At Tanabata:
朝まだき出でて引くらん今朝の緒に心ながさをくらべてしがな
| asa madaki idete Fikuran kesa no wo ni kokoro nagasi wo kurabetesi gana |
From early morn Have you been out, I’d say; To this morning’s cords Could the length of my heartstrings Be compared! |
Monthly Archives: December 2015
The Grand Staff
An oFonusa 大幣 which I have translated as ‘Grand Staff’ was an implement used in the major purification rituals. They were lengthy rods to which were tied streamers of cloth and paper. At the conclusion of the formal ritual, people would attempt to grab hold of them and rub them on their bodies to remove any impurities they might have, following which they would be thrown in the river to carry the accumulated pollution away from Heian-kyō. The lady’s poem implies that the man’s affections will shift to another just as quickly as the staff is carried away by the river currents.
Ise Shū 42
Her reply:
なげきどをなべて祓ふる大幣ははや川の瀬に流れ出でぬめり
| nagekido wo nabete FaraFuru oFonusa Fa FayakaFa no se ni nagare idenumeri |
Your points of grief: All will be swept away by The Grand Staff: on Swift river rapids Will it flow away, I feel. |
Purification Ritual
Ise Shū 41
A man comes and meets a lady at the Purification ceremonies in the Sixth Month:
年中に我なげきどのなりぬれば禊ぐとも世にうせじとぞ思
| tosi naka ni ware nagekido no narinureba misogu tomo yo ni usezi to zo omoFu |
In the middle of the year I many points of grief Do have; I may cleanse them, yet from the world They will not fade, I fear. |
Ise Shū 40
Ise Shū 39
The man comes and stands before the lady’s gate and, hearing a cuckoo call from amongst the orange blossom, composes this and sends it in:
外に立てるわれやかなしきほとゝぎす花橘の枝に居てなく
| to ni tateru ware ya kanasiki Fototogisu Fana tatibana no eda ni wite naku |
Standing without In sadness, am I; does The cuckoo On the orange blossomed Branch sit and sing for me? |
Ise Shū 38
A man comes to a place where the wisteria blooms and catching sight of a lady, sends this in to her:
藤の花けふ見つるより紫も村濃と色ぞ深くなりぬる
| Fudi no Fana keFu mituru yori murasaki mo murago to iro zo Fukakunarinuru |
Of wisteria blooms I caught sight, today, and ever since As violet Of the deepest hue, my passion, Grows ever more profound! |
To all and sundry…
Ise Shū 37
The lady’s reply:
世に咲かぬものにありせば桜花人にあまねく告げざらましを
| yo ni sakanu mono ni ariseba sakurabana Fito ni amaneku tugezaramasi wo |
Never blooming in this world, Were it such a thing, A cherry blossom; To all and sundry It would be better not, to announce it so! |