Three Envoys.
あをによし奈良にある妹が高々に待つらむ心しかにはあらじか
| awoniyosi nara ni naru imo ga takataka ni maturamu kokoro sika ni arazi ka |
As good blue-black clay, Nara is where your darling Eagerly Awaits you; her heart Will not always be so, will it? |
Monthly Archives: August 2016
MYS XVIII: 4106
A poem admonishment and instruction to Owari no Okui, the Scribe, with tanka.
In the Seven Causes for divorce it is written, ‘Should even one of these occur, it is acceptable. Should none of these occur, a man who casually abandons his wife will be imprisoned for a year and a half.’ The Three Cases state, ‘Even in situations where one of the seven causes occurs, it is not necessary to abandon one’s wife. Violation shall be punished by one hundred strokes of the cane. However, in cases of adultery or infection with disease, divorce is acceptable. The law on Bigamy states, ‘A man who, having a wife, marries another woman in addition, shall be imprisoned for a year. The woman will receive one hundred strokes of the cane. In addition, they shall be made to separate.’ The Imperial edict states, ‘Husbands who are righteous and wives who are faithful shall be granted Our compassion.’ My own humble thoughts on the matter are that these various statements are the cornerstone of the Law which instructs us, and a source of guidance on the path we should follow. Consequently, the path of the righteous husband is to never think of separating from his wife, and to live with her holding all property in common. How can one possibly develop fresh feelings for another woman while fogetting those for a former wife? To that end I have written several poems on the inevitable regret one will come to feel from the distress of abandoning one’s wife. These are they.
大汝 少彦名の 神代より 言ひ継ぎけらく 父母を 見れば貴く 妻子見れば かなしくめぐし うつせみの 世のことわりと かくさまに 言ひけるものを 世の人の 立つる言立て ちさの花 咲ける盛りに はしきよし その妻の子と 朝夕に 笑みみ笑まずも うち嘆き 語りけまくは とこしへに かくしもあらめや 天地の 神言寄せて 春花の 盛りもあらむと 待たしけむ 時の盛りぞ 離れ居て 嘆かす妹が いつしかも 使の来むと 待たすらむ 心寂しく 南風吹き 雪消溢りて 射水川 流る水沫の 寄る辺なみ 左夫流その子に 紐の緒の いつがり合ひて にほ鳥の ふたり並び居 奈呉の海の 奥を深めて さどはせる 君が心の すべもすべなさ
| oponamuti sukunapiko no kamuyo yori ipitugikeraku titipapa wo mireba taputoku memo mireba kanasiku megusi utusemi no yo no kotowari to kaku sama ni ipikeru mono o yo no pito no taturu kotodate tisa no pana sakeru sakari ni pasiki yosi sono tuma no koto asa yopi ni wemi miwemazu mo utinageki katarikemaku wa tokosipe ni kakusi mo arame ya ametuti no kami koto yosete paru pana no sakari mo aramu to matasikemu toki no sakari zo pananareruwite nagekasu imo ga itusika mo tukapi no komu to matasuramu kokoro sabusiku minami puki yukige pa purite imidu kapa nagaru napa no yorupe nami saburu sono ko ni pimo no o no itugari apite nipodori no putari narabii nago no umi no oki wo pukamete sadopaseru kimi ga kokoro no sube mo subenasa |
Since Ōnamuchi, and Sukunahiko, in The Age of Gods It has been told: Your father and your mother Gaze on with respect; When you see your wife and child So dear it will rend your heart: In this cicada shell World – this is how it should be. So has it Long been said, so Folk within this world Do make their vows: When the snowbells bloom In profusion, With your dearest love, Your wife, From morning until night Laugh, be serious, and Grieve While talking together; If forever We could be like this – Only heaven and earth, The Gods can tell; As when the flowers in springtime Will bloom brightly – We should await That time of blessing; Abandoned and Grieving, your darling, When will Your messenger come Waits wondering, Sad at heart; The south wind blows Snowmelt waters flowing into The River Imizu: As foam upon its waters With nowhere to go, Does that girl Saburu Her belt Tie with yours together, and As the grebes Pair together At the sea of Nago To the depths Does plunge in confusion Your heart; Hopeless you are, indeed! |
MYS V: 814
Envoy.
天地のともに久しく言ひ継げとこの奇し御魂敷かしけらしも
| ametuti no tomo ni pisasiku ipituge to kono kusi mitama sikasikarasi mo |
The Heavens and the Earth Both eternally Will tell it: These mysterious sacred stones Have been enshrinéd here! |
The above facts were related by Takebe no Ushimaro, a man from Ichisato no shima in the district of Naka.
MYS V: 813
On a hill facing the sea in the fields of Kofu, near the village of Fukae in the district of Ito in Chikuzen province are two stones. The larger is one shaku two sun and six bu long, one shaku eight sun and six bu around, and weighs eighteen kin and five ryō ; the smaller is one shaku and one sun long, one shaku and eight sun around and weighs sixteen kin and ten ryō. Both are oval in shape, like a chicken’s egg. Their beauty is such that it is impossible to put into words. These are the things called jewels one shaku around. (Some say that these two stone were originally taken from Hirashiki in the district of Sonoki in Bizen province, and were brought for use in divination.) They can be found close to the road, about twenty leagues past the post house at Fukae. Both officials travelling on business, and ordinary travellers both, all dismount from their horses by them and do them homage. The old men of the area have the following tale to tell of them: long ago, when Okitagatarashihime no mikoto led the invasion of the land of Silla, she used these two stones, binding them in her sleeves in order to delay her pregnancy (in fact, she placed them under her skirt), so it is for this reason that travellers on the road pay them homage, and the following poems were composed.
かけまくは あやに畏し 足日女 神の命 韓国を 向け平らげて 御心を 鎮め たまふと い取らして 斎ひたまひし 真玉なす 二つの石を 世の人に 示したまひて 万代に 言ひ継ぐかねと 海の底 沖つ深江の 海上の 子負の原に 御手づから 置かしたまひて 神ながら 神さびいます 奇し御魂 今のをつづに 貴きろかむ
| kakemaku pa aya ni kasikosi tarasipime kami no mikoto karakuni wo muketapiragete mikokoro wo sidumetamapu to itorasite ipapitamapisi matama nasu putatu no isi wo yo no pito ni simesitamapite yoroduyo ni i[itugukane to wata no soko oki tu pukae no unakami no kopu no para ni mitedukara okasitamapite kamunagara kamusabi’imasu kusimitama ima no otsudu ni taputokirokamu |
To put this into words Does fill me with awe: When Tarashihime The divine Goddess, The land of Korea Did subjugate, Her divine spirit For to quell She, with all due care, took up and Blessed As true gems Twin stones, and Before the folk of this world Displayed them; Eternally Retold shall this be; Deep the sea At Fukae, where On the shore at The field of Kofu With Her own hands She did place them, and Divine they are Sacred Stones with living spirits: Now, of what lies before you Be awed! |
SIS XIII: 794
SIX XIV: 877
MYS XI: 2518
SIS XII: 757
MYS XI: 2592
MYS XVI: 3835
A poem presented to Imperial Prince Niitabe.
勝間田の池は我れ知る蓮なししか言ふ君が鬚なきごとし
| katumata no ike pa ware siru patisu nasi sika ipu kimi ga pige naki gotosi |
Katsumata Pond, I do know well: It has no lotus; And you say so, my Lord, Have no beard, either! |
A certain person has told me they had heard the following about this poem: Prince Niitabe had left the precincts of the capital for a pleasure trip and, on seeing Kasumata Pond, was deeply moved. On his return, his interest in the pond did not abate. Then, he said to a lady, ‘If you saw Katsumata Pond, where I went today, words could not describe the sight of the light reflecting brilliantly from the surface of the waters, and special beauty of the lotus flowers, which were in full bloom.’ Then the lady composed this humourous poem and sang it to him.