly with the addition of seasonal flowers. For a drawing, see Nagata, p. 232. See also O/T, p. 196, supp. n. 54; Vos, II, 106, n. 1; Arai,
PP- 47I~73The Sweet-Flag Festival was intended to ward off disease. It embraced
a number of court rituals and popular customs, most of them involving
the aromatic leaves and roots of the sweet-flag, to which the Chinese and
Japanese, like the medieval Europeans, ascribed medicinal properties.
Sweet-flag leaves were stuffed under the eaves of houses and palace
buildings, worn as hair ornaments, added to bath water, and formally
presented to the emperor by court physicians at a Sweet-Flag Banquet;
the roots were hung inside buildings, used with rice wine in the preparation of a health drink, etc.
The sweet-flag, or calamus (Acorus calamus var. angustatus, the Calamus aromaticus of medieval European druggists), was known in the
Heian period as ayame or ayamegusa; it is now called shobu. Confusion
with the modern ayame (Iris nertschins\ia) and hanashobu (Iris ensata;
often called shobu), both of which are irises, has led to the common misnomer Iris Festival. The sweet-flag's leaves and roots resemble those of
an iris but have a distinctive fragrance; the tiny, yellow-green flowers,
massed together on blunt, tapering ears, are entirely unlike those of any
iris. See Kitamura et al., Ill, Plate 48 facing p. 175.
2. Ayame \ari. The point of the poem hinges on the dual meaning of
\aru, "to cut, reap" and "to hunt."
Most commentators interpret the poem as evidence that chimaki were
sometimes wrapped in sweet-flag leaves, assuming that the leaves are
mentioned because they formed part of the original gift.
53
1. l\a de \a wa. ShokuGSS 816, Narihira. For a possible Chinese origin, see O/T, p. 197, supp. n. 55; and Vos, II, 107, n. 7.
54
1. Yukiyaranu is essentially identical with GSS 560, anon. "Since you
care nothing for me, I cannot even see you in my dreams." Cf. Sec. 9,
n. 3.
55
1. Omowazu wa. ShokuGSS 852, Narihira.
224
Notes to Pages 106-7
56
1. Wa ga sode wa. SCSS 1125, Narihira. Tsuyu ("dew") is an engo
for \usa ("grass"). Dew is a metaphor for tears.
A freer translation:
How the dew
Clings to my sleeve
As night closes in—
Just as though it were a hut
Thatched with grass.
57
1. Koiwabinu. SCSS 722, anon. Possibly a revision of KKS 807. Arai,
p. 487. After long uncertainty, ware\ara seems to have been fairly conclusively identified with the caprella, a small amphipod crustacean wim
a tiny head and abdomen and a slender thorax about 1V2 inches long.
It takes on the coloration of seaweed and other hosts, and like odier
arthropods lives inside a shell that it sheds periodically. Because its name
is identical in sound with ware \ara ("of oneself"), it appears in classical verse as a pivot word. In this poem it is introduced by a two-line
preface. O/T, p. 197, supp. n. 56; Arai, pp. 486-87.
58
1. Nagaoka was the site of the imperial capital from 784, when Emperor Kammu left Nara, until 794, when for political and financial reasons
a move was made to Kyoto (Heian). Recent archaeological investigations have shown that the Nagaoka capital was a sizable city, occupying
the areas of the present Oharano Village, Nagaoka Township, Oyamazaki Township, Muko Township, Kuze Village (all in Otokuni District,
Kyoto Prefecture) and Fushimi Ward (inside the city of Kyoto). NRD,
XIV, 62.
2. "Imperial establishment" possibly refers to the residence of one or
more of Emperor Kammu's many daughters, at least some of whom are
thought to have remained in Nagaoka after their father's departure.
O/T, p. 142, n. 8; Arai, pp. 491, 495.
3. Areniheri. KKS 984, anon.; KWR (ZKT 32165), Lady Ise. This
poem, in KKS an expression of nostalgic emotion, here becomes a jesting
challenge to the house's owner. "Neglected house" is not to be taken
literally. O/T, p. 197, supp. n. 59. (For a different interpretation of the
last line, see Arai, p. 492, and Vos, I, 215.)
4. Mugura oite. The man takes up the "ruined house" theme. There
225
Notes to Pages ioj-g
Notes to Pages 109-11
is considerable literary evidence to suggest that demons in human form
were believed to frequent abandoned dwellings. O/T, pp. 197-98, supp.
n. 61.
5. The question is a coy invitation: "Come on out and we'll all go
back to the fields together."
6. Vchiwabite. The law provided that fallen ears were to be left in the
fields for the poor. Arai, p. 494.
something of a gallant when he arrives in Kyushu and gets wet crossing
this river." The point of the poem is in the plays on Somegawa and
iro ni naru, a phrase meaning both "to become colored" and "to grow
amorous."
3. Na ni shi owaba. GSS 1352, anon. Tawarejima ("Flirtation Island")
is an isolated rock off the coast of Uto District, Kumamoto Prefecture,
Kyushu, near the mouth of the Midori River. It appears in classical poetry
chiefly in adaptations of this verse. DCJ, I, 1707.
"To wear drenched garments" (nureginu o hj.ru) means to be falsely
accused. The lady's poem says, in effect, "What's in a name? The 'River
of Dyes' has nothing to do with your character; that was formed long
ago. And obviously 'Flirtation Island' is not flirtatious. Do you remember
the saying about drenched garments? One might say that this spraycovered island is wearing them, for from a distance it seems indeed to
be clad in white silk. River or no river, your own clothes are quite dry;
no one has falsely accused you of anything."
59
1. The Eastern Hills run north and south on the outskirts of Kyoto,
east of the Kamo River.
2. Sumiwabinu. GSS 1084, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 31860), Narihira.
In both collections line 4 reads Tsumagi \orube\i, "There to cut firewood." GSS headnote: "When he was dissatisfied with the world." The
attribution to Narihira has been accepted by many scholars. Arai, p. 503.
3. Wa ga ue ni. KKS 863, anon. In Chinese and Japanese legend, the
boat that crosses the River of Heaven (Milky Way) is rowed by the
Herdsman Star (Altair), who goes from the east bank to the west bank
to visit his wife, the Weaver Maid (Vega), on the Seventh of every Seventh Month. The annual reunion was marked at the Heian court by the
Tanabata Festival, vestiges of which still survive. This poem, one of a
KKS group expressing happiness over good fortune, is believed to have
been composed during a Tanabata season, presumably in response to a
favor of some sort. Dew is a metaphor for beneficence. Arai, p. 503.
60
1. The Shinto shrine at Usa in Kyushu (Usa Township, Usa District,
Oita Prefecture) played a role in some of the chief political events of the
Nara period and was highly influential in later periods as well. From
833 on, an imperial messenger was sent there to report every new accession to the throne, and special messengers reported other events of major
national importance. NRD, II, 180.
2. Satsuki matsu. KKS 139, anon.; KWR (ZKT 35098), Lady Ise.
61
1. Tsukushi was an old name for Kyushu.
2. Somegawa o. SIS 1234, Narihira. The Somegawa ("River of Dyes")
flows through Tsukushi District, Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu (upper
course of the Mikasa).
"Not even the most soberly respectable person can avoid becoming
226
62
1. Inishie no. The phrase \p\eru \ara is obscure and may be corrupt.
I have based the translation on a theory that explains it as "stripped
branches," though \ara usually means "stalk" or "trunk." Other IM texts
offer two alternatives that are themselves puzzling—wa\eru \a\o and
\o\eru k.a\o, both of which perhaps mean something like "ravaged beauty." ("Where is your old allure, cherry blossoms? You have lost your
looks.") O/T, p. 145, n. 19.
63
1. Momotose ni. Some dictionaries define tsukjimogami as "greyhaired." The translation follows O/T, p. 198, supp. n. 66.
2. Samushiro ni. KKS 689, anon.; KWR (ZKT 33836), anon. The IM
version differs slighdy from the others.
3. This episode, the only one in which the IM author specifically
names Narihira, furnishes valuable direct information about Narihira's
reputation in the early Heian period. The behavior attributed to him has
traditionally been regarded as a classic example of sensitivity to the feelings of others, one that perhaps influenced Murasaki Shikibu's descriptions of the consideration Prince Genji showed to unfortunate ladies such
as the red-nosed princess. (See Waley, The Tale of Genji, I, 122.) The
poem Momotose ni, which hardly seems complimentary, is explained by
commentators as an expression of sympathy. Arai, p. 537; Kamata, pp.
290, 296.
227
Notes to Pages m-13
64
1. Fu\u \aze ni. SSZS 1214, Narihira.
65
1. In the Heian period, holders of any given court rank wore outer
robes of a special color that was prohibited to persons of lower rank.
From about the tenth century on, however, die term "forbidden color"
(J(injil(t) was apparently used mainly in reference to robes of deep purple
and deep red worn by members of the imperial family or great ministers
of state. (Somewhat later, \inji\?s meaning was expanded to include
particularly luxurious fabrics, notably a trousers material described as
ayame ni \a no bun aru mono, which had an elaborate woven pattern
of floral medallions on a checkerboard background.)
The reference here is presumably to a rule that applied specifically to
women: aqua green (ao) or red damask jackets, and trains decorated
with stencilled designs, could be worn only by the highest-ranking members of die important Imperial Handmaids Office (naishi no tsu\asa),
by daughters and granddaughters of ministers of state, and by others
who had received special written imperial permission. O/T, p. 198, supp.
n. 68; Kamata, p. 301; Aral, pp. 551-52; NRD, VI, 177.
2. The text implies that the lovers are Koshi and Narihira.
3. Omou ni wa. Attributed to Narihira in SKKS (1151). It seems to
be a rather lackluster combination of lines from two KKS poems.
KKS 503, anon.: Omou ni wa I Shinoburu \oto zo I Ma\eni\eru I Iro
ni wa ideji to I Omoishi mono o. ("I had intended to conceal my passion,
but caution has been vanquished by love.")
KKS 615, Tomonori: Inochi ya wa I Nani zo wa tsuyu no I Ada mono
o I Au ni shi \aeba I Oshi\arana\u ni. ("What is life? It is transient as
dew. Let me but see you and I shall have no regrets.")
4. The Intendance Bureau (tonomozu\asa, tonomorizu\asa) was a
housekeeping branch of the Imperial Household Ministry, with jurisdiction over the imperial carriages and litters, blinds, curtains, firewood,
charcoal, the cleaning and lighting of palace apartments and gardens,
etc. The gardeners and cleaners were at work early in the morning.
5. By tossing his shoes toward the interior of die area reserved for footgear, the youth hoped to make it seem that he had been in die building
all night. The shoes of latecomers would be closest to tie door.
6. Koiseji to. KKS 501, anon.
Mitarashigawa, "Stream of Purification"—literally "August HandWashing River"—occurs in Japanese literature both as a proper noun
and as a term used of any stream near a Shinto shrine where worshipers
Notes to Pages 113-14
purified themselves by washing their hands and rinsing dieir mouths.
I have capitalized it in the translation because of the likelihood that the
author intended to suggest the well-known stream traversing the precincts of die two Kamo Shrines on the outskirts of the capital. Kubota,
KKS, III, 318; Yokomichi and Omote, I, 146, n. 8; O/T, p. 148, n. 2.
7. No reliable source mentions Narihira's banishment. Arai, pp. 57376, has marshalled circumstantial evidence intended to demonstrate its
historicity.
8. Ama no \aru. KKS 807, Naishi no Suke Fujiwara Chokushi (Naoiko); KWR (ZKT 32729), Naishi no Suke Kiyoiko.
The first two lines function as a preface, with warekara as a pivot
word. Their meaning—"the ware\ara dwelling in the seaweed that fisherfolk reap"—is unrelated to the sense of the poem. (For ware\ara, see
Sec. 57.)
''
9. Sari tomo to. SCSS 868, anon.
10. Itazura ni. KKS 620, anon.; KWR (ZKT 33881), Hitomaro.
11. This paragraph, missing in some texts, appears to be an interpolation. The Mizunoo Emperor was Emperor Seiwa. The Empress from
Somedono was Emperor Seiwa's mother; the Empress from the Fifth
Ward, his grandmother (Emperor Montoku's mother). In Section 65 the
text does not follow the usual version of Narihira's affair with Koshi,
which supposedly took place during die reign of Emperor Montoku, Emperor Seiwa's predecessor, at a time when Koshi was at most 16 years
old, Seiwa was 8 or younger, and Narihira was not a boy but a man of
between 25 and 33.
66
1. Naniwa. The area comprising the present city of Osaka and its environs. Site of several ancient imperial palaces; an important harbor.
2. Naniwazu o. KWR (ZKT 32662), Narihira; GSS 1245, Narihira,
with the headnote "Written when he had gone to live in Settsu Province
in a time of distress." The attribution to Narihira is widely accepted. Arai
(p. 583) takes die GSS headnote as evidence that Narihira was exiled to
Settsu.
Mitsu is a pivot word meaning both "harbor" and "see"; umi means
both "sea" and "weariness," "trouble." Watching the toiling boatmen,
the poet sees them as symbolic of suffering humanity.
67
1. The Second Month would correspond approximately to the cherry
blossom season (March or April in the solar calendar).
229
228
/
Notes to Pages 114-16
1. Mt. Ikoma. See Sec. 23, n. 5.
3. Kino \yo. 'In bloom" means snow-covered.
68
1. Sumiyoshi District in Settsu Province occupied the area of the present Sumiyoshi Ward in Osaka.
Sumiyoshi (Suminoe), on the shore of Naniwa Bay (now Osaka Bay),
was the site of an important shrine whose god was a patron of seafarers—
and, from the Heian period on, of poets. The beach in the vicinity of the
shrine, once famous for its beautiful pines, has been destroyed by reclamation work, and the ancient shrine precincts have been converted into a
public park surrounded by city streets.
2. Kari na\ite. Sumiyoshi is a pivot word, functioning both as a place
name and in its literal meaning, "a pleasant place to live."
69
1. Records of the early Heian period occasionally report the dispatch
of parties of half a dozen courtiers, equipped with dogs and hawks, to
hunt birds for the palace table in provinces near the capital. The leader
of such a group, usually a junior officer of Fifth Rank, was called the
Imperial Huntsman (kari no tsu\ai). O/T, p. 150, n. 5; Arai, p. 598.
2. The Ise Virgin was the chief priestess of the Inner Shrine at the
great Ise Shrine, dedicated to Amaterasu, the ancestor of the imperial
family. At the beginning of each new reign, a Virgin was chosen from
among unmarried daughters of emperors and imperial princes.
By mentioning the Virgin's mother, the text hints that the Huntsman
was Narihira and the Virgin Princess Tenshi (Note 3 below). The princess's mother was a sister of Ki no Aritsune, Narihira's father-in-law.
3. Kimi ya \oshi. KKS 645, anon.; KWR (ZKT 32888), Ise Virgin.
KKS headnote: "When Narihira went to Ise Province, he paid a most
secret visit to the Virgin. The next morning, as he was thinking of her
longingly (he could not very well send her a message), someone brought
him this."
It was traditionally assumed, on the basis of this headnote.and IM,
that Narihira actually seduced one of the Ise Virgins, Princess Tenshi
(Yasuko, d. 913), who held office from 859 to 876, during Emperor Seiwa's reign. There is no evidence that this is more than a romantic myth.
See p. 49.
The poem is typical of the age in its elegant confusion. For a brief
analysis, see B/M, p. 160.
4. Kakikurasu. KKS 646, "Reply"; KWR (ZKT 32889), "Reply." In the
230
Notes to Pages nj-18
two anthologies, and also in some IM texts, the last line, corresponding
to line 3 of the translation, reads Yohito sadameyo ("Someone else must
decide," i.e., "Like you, I find it impossible to reach a conclusion").
For an analysis of the poem in the context of the classical tradition, see
B/M, pp. 217, 474.
Some scholars contend that the headnote to KKS 645 is an interpolation, and that here, as elsewhere, an IM author has invented a context
for a pair of verses from the anthology. Arai, p. 612.
5. Kachibito no. KWR (ZKT 33775), anon.
There is a pun on e ni shi ("creek" plus two particles) and enishi
("affinity," "relationship") and another on the o of Osaka, homophonous
with au, "to meet." Osaka Barrier, immortalized in innumerable literary
references, was near the capital, on the road taken by travelers to Ise
(south of the present city of Otsu in Shiga Prefecture [Omi Province]).
6. This sentence may be an interpolation. O/T, p. 152, n. 6. For Prince
Koretaka, see pp. 44-45.
70
1. Oyodo Crossing (Oyodo no Watari) was probably the Ise terminal
of a ferry from Owari Province, though some commentators take watari
to mean simply "vicinity" {atari). Oyodo, now a part of the city of Ise,
was originally a hamlet on Ise Bay that took its name from a nearby
shrine. The Ise Virgin's residence was not far off, and the seashore,
known as Oyodo Bay, was the place where she purified herself.
The reader is no doubt intended to assume that the Imperial Huntsman is spending the night at Oyodo as he journeys back toward the capital from Owari (see the preceding section), and that he recognizes the
girl of the Kimi ya \oshi episode among a group of young attendants
whom the Virgin has sent to convey conventional greetings. O/T, p. 152,
notes 10 and n; Arai, pp. 619-20.
2. Mirume \aru. SKKS 1080, Narihira. Possibly an adaptation of a
poem by Ono no Takamura (802-52). Arai, p. 621.
The poem turns on the identity in sound between mirume, a kind of
seaweed (Sec. 25, n. 2), and tniru me, "seeing eyes." Its message: "Tell
me how I can meet the Virgin." O/T, p. 152, n. 12.
71
1. See Sec. 69, notes 2 and 3.
2. Chihayaburu. ShokuSZS 1400, anon. The first three lines appear in
MYS (2663, anon.) and, with slight variations, in SIS (924, Hitomaro)
and KWR (ZKT 31941, anon.).
Chihayaburu, "mighty," is an ancient pillow word for "god."
231
Notes to Pages 118-20
Notes to Pages 120-21
At Shinto shrines a fence encloses the sacred area in which the god
dwells—a place to be avoided by mortals.
3. Koishiku wa. ShokuSZS 1401, "Narihira's reply."
has a second level of meaning which is not altogether clear. One possible
interpretation:
If no harm befalls
The seaweed that grows
Between the rocks,
Perchance a shellfish will lodge there
As the tides ebb and flow.
72
1. Oyodo no. SKKS 1432, anon. Possibly based on KKS 626, a similar
poem by Narihira's grandson, Motokata (888-953). Arai, p. 628.
For Oyodo, see Sec. 70, n. 1.
The lady is the pine tree; die man the waves. A pun on matsu ("pine
tree," "wait") gives the second line an added meaning; "I find it hard
to wait; I long to meet you." Vramite means both "feeling resentment"
and "seeing the beach."
73
1. Me ni wa mite. The first four lines are identical with MYS 632 by
Prince Yuhara; KWR (ZKT 35131), anon.; and SCSS 955, anon.
According to Chinese legend, there is an enormous cinnamon tree on
the moon, magically resistant to the eternal onslaughts of a man with an
axe. O/T, p. 199, supp. n. 70; Vos, II, 124, n. 4.
74
1. Iwane jumi. Probably a variant of MYS 2422, anon. See also SIS 969,
anon. O/T, p. 199, supp. n. 71.
75
1. Oyodo no. The poem is a polite dismissal. "We have seen each other
a few times and that is quite enough to satisfy me. I don't think it is
necessary to become better acquainted." The first two lines, omitted in
the translation, are "The seaweed that is said to grow / At the beach of
Oyodo." They constitute a preface for miru, which again functions as
both "see" and "seaweed" (cf. Sections 25, 70). For Oyodo, see Sec. 70.
2. Sode nurete. SCSS 651, Narihira. The man repeats the imagery of
the lady's poem in his reply, composing a three-line preface for miru:
" [The seaweed] from the ocean / Reaped and dried / By sleeve-drenched
fisherfolk."
3. lwama yori. SCSS 652, anon.
The poem has probably been corrupted in transmission. A certain
amount of forcing is necessary to make sense of it unless one adopts the
version that appears in some other IM texts, where line 3 becomes Tsune
naraba. Arai, pp. 632, 636, and 639; O/T, p. 199, supp. n. 73.
A preface and plays on words continue the marine imagery. The poem
232
Puns: (1) mirume, "seaweed" and "seeing eye"; (2) shio hi shio michi,
"the ebb and flow of the tide" and "in any case"; (3) \ai, "shellfish" and
"result."
4. Namida ni zo. ShokuGSS 699, Narihira.
76
1. Fujiwara Koshi.
2. The Fujiwara tutelary god, Amenokoyane no Mikoto, said in the
earliest chronicles to have descended from heaven with Ninigi no Mikoto, an ancestor of the imperial family, and to have assisted in establishing the Japanese state. His main shrine was at Kasuga in Nara. The
reference here is to the newer shrine at the foot of Mt. Oshio (640 m.)
in Oharano (now Oharano Village, Otokuni District, Kyoto Prefecture),
established primarily for the convenience of Fujiwara ladies after the
court's removal from Nara to Nagaoka. It was traditional for imperial
consorts of Fujiwara birth to make at least one pilgrimage to Oharano.
The KKS headnote to the poem in this section speaks of a pilgrimage
to the shrine undertaken by Koshi, but Sandai jitsuroku contains no record of such a visit, which presumably would have occurred between 869,
when the lady's son was named crown prince, and 876, when he ascended
the throne. For a discussion of efforts to pin the IM episode to a historical event, see Arai, pp. 645-46.
3. Narihira became an Acting Middle Captain in the Imperial Guards
in 875 at the age of 50. SJ, p. 357; Arai, p. 647; O/T, p. 154, n. n; Vos,
II, 126, n. 6.
4. Ohara ya. KKS 871, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 31793), Narihira. KKS
headnote: "Composed when the Empress from the Second Ward, then
the Mother of the Crown Prince, made a pilgrimage to Oharano."
The poem might be paraphrased as follows: "On this auspicious occasion, when a daughter of the Fujiwara visits Oharano Shrine as an imperial consort and the mother of an emperor-designate, the god will
surely be reminded of the days when he too served the throne."
The IM context, through the adroit insertion of fictitious detail, implies
a second level of meaning—"Do you remember the days of our youth
when we were in love?"
233
Notes to Pages 121-22
Notes to Pages 122-23
5. Some commentators take the man to be the subject, in which case
the sentence would mean "Perhaps he was grieving inwardly—but then
again, who can tell?"
being reborn. During that period, and especially on the forty-ninth day,
when his case is judged, the prayers and good works of others can improve his chances of becoming a buddha.
3. See Sec. 77, n. 3.
4. See Sec. 77, n. 4.
5. Yamashina was in Yamashiro Province close to the capital; now in
Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto.
6. Usually identified as Prince Saneyasu (831-72), a son of Emperor
Nimmyo who lived at Yamashina after taking religious vows in the Fifth
Month of 859—somewhat later than Takakiko's Forty-ninth Day. Scholars considering it necessary to deal with the discrepancy have suggested
as an alternative an uncle of Narihira, Prince Takaoka, who became a
monk well before the lady's death, and who may have lived in the Yamashina area before he went off to China (in 862) and ultimately to Laos,
where he apparently died when well along in his eighties. O/T, p. 156,
n. 3; Vos, II, 128, n. 11; Arai, p. 664.
7. Emperor Seiwa went to view the cherry blossoms at the Third Ward
residence of Tsuneyuki's father, Yoshisuke, in the spring of 866 (several
years after Takakiko's death). Such a mark of favor was a source of great
prestige and involved elaborate preparations on the part of the host.
On that occasion the entertainment included an archery contest, music,
dances, the composition of Chinese poems, and a banquet. SJ, p. 179.
8. A stretch of coast in the present township of Minabe, Hidaka District, Wakayama Prefecture.
9. The object was to make the moss look as though it had grown naturally in the shape of characters—a notion probably suggested by a famous
couplet from Po Chii-i's Collected Worlds {Po-shih wen-chi):
77
1. The Tamura Emperor was Montoku (827-58, r. 850-58), so called
from the location of his tomb at Tamura, in Kadono District, Yamashiro
Province (now Sambi-cho, Uzumasa, Ukyo-ku, Kyoto).
2. Takakiko (d. 858). Eldest daughter of Fujiwara Yoshisuke (81367), who was a son of Fuyutsugu and the brother of Yoshifusa and of
Montoku's mother Junshi. She and Montoku were thus first cousins.
Montoku actually predeceased her by about three months.
3. Anjoji Temple. Situated near the capital, at Yamashina (now in
Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto); founded in 848 under the sponsorship of Empress Junshi.
4. Fujiwara Tsuneyuki (d. 875). Heir of Yoshisuke and brother of
Takakiko. He did not become Captain of the Right until 866, eight years
after his sister's death.
5. Commander of the Right Horse Bureau. This was one of Narihira's
offices, but he did not acquire it until 865. Narihira was 33 years old
in 858.
6. Yama no mina. KWR (ZKT 33329), Narihira; ShokuGSS 1258,
Narihira.
Takakiko died on the Fourteenth of the Eleventh Month in 858. The
services at the Anjoji were to mark the forty-ninth day after her death
(see Sec. 78, n. 2), and so should have been performed on the Second of
the First Month of 859, but the poet's fourth line ("This springtime
parting," also translatable as "The departure of spring") seems to imply,
whether with or without historical justification, that they were postponed
until the end of spring. One IM text specifically states that the ceremonies took place on the last day of the Third Month, i.e. the last day
of spring. In any case, the reference to spring is a reminder of the youth
of the lady, who was probably in her twenties, at most, when she died.
The poet's "elegant confusion" is inspired by a passage in the Nirvana
Sutra which says that mountains split asunder when the Buddha entered
Nirvana. O/T, p. 155, n. 35; Arai, pp. 653, 657; Vos, II, 128, n. 21.
78
1. See Sec. 77, n. 2.
2. According to Buddhist doctrine, an ordinary human being—someone who has been neither very good nor very bad—spends the first fortynine days after his death in an intermediate existence, preparatory to
234
I burned autumn leaves in the woods to warm my wine;
I scraped the moss from rocks to form the letters of poems.
From a poem reminiscing about pleasant days at a mountain temple.
Arai, p. 671; Kawaguchi and Shida, pp. 103, 265; Mizuno, pp. 294-97.
79
1. More literally, "someone in the family." As indicated in the passage
following the poem (believed to be an interpolation), this has been interpreted as a reference to Narihira's niece, a minor consort of Emperor
Seiwa, who bore the emperor's eighth son, Prince Sadakazu (875-916).
O/T, p. 157, n. 26; Arai, p. 673.
2. Wa ga \ado ni. Anon.; sometimes attributed to an IM author. The
poem means that the new prince's maternal relatives can now hope for
preferential treatment. "Bamboo" or "bamboo grove" as a metaphor for
235
Notes to Pages 123-24
Notes to Pages 124-25
"prince" is said to derive from a famous bamboo park owned by a son
of Emperor Wen (r. 179-156 B.C.) of China. Arai, p. 673; O/T, p. 200,
supp. n. 75; Vos, II, 131, n. 4.
3. Narihira became a Middle Captain in 875, the year of the prince's
birth (SJ, p. 357). Commentators explain the gossip as "probably the result of Narihira's reputation." Kamata, p. 366.
4. Yukihira (818-93) had a much more successful career than Narihira, rising through a series of responsible positions to the high office of
Middle Counselor (in 882) with Senior Third Rank (achieved in 884).
He was also a poet of considerable stature; eleven of his poems appear
in KKS and otiier imperial anthologies.
by filling it with salt water, regularly replenished from Naniwa, and to
have assigned servants to tend "salt fires" on the shore (whether or not
they actually made salt is unclear). The earliest literary reference to the
garden is probably a poem by Tsurayuki (KKS 852), written during a
visit to the house after Tom's death:
Kimi masade
With aching heart I gaze
Keburi taenishi
At Shiogama Bay,
Shiogama no
Its plumes of smoke extinguished
Urasabishiku mo Now that the master
Miewataru kana. Is no longer here.
80
1. Nurelsutsu zo. KKS 133, Narihira. Headnote: "Sent to someone
with a spray of wisteria flowers plucked on a rainy day late in die Third
Month."
Spring began on the First of die First Month and ended on the last
day of the Third Month.
In KKS the poem is an expression of the elegant Heian sensibility:
"I have not minded getting wet, because I wish very much for you to
share my enjoyment of die fragile, ephemeral beauty that, like the spring
—and indeed like man and his works—vanishes all too soon."
The IM introduction changes the mood by using the phrase otoroetaru
ie (either "a house [family] that has seen better days" or "a dilapidated
dwelling") and the verb tatematsuru ("to do something for a superior").
The poem thus takes on new overtones and illustrates a somewhat different aspect of mono no aware: "At my humble house there is nothing of
value except these flowers, which I have plucked for you, getting myself
soaked in the process, in the hope that you may remember my plight
and be moved to help me." Arai, pp. 676-78.
81
1. Minamoto Toru (822-95), a son of Emperor Saga, who was Minister of the Left from 872 until his death. Literary and historical works
contain many references to his luxurious mansion, known as the Riverside Palace (Kawara no in), and, in particular, to the lake in his garden, which was designed to resemble Shiogama Bay, a renowned scenic
spot in Michinoku Province in northeastern Japan (now the harbor for
Shiogama City, a few miles northeast of Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture).
Toru is said to have maintained ocean fish and crustaceans in the lake
236
2. Shiogama ni. ShokuGSIS 967, Narihira. Attributed by some commentators to an IM author. Arai, p. 676.
82
1. Narihira's patron. See pp. 44-45.
2. Yamazaki was a famous old Yodo River port and overland communications center, situated on the main highway leading west from the
capital, in the southernmost part of Otokuni District, Yamashiro (now
Oyamazaki Village, Otokuni District, Kyoto Prefecture). Minase was an
adjacent area in Shimanokami District, Settsu Province (now Hirose, a
part of Shimamoto Township, Mishima District, Osaka Prefecture). The
whole Yamazaki-Minase region was used as an imperial hunting ground,
and several emperors and other members of the imperial family maintained villas there at one time or another. The exact location of Prince
Koretaka's house is unknown. Arai, p. 693.
3. Katano was the name of an old district in the northernmost part of
Kawachi Province (now incorporated into Kitakawachi District and Hirakata City, Osaka Prefecture). The portion of the district adjoining the
Minase-Yamazaki area belonged to the hunting preserve, and in the early
ninth century there apparently was a temporary shelter there for the convenience of imperial sportsmen. The Nagisa House, owned by Emperor
Montoku and later by Prince Koretaka, was probably built for a similar
purpose. According to tradition, the present Kannondo Temple at Nagisa, Hirakata City, stands on the house's site. Arai, p. 695; O/T, p. 200,
supp. n. 77; Saeki, p. 114.
4. Yo no na\a ni. KKS 53, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 35056), Narihira.
KKS headnote: "On seeing the cherry trees at the Nagisa House." For
a discussion of the poem, see pp. 50-51.
5. Chireba hpso appears to be a revision of KKS 71, anon. (Arai, p.
705)-
237
Notes to Pages 125-27
Nokori naku
Chiru zo medetaki
Sakurabana
Arite yo no naka
Hate no ukereba.
It is precisely because
Cherry blossoms scatter swiftly
That we find them appealing,
For things that linger overlong in this world
End by becoming distasteful.
6. Amanogawa ("River of Heaven") was another name for the area
known as Kin'ya ("Forbidden Plain"), now a part of Hirakata City in
Osaka Prefecture. A river by the same name, a tributary of the Yodo,
flowed nearby.
7. Kari\urashi. KKS 418, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 32057), anon. For
the Weaver Maid, see Sec. 59, n. 3.
8. The prince's uncle and Narihira's father-in-law. See Sec. 16, n. 1.
9. Hitotose ni. KKS 419, Ki no Aritsune; KWR (32058), anon.
10. A\anaku ni. KKS 884, Narihira. The moon represents the prince.
See pp. 1 off.
11. Oshinabete. GSS 1250, Kanzuke Mineo (fl. first half of ninth c ) .
This section illustrates most of the principal techniques employed by
the IM author (s). An initial pair of poems is produced by judicious tinkering; a second pair is taken as a unit from KKS; a third pair is created
by a skillful matching of two verses from different sources; and a partly
or wholly fictitious context is provided for overall unity. Section 82 is
among the most interesting and successful of all IM episodes. It contains
three excellent poems by Narihira, it brings Heian court society to life
with vivid pictorial detail, and its prose has a vigor and elegance that
contrast sharply with the colorless language of the headnotes to KKS 418
and 419.
83
1. Commander of the Right Horse Bureau. See Sec. 77, n. 5. Narihira
was 47 years old when the prince became a monk (in 872).
2. Minase. See Sec. 82, n. 2.
3. Ma\ura tote. KWR (ZKT 34088), anon.; SCSS 538, Narihira.
"I don't want to spend another night away from home. Furthermore,
the night will be half gone unless I leave soon; these spring nights do
not last long."
"Grass pillow" {\usamakurd) was a metaphor for journey, derived
from the traveler's custom of gathering grasses on which to sleep. The
poet uses the figure because he is just returning from a trip.
4. Ono was an old name for the area more recently occupied by Ohara
and Yase villages (in the former Otagi District, Yamashiro), which is
now incorporated in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City. Prince Koretaka's grave is at
Ohara Ueno-cho, Saky6-ku, and his house is said to have been close by.
238
Notes to Pages 727-29
The proximity of Ono to Mt. Hiei exposed it to chilling winds and made
it cold and snowy in winter.
5. For Mt. Hiei, see Sec. 9, n. 6.
6. The New Year was a season of feverish activity, impressive ceremonies, and gay festivities in the capital—above all, a time for formally
paying respects to superiors and patrons. But the prince, his once brilliant prospects gone, is neglected and lonely.
7. Wasurete wa. KKS 970, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 31592), anon.
The second part of this well-known section has been influential in shaping Narihira's image as a man of courage and integrity, not merely a
gifted but rather frivolous poet. Some Japanese critics also find here an
illustration of what they regard as the peculiar excellence of early classical literature—rich emotional intensity and overtones of feeling expressed
with economy of language, through the use of evocative detail. It is going
too far to claim, as Arai does (p. 719), that nothing in The Tale of Genji
or any other Heian work equals the deep pathos and inexhaustible overtones of this passage, but the author has provided Narihira's poem with
a context that matches its tone admirably.
84
1. Narihira's mother was Princess Ito (d. 861), a daughter of Emperor
Kammu (r. 781-806).
2. Nagaoka. See Sec. 58, n. 1.
3. According to one tradition, Yukihira was also Princess Ito's son.
Some commentators therefore interpret hitotsu \p ("only son") as "favorite son." O/T, p. 161, n. 37; Arai, p. 735.
4. Oinureba. KKS 900, Princess Ito, with a headnote resembling the
IM introduction.
5. Yo no naka ni. KKS 901, Narihira, "Reply." The KKS version differs slightly.
85
1. This section, following upon Sections 83 and 84, implicitly identifies the man and his patron as Narihira and Prince Koretaka. (Note that
in the last sentence the monk is actually called "the prince.") Since Narihira was 19 when the prince was born, early commentators felt obliged
to explain away the phrase "since his childhood" by theorizing that the
prince's childhood was meant; but Arai is surely on the right track when
he maintains, following Kamo Mabuchi and other Tokugawa scholars,
that much of the interest of he monogatari was considered to derive precisely from its combination of fact and fiction. Arai, pp. 738, 742.
239
Notes to Pages 130-33
Notes to Pages 129-30
2. Omoedomo. KWR (ZKT 31600), anon. Possibly based on materials
drawn from KKS 373 and 977. Arai, p. 743.
"I should like to place myself at your disposal permanently, but I cannot be in two places at once, and duty requires me to stay in the capital.
Happily, the snow now compels me to do what I should most like to do,
i.e. stay here."
Another possible interpretation (O/T, p. 162, n. 14): "Although I
never forget you, I cannot be in two places at once, and thus my heart,
filled with thoughts of you, has become very like the ground outside your
house covered widi snowdrifts by these incessantly falling flakes."
3. Textiles and rice were the main media of exchange in the Heian
period, and for obvious reasons cloth was preferred to grain for casual
gift-giving. A garment could be sold, worn, given to a relative, or, if the
donor were sufficiently exalted, kept as a family treasure.
86
i. Ima made ni. KWR (ZKT 33763), anon.; SKKS 1365, anon.
87
1. Mubara (Ubara) District occupied a narrow strip of land between
the mountains and the sea in what is now the metropolitan Kobe area.
Ashiya has become Ashiya City, adjoining Kobe. It is not known whether
or not Narihira owned land at Ashiya, but legend connects his father
with the area. Arai, p. 754.
2. Ashinoya no. SKKS 1588, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 34026), anon. Except for the place name Ashinoya-no-nada, the poem is almost identical
with MYS 278. Ashinoya is a variant form of Ashiya, found chiefly in
poetry. Here the word is used both as a place name and in its literal
meaning, "reed-thatched huts."
3. The reader is intended to assume that the man is also an Assistant
Commander. Narihira became an Acting Assistant Commander in the
Military Guards of the Left in 863.
4. Yukihira (Sec. 79, n. 4) was appointed Commander of the Military
Guards of the Left in 864. Narihira was transferred to the post of Lesser
Captain in the Imperial Guards at the same time, and thus was in fact
not an Assistant Commander when Yukihira was a Commander. O/T,
p. 163, n. 31.
5. Nunobiki Falls. On the upper course of the Ikuta River in what is
now the mountainous eastern sector of Kobe City (Fukiai-ku, Nunobikicho).
6. Warode, a round cushion about two inches thick and two feet in
diameter, made of straw, rushes, or sedge plaited in a spiral pattern.
240
1
7. Wa ga yo o ba. SKKS 1649, Yukihira, with a headnote, "On going
to see Nunobiki Falls." The poem has been attributed to an IM author.
Arai, pp. 265, 267.
Pivot words: kai ("efficacy" [kai no nami, "in vain"] and "gorge, ravine" [not in the translation]); namida {nami is a negative, namida
means "tears").
8. Nukimidaru. KKS 923, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 32567), anon. KKS
headnote: "Composed when a group of people were reciting poems below Nunobiki Falls."
"Narrow-sleeved" implies "humble," "unfortunate" (because people of
low rank wore modest attire).
9. Mochiyoshi. Unknown.
10. Haruru yo no. SKKS 1589, Narihira. It has been attributed to an
IM author. Arai, pp. 763, 768.
11. Watatsumi no. KWR (ZKT 33171), anon.
'The sea god caused last night's storm because he wished to give you
something he values highly." A graceful compliment, appropriately concluding one of IM's most elegant episodes.
88
1. 0\ata wa. KKS 879, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 31217), anon.
"On this autumn night, emotion overcomes reason; against my better
judgment, I delight in the full moon's beauty."
This is one of Narihira's best-known poems. For another translation
and an analysis of the verse in the context of the Heian poetic tradition,
see B/M, pp. 161-62.
89
1. Hito shirezu. SZKKS 1157, Narihira.
" . . . people would blame my death on the curse of some god to whom,
it would be thought, I had given offense."
91
1. The reader is expected to infer that unrequited love is the cause of
the man's low spirits. O/T, p. 166, n. 1.
2. Oshimedomo. GSS 141, anon. In the GSS context the poem is simply
a lament for the passing of spring; the IM introduction makes it a love
poem: "I had prayed that my suffering might end soon, but already it is
the last day of spring—a spring far different from the one I had hoped
for." Arai, p. 777.
241
Notes to Pages 133-37
92
1. Ashibe \ogu. GYS 1272, Narihira. Perhaps a revision of KKS 732.
Arai, p. 779.
93
1. Onaona. KWR (ZKT 33960), anon.
94
1. A\i no yo wa. KWR (ZKT 33721), anon.
"Autumn nights" represents the new husband, "spring days" the old.
In classical Japanese literature, fog is associated with autumn and mist
with spring.
2. Chip no dki. "Maple leaves" represents the new husband, "cherry
blossoms" the old. The lady means that no man can be trusted.
95
1. Hi\oboshi ni. "The Herdsman Star is more fortunate than I. He can
at least cross the barrier once a year." For the legend of the Herdsman
Star and the Weaver Maid, see Sec. 59, n. 3.
96
1. A\i \a\ete. SCSS 736, anon.
Notes to Pages 137-38
98
1. The Chancellor traditionally has been identified as Fujiwara Yoshifusa (Arai, p. 822). This office, the highest in the court bureaucracy, had
remained vacant from 770 until Yoshifusa's appointment in 857. Following Yoshifusa's death in 872, there was another lapse until 880, when
Mototsune was appointed. Mototsune held the post until 891, after which
it was again unfilled until 936.
2. Wa ga tanomu. KKS 866, anon.; KWR (ZKT 33984), anon. First
line: Kagiri nakt.
The poem in the KKS /KWR version is a birthday wish for longevity.
In the IM context, it is possible to see a veiled reference to the pheasant
(Jktji) in line 4 (TOKI SHI TOO wa\anu).
This section figures in a famous passage in the fourteenth-century miscellany Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness), where the author discusses
the proper method of attaching a pheasant to a branch of plum blossoms.
Nishio, pp. 143-44, Sec. 66. Translated in Sansom, "The Tsuredzure Gusa
of Yoshida no Kaneyoshi," pp. 48-49.
99
1. Mizu mo arazu. KKS 476, Narihira, with a headnote closely resembling the IM introduction. "Tell me who you are."
2. Shiru shiranu. KKS 477, anon., "Reply"; KWR (ZKT 33387), anon.
"Why worry about my name? If you are really in love, you will find a
way of meeting me."
97
100
1. The Minister of State from Horikawa was Fujiwara Mototsune
(836-91), son of Nagara; adopted by Yoshifusa, whom he succeeded as
head of the Fujiwara family and principal figure at court. His main residence was in the Nijo Horikawa section of the capital. His fortieth birthday was celebrated in the spring of 875, while he was Minister of the
Right. (For Heian birthday celebrations, see Sec. 29, n. 1. Mototsune was
born in a Year of the Dragon.)
2. Thought to have been a secondary residence maintained in the capital by Mototsune. O/T, p. 169, n. 33; Arai, p. 814; Saeki, p. 170.
3. Narihira had become a Middle Captain in the First Month of that
year (875). He was 50.
4. Sakurabana. KKS 349, Narihira. Headnote: "Composed on the occasion of a fortieth birthday celebration for the Minister of State from Horikawa, held at the Ninth Ward House."
1. The Koroden and the Seiryoden were two buildings in the residential section of the imperial palace compound. The Seiryoden was the emperor's habitual residence; the Koroden, adjoining it on the west, opposite Immeimon Gate, was used by junior consorts and other ladies.
2. "Forgetting-grass." The literal meaning of wasuregusa, an old name
for the \anso, or day lily. See Sec. 21, n. 3.
3. "Herb of remembrance." The literal meaning of shinobugusa (also
shinobu). Shinobu as a botanical term can mean either (1) Davallia bullata, a kind of creeping, moss-like fern, sometimes said to have been used
in the dyeing process called shinobuzuri (Sec. 1, n. 2), or (2) Poly podium lineare, the plant now called nohishinobu. In classical poetry the
word usually means no\ishinobu, a common evergreen fern found growing on trees and the eaves of buildings, and in other shady places. The
242
243
Notes to Pages 138-39
Notes to Page 140
no\ishinobu has spear-like leaves resembling those of the day lily, and
the two plants apparently were sometimes confused. Arai, p. 838.
In the present episode, the lady pretends to be asking for help in identifying the plant, perhaps to settle an argument inside, but her question
is a discreet accusation: "You write as though you were still in love, but
you never come any more."
4. Wasuregusa. ShokuKKS 1270, Narihira. "You have mistaken my
feelings. I hope very much to be allowed to visit you again."
to the Kamo River on the west. Many aristocrats from the capital owned
villas there, and the name appears in numerous classical poems, often in
conjunction with references to quail and/or the autumn moon. The cremated remains of several later sovereigns and other members of the imperial family were deposited at Fukakusa, including, according to legend,
those of Prince Abo, Narihira's father. See also Sec. 123, n. 2.
2. Nenuru yo no. KKS 644, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 32882), Narihira.
Since this has always been regarded as one of Narihira's finest poems,
it is not clear why the text makes a point of criticizing it. Some medieval
scholars concluded that Narihira, the presumed author of IM, was simply
being modest. Other theories: (1) the comment, and the episode as a
whole, represent an attempt to pique the reader's interest by presenting
this well-known verse as an inept effort by a man utterly unlike Narihira; (2) the comment represents a moral judgment, either serious or
facetious. Arai, p. 857; O/T, p. 172, n. 9.
IOI
1. Brother of Narihira. See Sec. 79, n. 4; Sec. 87, n. 4.
2. Masachika was a courtier of middle rank who belonged to the Ceremonial house, one of the lesser branches of the Fujiwara. He had something of a reputation as a drinker, which was perhaps why he was selected as guest of honor. Arai, p. 847.
Masachika actually became Middle Controller of the Left in 874, when
Yukihira was no longer Commander of the Military Guards of the Left.
The Chancellor, Yoshifusa, had died two years earlier. Arai, p. 848.
3. Sa\u hana no. GYS 1066, Narihira. The wording varies slightly.
The fuji of Fujiwara means wisteria.
102
i. The first prerequisite for a poet was sensitivity in human relationships.
2. Somu\u tote. KWR (ZKT 32309), anon.; SGSIS 1302, Narihira.
"Unlike the Taoist immortals of Chinese legend, who ride on clouds,
you have not escaped the world altogether; nevertheless, you are enviably free of troublesome distractions now that you have become a holy
recluse." (For the characteristics of immortals, see O/T, p. 202, supp.
n. 92.)
3. The sentence is probably an interpolation. It refers to Princess Tenshi (Sec. 69, n. 3). Whether or not the princess became a nun is unknown. Arai, p. 853.
103
1. Emperor Nimmyo (r. 833-50), so called from the location of his
tomb at Mt. Fukakusa, a hill near the ancient Inari Shrine on the KyotoFushimi highway in what was formerly Kii District, Yamashiro Province
(now Fukakusa Kawara-cho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto City).
Fukakusa, or Fukakusa no sato ([Village of] Deep Grass), was an old
name for the region at the southwest base of Inari Mountain, extending
244
104
1. The regular festival of Kamo Shrine, held annually on the last Day
of the Cock in the Fourth Month. During the Heian period, it was the
great public event of the year.
"Kamo Shrine" is actually two shrines about 1 km. apart, Upper Kamo
and Lower Kamo, which in the Heian period were outside the capital
near the Kamo River, the historic stream that flows southward through
the eastern sector of the present city of Kyoto. (In the Heian period the
river's course was just east of the capital. The Lower Shrine is at the
present Shimokamo Miyakawa-cho in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto; the Upper Shrine
is upstream at Kamikamo, Kita-ku.)
Kamo Shrine, a Shinto institution of great antiquity, began to figure
prominently in the social, religious, and political life of the ruling class
soon after the establishment of the Heian capital, probably because it had
become the tutelary shrine of the Hata, the richest and most powerful
family in the Kyoto area during the eighth century, without whose financial assistance the move to Heian would have been impossible. In 813 a
daughter of Emperor Saga became the first Kamo Virgin, with functions
and status similar to those of the Ise Virgin—a unique honor for the
shrine. Around the same time the traditional Kamo Festival was made
an official event, in which the Virgin played a central role.
From die beginning of the Fourth Month on, preparations for the festival involved almost every member of the nobility, whether officially or
unofficially. The emperor and the Virgin performed purification rituals,
dancers and musicians rehearsed, guards officers were assigned to special
ceremonial watches, offerings were prepared, and costumes, carriages,
245
Note to Page 140
Notes to Pages 140-41
and horse trappings of the utmost magnificence were assembled in every
aristocratic household, eitlier for use in the official ceremonies or to impress fellow spectators.
The most important preliminary event was the Virgin's purification,
which took place on a Hare or Sheep day at a spot on the Kamo River
selected by court diviners. On the day of the purification, after the emperor had personally inspected the fore riders' horses and the ox for the
Virgin's carriage, a procession viewed by large crowds moved from the
imperial palace to the Virgin's official residence at Murasakino (north of
the capital about halfway between the Upper and Lower Shrines), and
on to die river, where the ceremony took place.
On the Day of the Cock, the festival day itself, the focal point of interest was not the religious ritual performed at the Lower Shrine and duplicated at die Upper, but rather the great procession of military and civil
officials, court ladies, and attendants, some walking and others mounted
on elaborately caparisoned horses or riding in ox-drawn carriages, and
all brilliandy costumed in formal robes, with headgear, mounts, and
carriages decorated with flowers and leaves. The principal figure in the
procession as it left the palace was the Imperial Messenger, who was
charged with reading the emperor's message to the gods from a vermilion scroll. Other leading participants were the officials responsible for
the offerings to be presented and for the horses to be paraded for the
gods' enjoyment. In the latter part of the Heian period there were also
special emissaries from the empress and crown prince, each with his own
attendants. The Virgin, borne in state on a litter from her Murasakino
residence, joined the procession with her retinue as it progressed slowly
along the great Ichijo Avenue. Crowds of townsmen and peasants filled
the streets and overflowed onto housetops and trees. Gorgeously attired
ladies, courtiers, and exalted personages sat in lacquered carriages or luxurious viewing stands, while their lackeys jostled against the commoners
in an excited, unruly mass through which the Imperial Police, marching
in the vanguard, cleared a passage. The houses along the way, the carriages and viewing stands, and the spectators were all gaily decked with
garlands of real and artificial flowers, leaves of the \atsura tree (Cercidiphyllum japonicum, a relative of the Judas-tree), and especially the
aoi leaves that gave the festival its popular name, "Aoi Festival." (Confusion between the jutaba-aoi [Asarum caulescens Maxim], whose leaves
were used as decorations for the Kamo Festival, and the tachi-aoi, or
hollyhock [Althea rosea], has led to the common mistranslation "Hollyhock Festival." Unlike the hollyhock, the jutaba-aoi is a creeping, ivylike plant with attractive pairs of heart-shaped leaves growing directly
from rooted horizontal stems. During the flowering season in May, a
tiny reddish-purple bell-shaped blossom appears between each pair of
leaves. See Kitamura et al., II, 321 and Plate 68 facing p. 315.)
At each of the two shrines the Virgin ceremoniously paid her respects,
the Imperial Messenger intoned the rescript praising the gods and requesting their continued favor, offerings and dances were presented, and
horses were paraded and raced. The Virgin spent the night at the Upper
Shrine, and on the following day there was another procession, the Return, less formal but equally colorful, which also attracted throngs of
spectators. The Return culminated in a lavish banquet at the imperial
palace, with rewards for the participants.
The office of Kamo Virgin was discontinued early in the Kamakura
period (1185-1333), but the Kamo Festival, centering around the Imperial Messenger, has continued witfi some lapses to the present day. For
a detailed description of the festival in English, marred by some inaccuracies, see Ponsonby-Fane, pp. 219-26; for a reliable account by a modern Japanese scholar, see Ishimura, I, 225-30.
2. Yo o umi no demonstrates a kind of sophisticated preoccupation
with language and technique often found in run-of-the-mill Heian poetry. In addition to one pivot word (hito) pertinent to the meaning of
the poem as translated, it contains a series of puns that produce a rather
vague and pointless second meaning: "Fisher girl toiling on the sea, let
me eat some of the seaweed you harvest." (Hito means both the lady
and the crowd. Line 3 of the translation might read, "Now that I see
you watching the throng.") O/T, p. 172, n. 15; Arai, pp. 860-61.
3. The last sentence, missing in some texts, is believed to be an interpolation. See Sec. 102, n. 3.
246
105
1. Shiratsuyu wa. SSZS 317, Otomo Yakamochi. Attribution doubtful.
Arai, p. 864.
"Die if you must. Even if you don't, you are not the sort of person to
interest me."
106
1. The Tatsuta River is famous in classical literature as a place for
viewing autumn leaves. The present Tatsuta River, known as the Ikoma
in its upper reaches, is a minor stream about 16 km. long, flowing
through Ikoma District in northwestern Nara Prefecture (Yamato Province) to join the Yamato River at Tatsuta Township. There are said to
be 10,000 maples and other trees with highly colored foliage along its
course. Scholars now believe, however, that the Tatsuta River celebrated
by poets was a stretch of the Yamato River somewhat below the confluence of the two streams (in the vicinity of what is now Tachino in
Sango Village, Ikoma District); it was familiar to pilgrims and other
travelers because of the presence of Tatsuta Shrine and of Tatsuta Cross-
247
Notes to Pages 141-42
Notes to Pages 142-44
ing, the major route across the mountains from Yamato to Kawachi
Province. (See also Sec. 23, n. 4.) DCJ, IV, 3880; Arai, p. 865.
2. Chihayaburu. KKS 294, Narihira. One of two verses preceded by
the notation: "Topic: A picture of autumn leaves floating on the Tatsuta
River, painted on a screen owned by the Empress from the Second Ward.
Composed while the empress was still known as the Mother of the
Crown Prince."
causes tlie waves.) Presumably the text means not that the lady is repeating a verse of her own composition but that she is quoting the famous
Tsurayuki.
2. Yoi goto ni. The cricket's chirp, the frog's croak, the warbler's song,
the call of the wild goose—all were thought to express sadness, and all
were rendered by the verb na\u ("weep, wail"), which, for wildlife as
for humans, carried the connotation of shedding tears. The poet is saying
that the tears shed by countless frogs night after night have raised the
water level in the rice paddies. The poem can be interpreted as a sympathetic response ("Much against my will, I have been prevented from visiting you; I too have shed many tears") or a rather perfunctory one
("I have done nothing to make you cry; all this water is your own
fault"). O/T, p. 203, supp. n. 97; Arai, p. 883.
107
1. Toshiyuki (d. 901 or 907), a member of the lesser branch of the
Fujiwara called the Southern house, served at court under five emperors,
beginning with Seiwa, and ultimately achieved the post of Commander
of the Military Guards of die Right with Junior Fourth Upper Rank.
His career was probably aided by his reputation as a calligrapher and
poet. He was one of die important calligraphers of the Heian period
and, in the early eleventi century, was named one of the Thirty-Six
Poetic Geniuses. Twenty-eight of his poems are preserved in imperial
anthologies, including 19 in KKS.
2. Tsurezure no. KKS 617, Toshiyuki; KWR (ZKT 31336), Toshiyuki. KKS headnote: "Sent to a lady serving in Narihira's house."
Nagame is a pivot word meaning both "revery" and "long rain."
Line 4 can mean eidier "My sleeves are completely soaked" or "Only
my sleeves are wet." The reply takes it in the second sense.
3. Asami \oso. KKS 618, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 32931), Narihira.
KKS headnote: "A reply composed on the lady's behalf."
4. Kazukazu ni. KKS 705, Narihira; KWR (ZKT 31352), Narihira.
The KKS headnote resembles the IM introduction.
This poem, typical of Narihira's terse, enigmatic style, has been variously interpreted. Some writers suggest that the girl has been practicing
a kind of "he loves me, he loves me not" divination, i.e., "If it rains, it's
a sign that he doesn't love me," or that ante ("rain") functions also as
a metaphor for tears—"I fear that his love is insincere, and thus my tears
fall faster than the raindrops." My translation accepts another interpretation: "I shall soon know whether or not you love me. If you do, you
won't mind getting wet." Kubota, KKS II, 432-34; O/T, p. 203, supp.
n. 96; Arai, p. 873; B/M, p. 161.
108
1. Kaze ju\eba. SKKS 1040, Ki no Tsurayuki.
In the IM context, wind and waves become metaphors for the man's
fickleness and the lady's tears. (Line 1 means literally "Because the wind
blows," i.e. "Because you are constantly seeking new interests." The wind
248
109
1. Hana yori mo. KKS 850, Ki no Mochiyuki; KWR (ZKT 33334),
III
1. lnishie wa. SCSS 631, anon. "I had never met the dead person; yet
I feel a sense of loss." ("I have never met you; yet I find myself in love.")
2. Shitahimo no. GSS 703, anon.; KWR (ZKT 34195), anon.
The poem alludes to an old popular belief that when a lady's undersash came untied it was a sign that someone loved her. Cf. MYS 2808,
which shows that itchy eyebrows and sneezes were also auspicious auguries:
Mayone kaki
As I approached,
Hana hi himo toke
Burning with impatient love,
Materi ya mo
Did you, perchance, waiting,
Itsu ka mo mimu to
Scratch your eyebrows or sneeze?
Koikoshi ware o.
Or did your under-sash come loose?
3. Koishi to wa. GSS 702, Ariwara Motokata (d. 953, grandson of Narihira); KWR (ZKT 34194), anon.
In some IM texts the last two poems are missing; in others they constitute a separate section with a one-sentence introduction, "Once a man
sent this to a cruel lady," and with their order reversed, as in GSS. It
appears likely that the common texts are corrupt here. Arai, pp. 893-94.
112
I. Suma no ama no. KKS 708, anon.; KWR (ZKT 31666 and 32637),
249
Notes to Pages 144-45
Notes to Page 14$
anon. Line i in K W R : he no ama no. "Gale" is a metaphor for another
man; "smoke" symbolizes the lady.
This is a famous poem about a famous place. Suma, now incorporated
in Suma Ward in western Kobe, first became known to the Japanese
aristocracy as a post station on the road leading west from the capital.
Its picturesque white beaches and green pines, facing the island of Awaji
across Akashi Strait, were admired by noble travelers and excursionists
in the Heian period, and references to it are common in classical literature. A celebrated episode in The Tale of Genji, dealing with Prince
Genji's banishment to Suma and his subsequent adventures there, was
perhaps inspired by the actual temporary exile of Narihira's brother,
Yukihira (for reasons unknown), which in the medieval period was also
made the subject of one of the finest plays in the No repertoire, Matsu\aze (Pine Breeze).
in summer.) Emperor Koko's excursion in the winter of 886 took place
in a violent snowstorm that lasted all day. T h e emperor left the palace in
his litter around 4 A.M. with a large escort, reached the hunting grounds
some three hours later, and remained until dusk, sipping wine and watching the hawks wheel and pounce among the whirling snowflakes. He
dined at a neighboring villa owned by a Fujiwara noble (who received
a promotion for his hospitality a few days later), and after distributing
presents to members of his party he returned to the capital late at night,
with snow frosting the horses' manes and clinging to the elegant costumes of the riders. SJ, p. 621.
3. In the capital area there were two small rivers named Serikawa,
neither of which now exists. One, in the former Kadono District of Yamashiro Province (now incorporated in Ukyo-ku in the northwestern
sector of Kyoto City), flowed through Saga to a confluence with the
Oigawa River. The other traversed part of the old Kii District of Yamashiro (the portion now in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto) near the Seinan Shrine,
i.e., in the vicinity of the famous Toba Palace built late in the Heian
period. Various emperors are believed to have hunted on the plains near
both rivers, and it is not always clear which is meant when the name
Serikawa appears in a classical text. The one near the Seinan Shrine
seems to have been the more favored by imperial hunting parties, who
are frequently reported to have hunted at "Serikawa and Katano" (Katano was relatively close to this river [See Sec. 82, n. 3 ] ) , and perhaps
for that reason, most IM commentators say that Emperor Koko hunted
there, and not at Saga, in 886. For reasons discussed in note 4, the
assumption seems questionable.
4. Okinasabi. GSS 1077, Ariwara Yukihira; K W R (ZKT 34153), Yukihira.
A gaily figured hunting costume (suri\ariglnu) was prescribed attire
for imperial falconers. Yukihira means that the dress is too flamboyant
for a man of his age. He was 68 in 886; the emperor was 56. Some IM
texts say that the poem was scribbled next to the picture of a crane on
Yukihira's sleeve.
' T h e crane pursued by the hawk seems to be crying, *My life must end
today.' I am afraid you find me most inappropriately clad, but for me,
as for the crane, this is the end; from now on I shall no longer serve as
an imperial falconer. I hope, therefore, that you will forgive my appearance."
In GSS the poem appears in the following context, with another poem
by Yukihira:
113
1. Naga\aranu. SCSS 953, anon. The poem can be interpreted either
as a deserted husband's complaint or as self-criticism by a widower who
finds himself forgetting his dead wife. O / T , p. 176, n. 6.
114
1. Emperor Koko (830-87; r. 884-87), so called from the era name in
use during most of his brief reign (Ninna, 885-89).
2. Probably a hawking expedition undertaken by Emperor Koko in
the Twelfth Month of 886. Hawking on the plains near the capital was
a pastime enjoyed by many Heian emperors. Emperor Kammu is said to
have hunted 123 times over a 20-year period, Emperor Saga hunted 73
times and wrote the first Japanese book on the art of falconry, and a
number of sovereigns had favorite hawks whose names are still remembered. T h e imperial hunts were colorful, large-scale events joined by
members of the central aristocracy, provincial officials, and attendants
of various sorts. The chief role of most of the noble participants apparently was to escort the imperial litter and gallop across the fields on
spirited horses. The actual hunting was done by five or six mounted
falconers who managed the hawks (usually, as in Europe, the females
of large species such as the peregrine falcon), and by another half dozen
men on foot, who led dogs trained to retrieve the game.
Falconry was primarily a winter sport, though some hunting was done
in the fall. (The winter hunting, called "big hawking" \ota\agari\, was
for wild ducks, wild geese, pheasants, cranes, and other large birds. At
the autumn "little hawking" [\ota\agari\, quail, skylarks, and other
small birds were taken. There were occasional hunts in the spring, none
250
On the day when the Ninna Emperor went to the Serikawa River in
accordance with a precedent set by Emperor Saga [commentators agree
that this was the hunt of 886]:
251
Notes to Page 145
Saga no yama
Miyuki taenishi
Serikawa no
Chiyo no furumichi
Ato wa arikeri.
There are new traces in the snow
Blanketing the ancient path
Beside the Serikawa River
In Saga's hills
Where once an emperor passed.
Serving as a falconer on the same day, Yukihira wore a hunting costume
on which this verse was inscribed next to a picture of a crane:
Okinasabi...
Let none find fault...
On the day after the hunt, Yukihira formally asked to be relieved of his
duties.
The Serikawa near the Seinan Shrine is known to have been Emperor
Saga's destination on some of his 73 hunting excursions, but Yukihira's
first poem seems to show that Emperor Saga had also hunted at the Saga
Serikawa, and that Saga was the scene of Emperor Koko's hunt in 886.
(It should be noted that the plain in the vicinity of the Saga Serikawa
was known as Serikawano [Serikawa Plain], and that it is to Serikawano
that SJ, the official history, describes Emperor Koko as going. I have not
found Serikawano as a name for the area around the Serikawa in Kii
District.) NCD, IV, 3627; DCJ, I, 147; Kubota, SKKS, II, 149; SJ, p.
621; O/T, p. 176, n. 8; Arai, p. 900; Kamata, pp. 485-86.
"5
1. Okinoite Miyakojima (or Miyakoshima). Unknown. Possibly one
place; possibly two. Some IM texts have Okinoi for Okinoite. O/T, p. 177,
n. 21, and p. 204, supp. n. 100.
2. 0\i no ite. KKS 1104, Ono no Komachi. "Subject: Okinoi Miyakoshima."
The two words which are the poem's topic are concealed in line 1
(OKI NO ITE, "searing with red-hot coals") and line 4 (MIYAKO SHIMA^,
"capital and [distant, lonely] island-fringed shore").
Komachi's poem was probably addressed to someone about to leave
Kyoto for the provinces:
More bitter than the anguish
Of flesh seared by fiery coals
Is this parting—
One to remain in the capital
And one to visit lonely shores.
In some IM texts the episode has a happy ending: "The man was so
impressed that he stayed there." Arai, p. 908.
252
Notes to Pages 146-47
116
1. Namima yori. MYS 2753, anon.; KWR (ZKT 35156), anon.; SIS
856, anon. In all these collections, and in some IM texts, line 3 reads
hamahisakj. (or hamahisagi), "the hisdki trees on the beach." Hisa\i is
identified by some scholars with dkamegashira [Mallotus japonicus], one
of a genus of tropical Asiatic and Australian trees found from central
Honshu south. (Other theories: miscellaneous trees, brushwood, the Indian bean.) Hamabisashi ("beach eaves," translated "the eaves of a cottage by the shore") does not make much sense and is probably a corruption.
The first three lines are a preface introducing hisashi\u.
117
1. Sumiyoshi. See Sec. 68, n. 1.
2. Ware mite mo. KKS 905, anon. The poet, in praising the ancient
Pine of Sumiyoshi, pays homage to the god who inhabits the tree.
3. Mutsumashi to. SKKS 1857, anon. Shiranami ("not knowing") conceals shiranami ("white waves"), an associative word referring to the
shrine's location on the shore of Naniwa Bay. The "sacred fence" at a
Shinto shrine encloses the area in which the god dwells.
118
i. Tama\azura. KKS 709, anon.; KWR (ZKT 33484), anon.
119
1. Katami \oso. KKS 746, anon.
120
1. Omi naru. SIS 1219, anon. The poet refers to a legend concerning
the annual spring festival of Tsukuma Shrine in Omi, at which every
grown female parishioner was supposedly required to appear, on pain of
divine displeasure, carrying as many pots on her head as she had had
lovers or husbands—the purpose of the ceremony being to discourage
remarriage. The parade and subsequent presentation to the shrine of
cooking vessels seem in fact to have represented a survival of earlier
rituals centering around food. A food deity was worshipped at the shrine,
and in pre-Heian times offerings of agricultural implements and pots and
kettles were regularly presented there. The shrine was also the religious
protector of a local branch of the Palace Table Office that furnished salted lake fish for court use from the ninth century to the eleventh.
253
Notes to Pages 147-48
Notes to Pages 149-51
Tsukuma Shrine still survives in Maibara Township, Sakata District,
Shiga Prefecture. The "Pot Festival," as it is popularly known, is now
dominated by small girls in Heian costumes who march beside the sacred
palanquin wearing bowl-shaped cardboard hats. Arai, p. 929; O/T, p.
179, n. 18, and p. 204, supp. n. 103; NRD, XIII, 71.
One hesitates, however, to suggest the substitution of "Dense Herbaceous
Vegetation.")
3. No to naraba. KKS 972, anon., "Reply." KWR (ZKT 32051), anon.
Kari ni means "temporarily" and "for a hunt."
121
1. Umetsubo ("Plum Court"). A building northwest of the Seiryoden
(Sec. 100, n. 1) in the imperial residential compound, used primarily by
court ladies in the performance of their official duties. Its gardens were
planted with red and white plum trees, hagi (bush clover) and yatnabu\i (Kerria japonica).
2. Uguisu no ... \isete \aesan. The poem refers to an old song (saibard) about warblers {uguisu, sometimes translated "nightingale") and
their fondness for plum blossoms:
Aoyagi o
Kataito ni yorite
Uguisu no
Nuu cho kasa wa
Mume no hanagasa.
Plum blossom hats!
Those are the bonnets
Warblers sew for themselves,
Twisting green willows
To make their thread.
O/T, p. 179, n. 20; KKS 1081.
122
i. Yamashiro no. KWR (ZKT 33979), anon.; SKKS 1367, anon. The
first part of the poem—"I have scooped up the clear water of Tamamizu
at Ide in Yamashiro; I have drunk it from my hands"—serves as a preface to musubi tanomishi, which means both "scooped up and drank from
hands" and "made a compact and relied on it." O/T, p. 179, n. 24.
Tamamizu ("Excellent Water") is the name of an area in Ide Township, Tsuzuki District, Kyoto Prefecture.
123
1. See Sec. 103, n. 1.
2. Toshi o hete. KKS 971, Narihira. The translation fails to convey the
full meaning of Narihira's last two lines, which might be paraphrased
as follows: "[My garden] is already badly overgrown (itodo jukfikusd).
I wonder if it will finally turn into a wilderness {itodo ju\a\usa no to
ya narinan)—if it will revert to being a part of Fukakusano, the Plain
of Deep Grass." ("Deep Grass," the conventional translation for Fukakusa, is misleading, since \usa is a general term for all herbaceous plants.
254
124
1. Omou \oto. SCSS 1126, Narihira.
125
1. Tsui ni yu\u. KKS 861, Narihira. One of the best known of all classical poems. See B/M, p. 203.
127
1. Ohara ya. The meaning of se\ai is unknown. See O/T, p. 182, n. 1.
Ohara, a place frequently mentioned in classical poetry, is north of
Yase in the present Sakyo-ku, Kyoto. See Sec. 83, n. 4.
128
1. Ko\oro o zo. KKS 685, Kiyowara Fukayabu (late 9th c.-early 10th
c ) ; KWR (ZKT 33561), Fukayabu. Lines 4 and 5 in KKS, KWR, and
one group of IM texts read Miru mono \ara ya I Koishi\arube\i.
The poem as it appears in KKS might be paraphrased, "The human
heart is strange. Why should I feel this longing for you when you are
here beside me?" In the IM context it means that the man, though deeply
in love with the woman he has been visiting, also finds himself attracted
to a stranger. O/T, p. 182, n. 5; Saeki, p. 237; Kubota, KKS, II, 402.
129
1. Western Palace (Nishi-no-in, Saiin) was an area in the capital corresponding roughly to the present Saiin district of Ukyo-ku, Kyoto, so
called from an alternative name used of the Junna Palace, a secondary
residence built by Emperor Junna during the first half of the ninth century. Watanabe and Koichi, pp. 445-46, supp. n. 43.
2. Wa ga ie wa. The poem may mean that the lady lives in the Western Palace or some other imperial establishment inaccessible to ordinary
people.
130
1. Nafazora ni. SKKS 1369, anon. Almost identical with the last poem
in Sec. 21.
255
Notes to Pages 152-54
Notes to Page 152
Since there is no village
Untouched
By the coming of spring,
Why does one see flowers
Blooming and not blooming?
131
1. lma wa tote. KKS 782, Ono no Komachi; GSS 450, anon. (The
wording varies slightly.)
The rich texture and subtle overtones of this brilliant poem by Komachi defeat translation, raise questions of interpretation, and force paraphrase and conjecture upon the commentator.
Line 1. lma wa tote (translated "now that") can be taken either as a
reference to the poet's condition, namely, she is about to become an old
woman, or as the man's reaction to that condition—"It's time to break
with her."
Lines 2 and 3. Shigure no, "of die late autumn rains," functions as a
preface for juri- (a pivot word meaning "growing old" and "falling," as
rain); it is irrelevant to the main sense of lines 2 and 3, which is simply,
"I am growing old." Furi- perhaps carries the implication that the author
is shedding tears.
Lines 4 and 5. In the first three lines Komachi has observed the convention that a poem sent to someone else expresses the author's feelings
through reference to some aspect of nature immediately at hand. In her
last two lines she extends the imagery to the recipient and his emotions:
Koto no ha sae zo utsuroini\eru (literally, "even your words have
changed," i.e. "the sentiments that inspired your vows have altered")
relates the man's feelings to the natural world by plays on words. The
ha of \oto no ha ("words") suggests the homophonous ha, "leaf," so
that the lines might be paraphrased, "The leaves, faded by the rains of
late autumn, are not the only things that have lost color. The color (iro,
also "love") has even gone out of your vows." (Because utsurou can
mean both "change" and "fade," some commentators interpret the last
two lines differently: "Just as the late autumn rains bring fall color to
the leaves, so my advancing years have changed the color of your affections.") O/T, p. 183, n. 16; Saeki, p. 256; Kubota, KKS, III, 501.
2. Ki no Sadafun. Unknown. The author of Hito o omou is listed in
KKS as Ono no Sadaki, a contemporary of Komachi.
3. Hito o omou. KKS 783, Ono no Sadaki (fl. ca. 850), "Reply." Line
2: Ko\oro \o no ha ni. In the KKS version, line 2 of the translation
becomes "But a leaf from a tree."
"If I were as fickle as you think, perhaps I might turn to someone else,
but you are wrong to doubt my love."
132
1. Haru no hi no. KKS 93, anon. First line: Haru no iro no.
The KKS version:
256
The KKS poem shows the influence of fashionable Chinese poetry of
the Six Dynasties period, both in vocabulary (haru no iro is a direct
translation of ch'un-se, "spring scenery") and in the self-consciously analytical and clever manner in which the topic is approached. This is no
lyric outburst springing from direct personal experience, but rather an
exercise in philosophy. "Flowers are known to appear in spring. It is
spring now. How does it happen, then, that some plants have failed to
bloom?"
In IM, hi ("sun") may have been substituted for iro in order to allude
to a place in the Nara area—namely Kasuga, written with the characters
for "spring" and "sun." The relevance of the poem to the IM context is
not clear. Possibly the text means that the man, having earlier become
annoyed with the lady, either because she had resisted his advances or
because he suspected her of infidelity, is now saying to her, "All nature
smiles in spring. Why must you alone be unkind?" O/T, p. 183, n. 21;
Kubota, KKS, I, 230; Saeki, p. 121.
133
1. During the Heian period a girl came of age when a train was formally added to her costume. The usual age for the ceremony, called uimo
("first train") or mogi ("putting on the train"), was from 11 to 13. See
Ishimura, I, 165.
J
34
1. Wa ga yado ni. MYS 1448, Yakamochi; KWR (ZKT 34464), Yakamochi.
J
35
1. Tsu\i shi areba. MYS 2665, anon.; KWR (ZKT 33586), anon. O/T,
p. 184, n. 10.
136
1. Omoitsutsu. MYS 2931, anon. Thought to have been written by a
woman (Takagi, III, 274). The attribution to Yukihira is clearly incorrect.
"Black as leopard-flower berries" translates the stock epithet mubatama
257
Notes to Pages 154-56
no, derived from mubatama (also nubatama), the small, black, glossy
fruit of the leopard flower or blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis [L.]
D C ; Jap. hyogi).
2. Konu hito o. "You say that you are anxious to see me; yet you never
come."
137
r. Yuzu\uyo. MYS 2664, anon. Line 2: A\ato\iyami no. Line 5: Na
omoi\ane ni.
The first two lines, omitted in the translation, constitute a preface for
asa\age ("shadows cast by the morning s u n " ) : "Shadows cast by the sun
on a morning that has dawned after a moonless night." In the MYS version, yuzu\uyo (a night on which the moon rises early in the evening
and sets around midnight) is a pillow word for a\ato\iyami ("darkness
toward dawn"). In the IM version the pillow word is retained but deprived of some of its force by the substitution of a\atsu\igata ("toward
dawn") for a\ato\iyami.
J
39
1. lza sa\ura. KKS 77, the monk Soku (fl. ca. 880); KWR (ZKT
35041), die monk Sosei (fl. late 9th c.-early 10th a ) .
2. Isasame ni. "Cherry blossoms" is a metaphor for "women."
140
1. Watercourse bamboo (\awata\e). Bamboo growing beside an artificial stream in the east garden of the Seiryoden, the imperial residence.
2. Sayo fu\ete. KKS 452, Prince Kagenori (fl. 1st half 10th a ) . "Topic:
Kawata\e."
T h e * awa of the topic is concealed in nakaba, "halfway" {wa and ba
are written with the same sign and were originally identical in sound);
ta\e appears as a homophone meaning "about, quite, just."
141
1. Tsukushi. An old name for Kyushu.
2. Miyakfi yori. Ogawa ("string-leather") and hashi ("tip") are associative words (engo); ogawa can also mean "small stream"; hashi,
"bridge."
142
1. Omoitsutsu. KKS 552, Ono no Komachi; K W R (ZKT 32881), Komachi. See O/T, p. 187, n. 22; B/M, p. 274.
258
Notes to Pages 156-65
M3
1. Aki no yo mo. KKS 635, Ono no Komachi; KWR (ZKT 33571),
Komachi. The wording differs slightly.
NOTES TO APPENDIX A
1. The poem expresses gratitude for the lady's past kindnesses, an appropriate gesture for the New Year season. "Spring" alludes to "Spring
Palace," a name for the crown prince's residence.
2. Prince Koresada (d. 903) was a son of Emperor Koko. The poem is
one of 90, all on the subject "Autumn," surviving from this contest.
3. There is a play on the Chinese characters for "wind" and "mountain," which together form the character for "storm."
4. The flowers are the white crests of the waves.
5. The word medo (also medohagi, a type of bush clover) is concealed
in line 2. The poem also contains elaborate word plays that give the last
two lines a hidden meaning: "I should like to hope for an official post
that would rescue me from obscurity and enable me to rise in the world."
6. Sun is a metaphor for emperor. The Fukakusa Emperor, so called
from the location of his grave, was Emperor Nimmyo, who died at the
early age of 40. For Fukakusa, see Sec. 103, n. 1 and Sec. 123, n. 2.
7. Nishi-no-6dera, better known as Saiji. It stood near Rashomon Gate
in the capital, opposite the Eastern Temple (Toji), which still survives
in Shimokyo-ku, Kyoto.
8. T h e poem was written while Henjo held a clerical office at Kazan
Temple (Kazanji, also called Gangyoji) on the outskirts of the capital
(now in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto). Shiga Temple (Shigadera, also called
Siifukuji) was in Otsu, across the mountains from Kazan.
9. "Since I find ladies most agreeable, I have been unable to resist a
flower with such an attractive name. But do not suppose that I am going
to break my vow of celibacy; I have no intention of singling out a real
lady in this manner."
The "maiden flower" or ominaeshi {Patrinia scabiosaefolia), one of
the famous "seven grasses of autumn," is a long-stemmed perennial that
bears clusters of small yellow flowers.
10. Henjo's mother was a widow, thus line 1.
n. Henjo was at one time abbot of Urin'in Temple in Murasakino,
a subsidiary of Kazanji (n. 8 above). The poem implies that the author
has been caught in a rain shower, which is making the leaves fall.
12. The subject, \utani, is concealed in line 2. The plant is now unknown.
250
Notes to Pages 165-86
Notes to Pages 186-92
13. Here and in the following poem, KKS 771, Henjo pretends to be
a woman.
14. The word higurashi, "cicada," is concealed in omoi%urashi, "spending the day longing for someone."
15. The Gosechi dancers, young girls of good family, presented their
performances in conjunction with the Thanksgiving Festival ceremonies
in the Eleventh Month.
16. For maiden flowers, see n. 9 above.
17. According to a folk belief, this would make her dream about him.
For the pillow word, see Sec. 136, n. 1.
18. See Sec. 25.
19. Translation from B/M, p. 188.
20. Since ura min, "wishing to see the shore," is homophonous with
uramin, "feeling angry," the last two lines also mean "Why do you persist in saying that you are angry with me?"
21. See Sec. 131.
22. Translation from B/M, p. 205.
23. Puns on a\i, tanomi, and wa ga mi produce an alternative meaning: "How bitter it is that the man I trusted has tired of me; I shall, I
fear, soon be utterly forgotten."
24. Translation from B/M, p. 222.
25. Translation from B/M, p. 206.
26. See Sec. 115.
fairly closely. See IB2 and IV below. For a detailed survey in English
of Tokugawa and earlier IM studies, see Vos, I, 101-14.
5. Ikeda, Ise monogatari ni tsu\ite no \en\yu; Otsu. For details see
Fukui, p. 56. See also Vos, I, 115-16.
6. See Fukui, pp. 62-108; O / T , pp. 97-99; Vos, I, 78-87. For this category of texts and others mentioned below, Fukui provides exhaustive,
authoritative discussions that include descriptions and appraisals of the
work of other scholars. O / T contains useful brief summaries. Vos's Vol. I
contains generally reliable and fairly full English summaries based for
the most part on Ikeda's research (and thus somewhat out of date).
7. Vos, I, 82; Fukui, pp. 65ff.
8. Ikeda, Ise monogatari ni tsukite no \en\yu, II, 337.
9. Fukui, pp. 108-29; O / T , pp. 96-97; Vos, I, 88-91.
10. Fukui, p. 120.
11. K6taigo-no-miya Echigo text and Koshikibu no Naishi text. T h e
former appears to have resembled the 125-episode lines (Fukui, p. 170).
For the latter, see below.
12. Fukui, p. 120.
13. Fukui, p. 124.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. Fukui, pp. 129-42; O / T , p. 95; Vos, I, 91-92.
18. Fukui, p. 129.
19. Fukui, pp. i34ff.
20. For this reason, the short texts are usually called Suzaku Palace
Storehouse (Suzakuin Nurigome) texts. "Suzaku Palace Storehouse" has
also traditionally been an alternative designation for any IM version beginning with the episode about a young man recently come of age (Sec.
1 in the present translation). Such versions are otherwise known as
"Putting on the Cap of Manhood" (ui\oburi) texts, as opposed to the
second major category described by Kensho and others, the "Imperial
Huntsman" (\ari no tsukai) texts, which begin with Sec. 6g.
21. Fukui, pp. 150-53; O / T , p. 99; Vos, I, 87-88.
22. Vos, I, 87.
23. Yotsutsuji Yoshinari (1329-1402), Ka\aisho, a commentary on The
Tale of Genji.
NOTES TO APPENDIX B
1. See the Introduction, notes 57 and 60.
2. Late in the Kamakura period, scholars began to mention seven families of IM texts associated with the names of prominent court figures,
usually identified as follows (sometimes a slightly different list was
given): Narihira holograph, Prince Tomohira's text, Abe Moroyasu's
text, Kamo Naishi's text, the nun K6 Nii's text, the Ise Chusho text,
Nagato's "Imperial Huntsman" text. It is uncertain whether texts by
those names actually existed, and if so, whether they represented separate
traditions. By Tokugawa times nothing was known about them.
3. Most IM texts were written in hiragana, a kana system derived from
whole Chinese characters written in cursive form. Katakana, the other
main kana system, derives from elements of Chinese characters selected
for their phonetic values. (For a brief discussion of the Japanese writing
system, see Reischauer and Fairbank, pp. 511-15.)
4. Yashiro's third and fourth texts probably resembled Teika texts
260
261
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266
Index of First Lines
Ada nari to (IM 17), 82
Aimite wa (IM 22), 87
Aiomowade (IM 24), 90
Akanaku ni (IM 82), 10, 126, 180
Akanedomo (IM 78), 123
Aki kakete (IM 96), 136
Aki no no ni/namamekitateru, 167
Aki no no ni/sasa wakeshi asa no
(IM25),9i, 176
Aki no yo mo (IM 143), 156, 168
Aki no yo no .. ./naseri tomo
(IM22X87
Aki no yo no .. ./nazuraete (IM 22),
87
Aki no yo wa (IM 94), 134
Aki ya kuru (IM 16), 82
Akikaze ni, 170
Ama no karu (IM 65), 113
Ama no sumu, 169
Amagumo no/yoso ni mo hito no
(IM 19), 83
Amagumo no/yoso ni nomi shite
(IM 19), 84
Amata araba (IM 133), 153
Amatsu kaze, 166
Aoyagi no, 34
Aoyagi o, 254
Aratama no (IM 24), 90
Arenikeri (IM 58), 107
Asamikoso (IM 107), 141, 176
Asamidori, 162
Asatsuyu wa (IM 50), 104
Ashibe kogu (IM 92), 133
Ashibe yori (IM 33), 94
Ashinoya no (IM 87), 130
Au koto wa (IM 30), 93
Aware cho, 171
Ayame kari (IM 52), 105
Azusayumi/hikedo hikanedo (IM 24),
90
Azusayumi/mayumi tsukiyumi
(IM 24), 90
Chihayaburu/kami no igaki mo
(IM7i), 118
Chihayaburu/kami ya kiriken, 164
Chihayaburu/kamiyo mo kikazu
(IM 106), 141, 173
Chiji no aki (IM 94), 135
Chireba koso (IM 82), 125
Chirinureba, 165
Fuku kara ni, 37, 159
Fuku kaze ni/kozo no sakura wa
(IM 50), 104
Fuku kaze ni/wa ga mi o nasaba
(IM64),in
Furikurashi (IM 126), 150
Futari shite (IM 37), 96
Hachisuba no, 35, 163
Hana ni akanu (IM 29), 92
Hana no iro wa/kasumi ni komete,
162
Hana no iro wa/utsurinikeri na, 167
Hana no ki ni, 160
Hana yori mo (IM 109), 143
Haru no hi no/hikari ni ataru, 159
267
Index of First Lines
Haru no hi no/itari itaranu (IM 132),
152
H a r u r u y o no (IM 87), 131
Harusame no, 161
Hatsukusa no (IM 49), 103
Hikoboshini (IM 95), 135
Hisakata no, 33
Hito ni awan, 40, 171
H i t o o o m o u (IM 131), 152
Hito shirenu (IM 5 ) , 72
Hito shirezu (IM 89), 132, 176
H i t o w a i s a (IM 21), 85
Hito wa yoshi, 211
Hitotose ni (IM 82), 126
Hototogisu (IM 43), 100
Idete inaba/kagiri narubemi (IM 3 9 ) ,
97
Idete inaba/kokoro karushi to
(IMai),85
Idete inaba/tare ka wakare no
(IM4o),g8
Idetekoshi (IM 42), 99
Idete yuku (IM 44), 100
Ieba eni (IM 3 4 ) , 94
Ika de ka wa (IM 53), 105
I m a k o n to, 165
Ima made ni (IM 86), 129
Ima wa tote/ware ni shigure no
(IM 131), 152, 170
Ima wa tote/wasururu kusa no
(IM2i),86
Ima zo shiru (IM 48), 103, 181
Inishie no/nioi wa izura (IM 62), 109
Inishie no/shizu no odamaki (IM 3 2 ) ,
93
Inishie w a ( I M i n ) , i 4 3
Inochi ya wa, 228
I o r i o k i (IM 43), 100
Iro miede, 170
Isasame ni (IM 139), 155
Itazura ni (IM 65), 114
Ito aware (IM 39), 97
Ito semete, 168
Itodoshiku (IM 7 ) , 74
Itsu no ma ni (IM 20), 84
Iwama yon (IM 7 5 ) , 120
268
Iwane fumi (IM 7 4 ) , 119
Iza sakura (IM 139), 155
Kachibito no (IM 69), 117
Kagamiyama, 37,161
Kagiri naki, 169
Kakikurasu (IM 69), 116,177
Karagoromo (IM 9 ) , 75, 174
Kari nakite (IM 68), 115
Karikurashi (IM 82), 126, 175
Karisome ni (IM 129), 151
Kashigamashi (IM 138), 154
Kasugano no (IM 1), 69
Katamikoso (IM 119), 147
Kaze fukeba/okitsu shiranami
(IM23),88
Kaze fukeba/towa ni nami kosu
(IM 108), 142
Kazukazu ni (IM 107), 142, 177
Kimi ga atari (IM 2 3 ) , 89
Kimi ga tame (IM 2 0 ) , 84
Kimi komu to (IM 2 3 ) , 89
Kimi masade, 237
Kimi ni yori (IM 38), 96
Kimi ya koshi (IM 69), 4 8 , 1 1 6
K i n o k y o (IM 6 7 ) , 115
Koiseji to (IM 65), 113
Koishi to wa (IM 111), 144
Koishiku w a ( I M 7 i ) , n 8
Koiwabinu (IM 5 7 ) , 106
Kokoro o zo (IM 2 8 ) , 151
Komorie ni (IM 33), 94
Konu hito o (IM 136), 154
Kore ya k o n o / a m a no hagoromo
(IM 16), 82
Kore ya k o n o / w a r e ni au mi o
(IM62), n o
Kurabekoshi(IM23),88
Kuregataki (IM 45), 101
Kurenai ni/niou ga ue no (IM 18), 83
Kurenai ni/niou wa izura (IM 18), 83
Kurihara no (IM 14), 80
Kusa fukaki, 160
Kusa mo ki mo, 160
Kyo kozu wa (IM 17), 82, 172
Makura tote (IM 83), 127
Index j First Lines
Mayone kaki, 249
Me ni wa mite (IM 7 3 ) , 119
Mekaru to mo (IM 4 6 ) , 102
Michinoku no (IM 1), 70
Mina hito wa, 166
Minakuchi ni (IM 2 7 ) , 92
Mirume karu (IM 7 0 ) , 118
Mirume naki (IM 2 5 ) , 39, 91, 168
Miyako yori (IM 141), 156
Miyoshinono (IM 10), 14, 77
Mizu mo arazu (IM 9 9 ) , 137,175
Momotoseni (IM 63), n o
Mugura oite (IM 5 8 ) , 107
Murasaki no/hitomoto yue ni, 220
Murasaki no/iro koki toki wa
( I M 4 i ) , 9 9 , 179
Musashi abumi (IM 13), 79
Musashino wa (IM 12), 78
Mutsumashi to (IM 117), 146
Na ni medete, 163
Na ni shi owaba/ada ni zo arubeki
(IM 61), 109
Na ni shi owaba/iza koto towamu
(IM 9 ) , 7 6 , 1 7 4
Na nomi tatsu (IM 4 3 ) , 100
Nadote kaku (IM 28), 12, 92
Nagakaranu (IM 113), 144
Nakanaka ni (IM 14), 79
Nakazora n i . . ./narinubeki kana
( I M 1 3 0 ) , 151
Nakazora n i . . ./narinikeru kana
(IM2i),86
Namida ni zo (IM 7 5 ) , 120
Namima yori (IM 116), 146
N a n i w a z u o (IM 66), 114
Narawaneba (IM 38), 96
Nenuru yo no (IM 103), 140, 177
N o k o r i n a k u , 238
No to naraba (IM 123), 149
Nukimidaru (IM 87), 131,180
Nuretsutsu zo (IM 80), 123,172
Oinureba (IM 84), 128
Oki mo sezu (IM 2 ) , 70, 175
O k i n o ite (IM 115), 145, 171
Okinasabi (IM 114), 145
Omoedomo (IM 85), 129
Omoi araba (IM 3 ) , 70
Omoiamari (IM n o ) , 143
Omoiidete, 161
Omoitsutsu/nureba ya hito no
(IM 142), 156, 167
Omoitsutsu/oreba subenashi
(IM 136), 154
Omou kai (IM 2 1 ) , 85
Omou koto (IM 124), 149
Omou ni wa (IM 65), 112
Omou ni wa .. ./au ni shi kaeba
( I M 5 5 ) , 112
Omou ni wa .. ./iro ni wa ideji to, 228
Omoezu (IM 2 6 ) , 91
Oroka naru, 168
Oshimedomo (IM 9 1 ) , 133
Oshinabete (IM 82), 126
Ohara ya/Oshio no yama mo (IM 7 6 ) ,
121, 179
Ohara ya/sekai no mizu o (IM 127),
150
Okata wa (IM 88), 132, 179
Omi naru (IM 120), 147
Omi no ya, 162
Onaona (IM 9 3 ) , 134
Onusa no (IM 47), 102
Onusa to (IM 4 7 ) , 102, 178
Oyodo n o / h a m a ni ou cho (IM 75),
_ 119
Oyodo no/matsu wa tsuraku mo
(IM72),n8
Saga no yama, 252
Saku hana no (IM 101), 139
Sakurabana/chirikaikumore ( I M 9 7 ) ,
137, 173
Sakurabana/kyo koso kaku mo
(IM 9 0 ) , 133
Samushiro n i (IM 63), i n
Sari tomo to (IM 65), 113
Sato wa arete, 163
Satsuki matsu (IM 60), 108
Sayofukete (IM 140), 155
Shinano naru (IM 8), 74
Shinobuyama (IM 15), 80
Shiogama ni (IM 81), 124
269
Index j First Lines
Shiratama ka (IM 6 ) , 73
Shiratsuyu wa (IM 105), 140
Shiru shiranu (IM 9 9 ) , 138
Shitahimono (IM H I ) , 144
Sode nurete (IM 75), 120
Somegawa o (IM 6 1 ) , 109
Somuku tote (IM 102), 139
S u m a n o a m a no (IM 112), 144
Sumiwabinu (IM 5 9 ) , 108
Suruga naru (IM 9 ) , 13, 75
Tama no o o (IM 3 5 ) , 95
Tamakazura (IM 118), 147
Tani sebami (IM 3 6 ) , 95
T e o o r i t e (IM 16), 81
T o e b a i u (IM 13), 79
Toki shiranu (IM 9 ) , 76
Tori no ko o (IM 50), 103
Toritomenu (IM 6 4 ) , 111
T o s h i d a n i m o (IM 16), 81
T o s h i o h e t e (IM 123), 148, 181
T s u i n i y u k u (IM 125), 149, 179
Tsuki shi areba (IM 135), 153
Tsuki ya aranu (IM 4), 52, 71, 178
Tsukikage ni, 32
Tsumi mo naki (IM 3 1 ) , 93
Tsurezure no (IM 107), 141
Tsutsui tsu no (IM 2 3 ) , 88
Uchiwabite (IM 58), 107
U e s h i u e b a (IM 5 1 ) , 105, 173
Uguisu no .. ./kasa mo gana
(IM 121), 148
Uguisu no .. ./kasa wa ina (IM 121)
148
Uki nagara (IM 22), 87
Ura wakami (IM 49), 103
Utatane ni, 40,167
Utsutsu ni wa, 169
W a ga ie wa (IM 129), 151
W a ga io wa, 36, 162
Wa ga kado ni (IM 7 9 ) , 123
270
Wa ga kata ni (IM 10), 77
Wa ga sode wa (IM 5 6 ) , 106
Wa ga tanomu (IM 9 8 ) , 137
W a ga ue ni (IM 5 9 ) , 108
Wa ga yado ni (IM 134), 153
Wa ga yado wa, 165
Wa ga y o o b a (IM 87), 130
Wabibito no/sumubeki yado to, 166
Wabibito n o / w a k i t e tachiyoru, 164
Wabinureba, 171
Ware bakari (IM 2 7 ) , 92
Ware mite mo (IM 117), 146
Ware narade (IM 3 7 ) , 95
Wasuregusa/ouru nobe to wa
(IM 100), 138
Wasuregusa/uu to dani kiku (IM 21)
86
Wasurete wa (IM 83), 128,181
Wasuru na yo (IM 11), 78
Wasururan to (IM 21), 86
W a t a t s u m i n o ( I M 8 7 ) , 131
Yama no mina (IM 7 7 ) , 121
Yamakaze ni, 165
Yamashiro no (IM 122), 148
Yayamosureba (IM 126), 150
Yo mo akeba (IM 14), 80
Yo no naka ni/saranu wakare no
(IM 84), 128,180
Yo no naka ni/taete sakura no
(IM 82), 50, 125, 172
Y o o u m i no (IM 104), 140
Yoi goto ni (IM 108), 142
Yoso ni mite, 163
Yukifureba, 38
Yukikaeri, 178
Yukiyaranu (IM 5 4 ) , 105
Yumejini wa, 169
Yuku hotaru (IM 45), 101
Yuku mizu ni (IM 5 0 ) , 104
Yuku mizu to (IM 5 0 ) , 104
Yiigure no, 164
Yuzukuyo (IM 137), 154
General Index
Ise monogatari is abbreviated in subentries as IM. Parentheses around page numbers indicate repetitions of poems.
Abo, Prince, 4 1 , 245
Akuta River, 72
Amanogawa, see River of Heaven
Amenokoyane no Mikoto, 233
Anjoji Temple, I2if, 234
Aoi Festival, see Kamo Festival
Arai, Mujiro, 239
archery, 137 (175), 213, 235
Ariwara family, 4 1 , 1 1 2
Narihira (Commander of the Right
Horse Bureau, Middle Captain of
the Imperial Guards of the Right),
5, 10, 3 5 ; life, 4 1 - 5 0 ; and Fujiwara, 46f, 209; poetry, 50-54, 2 0 3 4, 248, 2 5 4 - 5 5 ; a n d Tsurayuki, 54,
198; as protagonist of IM, 61 {see
also " m a n of o l d " ) ; presumed
author of IM, 64, 184, 196; ideal
Heian lover, n o — n , 227; Kokinshu poems by, 172—81; legendary
travels in east, 202. See also Fujiwara Koshi; Ise Virgin; "Narihira
Collection"
Yukihira, 3 1 , 123, 138, 153, 239; successful career, 42, 236, 240; at
hunt, 145, 251-52; exiled, 250
Asama, Mt., 74, 203
Ashiya Village, i3of, 237
Awa Province, 180; Library, 190
awao (string of gems), 95, 217
ayame (sweet-flag), 105, 224
bamboo, 9 1 , 123 (176), 235-36;
watercourse bamboo, 155, 258
banquets, 27, 3 1 , 235; chrysanthemum,
19, 2 1 , 27; Wen hsiian, 28. See also
celebrations; festivals
beaches: Sumiyoshi, 115, 146, 230, 2 5 3 ;
Chisato, 122; Suma, 250
Brower, Robert H., and Earl Miner, 4f;
quoted, 6, 25, 33, 51
Buddha, Amida, 24, 234
buddhas: prayers to: 30, 98, 112-13,
163; becoming a buddha, 234-35
Buddhism: in China, 18, 2 1 , 2 2 - 2 3 ; m
Japan, 2 3 - 2 5 ; funeral rites, I2if, 234;
Lotus Sutra, 216, 218; Nirvana Sutra,
234. See also preceding entries; T e m ples; and individual monies by name
Bun'ya Yasuhide, 35, 3 7 - 3 8 , 39, 1 7 1 ;
Kokinshii poems by, 159-60
bush clover (medo, medohagi), 160,
254,259
capital-bird (miya\odori), 76 ( 1 7 4 ) ,
205
celebrations: cherry blossom, 19, 92,
216; birthday, 47, 92, 123, 136-37
( 1 7 3 ) , 215-16, 242; New Year, 129,
2
39> 2 5 9 ! coming-of-age, 152, 257.
See also banquets; festivals
Ch'ang-an, 26
Chibatext ( o f I M ) , i 8 8
China: influence rejected by \o\uga\usha,y, moon-watching ritual, 10; and
Japanese poetic tradition, 1 5 - 5 5 ; attitude to fiction, 16; third-century
religious upheaval, 18; ju, i8f; first
nature poetry, 19; landscape painting, 19; shih, 19-20; Buddhism, 18,
21, 2 2 - 2 3 ; predominance of in Early
Heian Japan, 25-30; influence on
wahfi, 3 2 - 3 4 ; influence on Narihira,
5off; Chinese-character versions of
IM, 191-92. See also Confucianism;
Taoism; and individual dynasties by
name
Chisato, Beach of, 122
271
General Index
cicada, 9, 165
cinnamon tree (on moon), 119, 232
clothing, 69, 142, 166, 168, 210; criticized, 7 - 8 , 145, 251-52; gifts of, 8 1 82, 98, 100, 129, 240. See also "forbidden colors"
cockcrow, 80, 87, 105
Confucianism: the Confucian ideal, 15—
17, 197; role of poetry in, 16-17;
waning, 18, 2 1 ; in Heian, 2 1 - 2 2 ; in
Six Dynasties, 21-22; in T a n g , 22
crane, 145, 251
deities, see buddhas; gods
demons, 73, 226
"Dialogue on Poverty," 54-55
diviners, 113
Eastern Hills, 107
Eastern Temple (Toji), 259
Edo period, see Tokugawa period
Eight Bridges (Yatsuhashi), 74-75
(173),203
Eikokan text (of I M ) , 192
Emperor of the Western (Junna) Palace,
see Junna, Emperor
emperors, Japanese: vs. nobility, 27—28.
See also individual emperors by name
Empress from Somedono, see Fujiwara
Meishi
Empress from the Fifth Ward, see
Fujiwara Junshi
Empress from the Second Ward, see
Fujiwara Koshi
engo (associative w o r d ) , 12, 14, 54
falconry, see hawking
feather robe (hagoromo), 82, 209
ferryman, 76 (174)
festivals, 27; Sweet-Flag, 105, 223-24;
Kamo (Aoi), 140, 2 4 5 - 4 7 ; Pot (Tsuk u m a ) , 147, 253-54; Thanksgiving,
166, 260; Tanabata, 226. See also
banquets; celebrations
fireflies, 9 7 , 1 0 1 , 131
fishermen, 9 1 , 106, 131, 144, i68f
Flirtation Island (Tawarejima),
109.227
forbidden colors (kinjiki), 98, 112,
219.228
forgetting-grass (wasuregusa, day lily),
8 6 , 9 3 , 138,211
frogs, 92, 142, 249
fu (Chinese prose p o e m ) , i8f
272
fuji, see wisteria
Fuji, Mt., 75-76, 204
Fujiwara family, 2 7 ^ 3of, 42, 77; genealogy, 46; and Narihira, 46f, 209;
tutelary god, 233
Junshi (Empress from the Fifth
W a r d ) , 46, 216
Koshi (Empress from die Second
Ward, Mother of the Crown Prince,
Takaiko), 44, 45-49, 5 2 - 5 3 , 57>
216, 233
Kunitsune, 73
Masachika, 138, 244
Meishi (Empress from Somedono),
4 6 , 1 1 4 , 216, 229
Mototsune (Minister of State from
Horikawa, Minister of the Right),
44f, 47, 73, 136-37 ( i 7 3 ) , 242f
Takakiko, I2if, 234
Tameie, 185,188
Tamesuke, 185, i88f
Tameuji, vii, 185, 189
Teika, vii, 183-89 passim
Toshiyuki, 33, 48, 141-42 ( 1 7 7 ) , 248
Tsuneyuki, I2if, 234
Yoshifusa (Chancellor, Minister of the
Right), 45-46, 47, 137, 139, 209,
242f
Yoshisuke, 234f
Yoshitsune, 190
Yozei, 45, 216
See also individual Emperors, etc., by
name
Fukakusa, 148 (181), 244—45
Fukakusa Emperor, see N i m m y o ,
Emperor
Fukui Teisuke, 63-64, 187-94 passim,
199, 261
Furu-no-taki Waterfall, 163
Genji monogatari, ?,i, 7 - 8 , 24, 30, 56,
222; and IM, 4, 59, 65, 199, 239. See
also following entry; and Murasaki
Shikibu
Genji, Prince, 9, 43, 49, 227, 250
Genshin, monk, 189
gods, 98, 112-13, 118, 132, i63f, 232;
of Mt. Oshio, 121 (179), 233; of the
sea, 131, 240; of Sumiyoshi, 146,
230, 253; of Fujiwara family, 233;
food deity, 253; age of the gods, 121,
141 (173) ( 1 7 9 ) . See also buddhas
goose, wild, 14, 77, 101, 115, 161, 221,
249
General Index
Gosechi dancers, 166, 260
Gosenshu (second imperial antiology),
47,57
Gossamer Years, The, 7, 30
"Great Learning, T h e , " 15, 197
Great Western Temple, 162
Gu\ansho, 189
hagoromo (feather robe), 82, 209
hair and hair ornaments, 85, 88, 95,
n o , 130, 1 5 2 - 5 3 , 1 5 9 , 2 1 1
Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220), 15—
16; governing elite, 15-16; collapse,
18-19; poetry (fu), i8f
handwriting, 7 , 1 6
Hata family, 245
hawking, 124, 145, 230, 250-52
Heian, see Japan, Heian; Kyoto
Heizei, ex-Emperor, 41
Henjo, Archbishop (Yoshimine Munesada), 35, 38f, 259; Ko\inshu poems
by, 162-67
hens' eggs, 103
herb of remembrance (shinobugusa),
138, 243-44
Herdsman, see Weaver Maid and the
Herdsman
Hiei, Mt., 76, 127, 166 (181), 204, 239
hiji\omo, see under seaweed
hiragana (kana system), 191, 260
Hisamatsu Sen'ichi, 186
H o m m a A r t Museum, 191
Horikawa, see Fujiwara Motosune
hototogisu (cuckoo), 99f, 220-21
Hojo Tokiyori, 189
I k e d a K i k a n , 186, 188
Ikoma, Mt., 89, 114, 213
Imperial Household Agency, 187-92
passim
Imperial Huntsman, 115-17, 23of;
texts of IM, 6 3 - 6 4 , 1 9 3 , 261
Imperial Messenger (in K a m o Festival),
246-47
impermanence, Japanese preoccupation
with, gf, 2 4 - 2 5 , 50-55 passim
Inari Shrine, 244
India, 22
Intendance Bureau, 112, 228
iris (\akitsubata), 75 (174)
Ise, Lady, 62, 64, 212
he monogatari, 3 - 5 , 55—65; texts, vii,
58-60, 63-64, 182-93, 2 6 0 - 6 1 ; and
Genji monogatari, 4, 59, 65, 199, 239;
reputation, 4 - 5 , 239; and Ko\inshii,
5, 6 0 - 6 1 , 196; date, 5, 64-65, 196,
206; and native love poetry, 55; structure, 5 6 - 5 8 , 64, 238; love as theme,
60; circumstances of composition, 60,
64; tide, 61, 6 2 - 6 3 , J 9 9 ; authorship,
64, 196
Ise Province, 62, 74, 115-17, n 8 f , 230
Ise Shrine, 230; Library text (of I M ) ,
i8gf
Ise Virgin (Princess Tenshi?), 48-49,
57-63 passim, 115-18, I3g£ (177),
193, 198, 23o£
Isseido Bookstore, 189
Ito, Princess, 4 1 , 128, 239
Izumi Province, 114—15
Izumi Shikibu, 193
Japan, Heian (794-1185), 6-14; Kohjnshu and IM in, 3, 193; prose, 4, 3 0 3 1 , 56; resemblances to Six Dynasties
China, 17, 20—21; Confucianism, 21—
22; love and marriage, 9, 40, no—11,
2 1 0 - n , 2i2f, 223, 227; Buddhism,
23—25; Chinese predominance in
Early Heian, 2 5 - 3 0 ; capital, see
Kyoto. See other Japanese historical
periods by name
jewelry, 85, 93, 95, 211
Jichin, priest, 189
jo (preface), 13, 54
Journal of Narihira, see Ise monogatari
Junna, Emperor, 96, 218, 255
Junna Palace (Western Palace), 96,
151, 218, 255
Junshi, see Fujiwara Junshi
Kagamiyama (Mirror Mountain), 37
(161), 162
Kaifuso, 197
ka\e\otoba (pivot w o r d ) , 12, 14, 54
\a\itsubata (iris), 75 (174)
Kamakura period (1185-1333), 187-92
passim, 247, 260
Kammu, Emperor, 4 1 , 220, 225, 239,
250
Kamo Festival, 140, 245-47; shrines,
229, 245-47^
Kamo Mabuchi, 192, 239
Kamo River, 124, 245
\ana (Japanese syllabaries), 30. See
also hiragana; \ata\ana
Kanazawa University, 187
Kannondo Temple, 237
273
General Index
karagoromo (robe), 75, 204
karma, 24, 113
Kasuga: Plain, 69, 199-200, 206;
shrine, 233
kalakana (kana system), 186, 189, 260
Katano, 125, 237, 251
Katsuragu text (of IM), 192
Kawachi Province, 88f, 114
kawatake (watercourse bamboo), 155,
258
Kaya, Prince, 99, 220
Kazan, 163^ 259
\azari chimak}, see rice dumplings
Kensho, monk, 183-84, 185, 190, 193
Ki family, 44, 46, 209
Aritsune, 44, 48, 8 1 , 96, 126, 209;
daughter of, 44, 57 (178), 209;
wife of, 81
Natora, 209
Sadafun, 152
Tomonori, 38, 211
Toshisada, 48, 180-81, 222
Tsurayuki, 11-12, 54-55, 64, 198;
preface to Kokinshii, 6, 34-40 passim, 54
Kii Province, 122
kinjik}, see forbidden colors
Kisen, monk, 35-37, 38 (162)
Kokinshii (first imperial anthology), 3,
11-12, 3 1 , 5 3 - 5 5 ; prefaces, 6, 34-40
passim, 54, 197; and IM, 5, 6 0 - 6 1 ;
poems of Six Poetic Geniuses, 159-81.
See also following entry
Ko\inshuchu (Commentary on
Kokinshii), 183, 190
Kokugakuin University, 188
Komachi, see Ono no Komachi
Korea, 23
Korehito, Prince, see Seiwa, Emperor
Koresada, Prince, i59f
Koretaka, Prince, 44-45, 46f, 57, 59,
209; hunting excursion, 10—n (126)
( T 75) ( J 8 o ) , 237; becomes monk, 45,
127, 129 (181), 209, 238f
Koshikibu no Naishi, Lady, vii, 192
koto, 166
Koko, Emperor (Ninna Emperor), 145,
i63f, 250, 251-52
\o\ugakusha (scholars of national
learning), 3
Koroden, 138, 243
Koshi, see Fujiwara Koshi
Kujo text (of I M ) , 192
Kuronushi, see Otomo Kuronushi
274
\utani plant, 165, 259
kuwago (silkworm), 79, 208
Kyoto ( H e i a n ) , 8, 26, 70, 225, 245
Kyushu (Tsukushi), 41, 109,156, 258;
University, 188
landscape gardening, 8, 19, 2 1 , 30, 122,
163,236-37
landscape painting, 19, 30
leopard-flower berry (mubatama,
blackberry lily), 154,168, 257-58
letter writing, 7
Li Po, 29
Lotus Sutra, 216, 218
maiden flower (ominaeshi), 163, 167,
259
makura \otoba (pillow w o r d ) , 13
" m a n of old," 49-50, 56-58, 61
Man'yoshii (Collection for Ten T h o u sand Generations), 3, 12, 2 1 , 26, 32,
191; "Dialogue on Poverty," 54-55
maples, 75, 84, I35f
medohagi (bush clover), 160, 254, 259
Meiji Restoration (1868), 3
Michinoku Province, 70, 79f, 124, I45f,
208, 236
Mikawa Province, 74, 170 (173)
Mimbukyo, Lady, 191
Minamoto family, 42
Itaru, 96-97, 218
Shitago, 97, 218-19
T o m , 124, 201, 236-37
Yoshitsune, 43
Minase, 124-25,127, 237
Ministry of Ceremonial, 28
Mirror Mountain (Kagamiyama), 37
( 1 6 1 ) , 162
mirume, see under seaweed
Mitarashigawa (Stream of Purification),
miya\odori (capital b i r d ) , 76 (174),
205
Miyakoshima, 145 (171), 252
Miyoshino, 14, 7 7 , 1 0 1 , 115
Mizunoo Emperor, see Seiwa, Emperor
Mochiyoshi, Minister of Imperial
Household, 131
Momozono Library, 188
mono no aware, 11, 22
Montoku, Emperor (Tamura Emperor),
44, 57, 117, 121, 209, 234, 237
moon-watching ritual, 10—n, 21
morning glory, 95
General Index
moss, scraped, 122, 235; moss-fern
design, 69, 200
Mubara (Ubara), 94, 130, 217, 240
mubatama, see leopard-flower berry
murasaki (young purple), 69, 99 (179),
199—200, 219-20
Murasaki Shikibu, 7-8, 62, 222. See also
Genji monogatari
Murasakino, 246, 259
Muromachi period (1336-1568), 188
Musashi: Plain, 78, 99, 206; Province,
76f, 78f ( 1 7 4 ) ; stirrups, 78, 207
music, i6f, 101, 113, 166
Nagaoka, 106, 128,225
Nagisa House, 11, 50 (125) (172), 237
Naikaku Bunko text, 192
Nakanoin Michikatsu, 187
Naniwa Bay (Osaka Bay), 114, 229f,
237, 253
Nara period ( 7 1 0 - 9 4 ) : national university established, 28; capital city, 26,
56, 69f, 152, 166, 225; Kaijuso, 197
Narihira, see Ariwara Narihira
"Narihira Collection," 61-65
nature poetry: Heian, 8-9, 10, 2 1 ;
Chinese, 19-20
Nijo (Mikohidari) family, i83ff. See
also, under Fujiwara family, Tameie;
Tamesuke, Tameuji; Teika
Nimmyo, Emperor (Fukakusa E m peror), 35, 139-40, 160, 166, 235,
244, 259
Ninna Emperor, see Koko, Emperor
Nirvana Sutra, 234
Nunobiki Falls, 130-31 (180), 240
Okinoite Miyakojima, 145 (171), 252
ominaeshi (maiden flower), 163, 167,
259
Ono, 59, 127 ( 1 8 1 ) , 238-39
Ono no Komachi, 35, 3 8 - 4 1 , 51, 5 7 - 5 8 ;
Kokinshii poems by, 167-71, 256
onusa (sacred w a n d ) , 102 (178),
221—22
Oshio, Mt., 121 (179), 233
Owari Province, 74, 117
Ohara, Oharano, 121, 150 (179), 233,
_ 238
0\agami (The Great Mirror), 45
Omi, 147, 162, 253
Osaka Barrier, 117, 231
Osaka Bay, see Naniwa Bay
Oshima text (of I M ) , vii, i8gf
Otomo Kuronushi, 35, 37f; Kokinshii
poems by, 161-62
Otomo Yakamochi, 44
Otsu Yuichi, vii, 186
Oyodo, 117ff, 231
painting, 10, i6f, 19, 3 0 , 1 3 4
pheasant, 137, 243
Pillow Boo\, 3 ° ; 197
pillow word (makura \otoba), 13
Pine of Aneha at Kurihara, 80, 208
pivot word (kake\otoba), 12, 14
plum blossoms, 8, 52 (71) (178), 243;
artificial, 137; bonnet of, 148, 254
Plum Court (Umetsubo), 147, 254
Po Chii-i, 32, 235
"Poems on Things," 30
Pot Festival (Festival of T s u k u m a ) ,
147, 253-54
prayers, see buddhas; gods
prose, Heian, 4, 30—31, 56
purification, ritual, 112—13, 221—22,
228—29; of Kamo Virgin, 245—47
quail, 149
Reizei Tamekazu, 188
rice dumplings, decorated (kazari
chimakf), 105, 223—24
River of Dyes (Somegawa), 109,
226-27
River of Heaven (Amanogawa, Milky
W a y ) , 108, 125-26, 135 (175), 226,
238. See also Weaver Maid and the
Herdsman
Riverside Palace, 124, 236—37
Rokhflsen, see Six Poetic Geniuses
rooster, 80
Rokujo family, 183-84, 185, 190
sacred fence, 118, 146, 232, 253
sacred wands (onusa), 102 (178),
221-22
Sadakazu, Prince, 123, 235
Saga, Emperor, 26-27, 30, 218, 236,
245; and hawking, 250, 251—52
salt-cone (shiojiri), 76, 204—5
Sandai jitsuroku (True Records of
Three Reigns), 41-44, 233
Saneyasu, Prince, 122, 235
Sanjonishi family, vii, 187-88
Sanko Ise monogatari, 186
Sansom, Sir George, quoted, 6
seaweed, 106, 131; mirume, 39 ( 9 1 ) ,
275
*
General Index
n 8 f (168), 215, 2 3 2 - 3 3 ; hijikpmo,
7 0 - 7 1 , 201
Sei Shonagon, 30, 197
Seinan Shrine, 251-52
Seiryoden, 138, 243, 258
Seiwa, Emperor (Prince Korehito, Mizunoo Emperor), 44fT, 57, 114, 117,
122,209,235
Senshu texts (of I M ) , 190
Serikawa River, 145, 251-52
Settsu Province, 94, 114, 130, 237
Shiga Temple, 163
shih, 19-20, 27-33 passim
Shimosa Province, 76 (174)
Shinano Province, 74
Shinobazu Library text (of I M ) , 191
Shinobu District, 70, 200, 208
Shinobu, Mt., 80, 208
shinobugusa (herb of remembrance),
138, 243-44
Shinto rituals, 2 1 , 102, 112-13 ( 1 7 8 ) ,
221-22, 228-29, 2 4 5 - 4 7 ; sacred
fence, 118, 146, 232, 253; sacred
wands (pnusd), 102 (178), 221—22.
See also celebrations; festivals; gods;
and individual shrines by name
Shiogama Bay, 124, 236
shiojiri (salt-cone), 76, 204—5
shizu cloth, 93, 217
shobu (sweet-flag), 224
Shotetsu, poet-critic, 187
Shushi, Princess (Takaiko), 96, 218
silkworm (kuwago), 79, 208
Six Dynasties period (ca. 222-ca. 589),
15; poetry, 17, 18-25, 3 ° , x 9 7 ; r e _
semblances to Heian, 2 0 - 2 1 ; Confucianism, 21-22; Buddhism, 22—23;
influence on Japanese poetry, 32—33,
_ 5 ° . 257
Six Poetic Geniuses (Rokkasen), 3 5 - 5 5 ;
Ko\inshii poems by, 1 5 9 - 8 1 . See also
individual Genius by name
smoke, 7 4 , 1 4 4
Somedono, Empress from, see Fujiwara
Meishi
Somegawa (River of Dyes), 109, 226-27
Stream of Purification (Mitarashigawa),
113, 228-29
Sui dynasty (ca. 5 8 1 - 6 1 8 ) , 20
Suma, 144, 250
Sumida River (Tone River?), 76
(174), 205
Sumiyoshi, Beach of, 115, 146, 230, 253
Suruga Province, 13 (75)
276
Suzaku Palace, 191, 261
Sweet-Flag Festival, 105, 223-24
sweet-flags (ayame), 105, 224
Tachibana Tadamoto, 206
Takaiko, see Fujiwara Koshi; Shushi,
Princess
Takaoka, Prince, 235
Takashina Naritada, 191
Takayasu, 88f
Takeda texts (of I M ) , 187
Tale of Genji, see Genji monogatari
Tales of Ise, see Ise monogatari
Tales of Narihira, see Ise monogatari
tamahflzura (gemmed fillet), 85,211
T a m a m i z u (Excellent W a t e r ) , 148, 254
Tameie, see Fujiwara Tameie
Tamesuke, see Fujiwara Tamesuke
Tameuji, see Fujiwara Tameuji
T a m u r a Emperor, see Montoku,
Emperor
Tanabata Festival, 226
T ' a n g dynasty ( 6 1 8 - 9 0 6 ) , 15; civil service examinations, 16; influence on
Japan, 2 1 ; poetry, 20, 29f, 32, 197;
Confucianism, 22
tangerine, 109
Tanimori text (of I M ) , vii, 190
Taoism, 18, 2if, 244
Tatsuta Crossing, 88, 213, 247-48
Tatsuta River, 58, 141 (173), 247
Tawarejima (Flirtation Island), 109,
227
Teika, see Fujiwara Teika
Temples: Anjoji, i2if, 234; Great
Western, 162; Shiga, 163, 259; Urin'in, i64f, 259; Kannondo, 237; Eastern (Toji), 259; Kazan, 259
Tempuku texts (of I M ) , vii, 187-88
Tenri Library, 188
Tenshi, Princess (Yasuko), see Ise
Virgin
Toba Palace, 251
Tokugawa (Edo) period ( 1 6 0 0 - 1 8 6 8 ) :
scholars of national learning (\o\ugakusha), 3; on Narihira, 44ff; on
IM texts, 63, 185-86, 239; IM texts
in, 187, 190
Toshiyuki, see Fujiwara Toshiyuki
Tokyo University, 186
Tsukishima Hiroshi, vii
Tsukuma, Festival of (Pot Festival),
147, 253-54
Tsukushi, see Kyushu
General Index
Tsurayuki, see Ki no Tsurayuki
Tsurezuregusa (Essays in Idleness), 243
T u Fu, 29
Ubara, see Mubara
Uji, Mt., 36 (162)
Umetsubo (Plum Court), 147, 254
under-sash, loosening of, 95—96,144,
249
university, Nara-period, 28. See also individual universities by name
Urin'in Temple, i64f, 259
Usa, 108, 226
uta monogatari ("stories about p o e m s " ) ,
56
Utsu, Mt., 13 ( 7 5 ) , 204
wa\a (31-syllable "Japanese p o e m " ) ,
15; decline, 26; resurgence, 30-34,
44, 60
wa\akusa (younggrass), 78, 103, 206,
222
Wakasa Province, 187
Waley, Arthur, 4
warblers, 148, 249, 254
warekara (caprella, a crustacean), 106,
113,225
warode (cushion), 130, 240
wasuregusa, see forgetting-grass
watercourse bamboo (\awata\e), 155,
258
waterfalls: Furu-no-taki, 163; N u n o -
biki, 130-31 (180), 240
waves, 74, 118-19, 142, 146,160,
203, 249
Weaver Maid and the Herdsman, 19,
126, 137 ( i 7 5 ) , 226, 242. See also
River of Heaven
Wen hsiian (Literary Selections), 28f
Western Palace, see Junna Palace
Western Temple, Great, 162
wild goose, see goose, wild
willows, 162
wisteria (/«//), 123, 138-39, 163 (172)
Yamanoue, Okura, 54-55
Yamashina, 121, 234f
Yamato, 84, 89
Yamato River, 247
yamatoe ("Japanese picture"), 30
Yamazaki, 124, 2$7
Yashiro Hirokata, 186, 191, 260—61
Yasuhide, see Bun'ya Yasuhide
Yatsuhashi (Eight Bridges), 74-75
(173), 203
Yodo River, 237
Yoshifusa, see Fujiwara Yoshifusa
Yoshimine Munesada, see Henjo,
Archbishop
Yoshitsune, see Fujiwara Yoshitsune;
Minamoto Yoshitsune
young grass, see wa\ak_usa
young purple, see murasa\i
Yukihira, see Ariwara Yukihira
277