When I had made a pilgrimage to the twin shrines.[i]
ちはやぶるいづのお山の玉椿やほよろづ代も色はかはらじ
| chihayaburu izu no oyama no tamatsubaki yaoyorozu yo mo iro wa kawaraji | At the mighty Mount of sacred Izu Gemlike, the camelia trees Through eight million ages Will ne’er change their hues. |
644
[i] A reference to Hakone and Izu shrines.
When I made a pilgrimage to Hashiriyu Mountain.[i]
わたつ海のなかにむかひていづるゆのいづのお山とむべもいひけり
| watatsumi no naka ni mukaite izuru yu no izu no oyama to mube mo iikeri | To the broad sea sweep’s Heart turning, where Hot waters gush on The mount of Izu— Indeed they do![ii] |
641
[i] Hashiriyu Mountain (hashiriyusan 走湯山), which literally means the ‘mountain where hot water runs’, was a sobriquet applied to Izusan Shrine (Izusan jinja 伊豆山神社) in Izu province (modern Shizuoka). The shrine had a close relationship with the Kamakura shogunate, as Minamoto no Yoritomo 源頼朝 (1147-1199), the first shogun, prayed there for the revival of the clan’s fortunes.
[ii] Sanetomo builds his poem around a play on words which is impossible to replicate in translation, in that izu(ru) 出づ（る） (‘gush (out)’) echoes the place name Izu 伊豆, so a closer paraphrase of the poem’s meaning is ‘Hot water gushes out [izu] at the mountain called “gushes” [izu], which is no surprise, is it!’
Composed when I had met Dharma Eye Teinin and he had told me of the appearance of Nachi waterfall.[i]
みくまののなちのお山に引くしめのうちはへてのみおつる滝かな
| mikumano no nachi no oyama ni hiku shime no uchihaete nomi otsuru taki kana | In three-shrined Kumano, Upon the little mount of Nachi Hang sacred ropes Simply everywhere continuing The falling cataract![ii] |
639
[i] Nachi waterfall (nachi no taki那智滝) was located in Kii province (modern Wakayama), and is one of Japan’s most famous falls, being 133 metres (436 ft) high. One of Kumano’s three shrines, Kumano Nachi Taisha 熊野那智大社 lies at its foot.
[ii] See: On summer showers, for a folding screen when Shakua’s ninetieth birthday was celebrated. 小山田にひくしめなはのうちはへてくちやしぬらむ五月雨の比 oyamada ni / hiku shimenawa no / uchihaete / kuchi ya shinuramu / samidare no koro ‘Around the little mountain paddies / Hang sacred ropes / Everywhere continuing— / Might they rot away / During these days of summer showers.’ The Regent and Chancellor (Shinkokinshū III: 226)
Composed at the Kameyama Palace in the Eighth Month, Kenji 2 [1276], when the first topic announced was ‘the shape of a pine tree floating in a pond’.
万代とかめのを山の松かげをうつしてすめるやどの池水
| yorozuyo to kame no oyama no matsukage o utsushite sumeru yado no ikemizu | For ten thousand generations On the mount of Kame Is the pine tree’s shape, Reflected, so clear in This dwelling’s pond waters. |
The Retired Emperor [Kameyama]