Anthology of Japanese Literature/Kokinshū

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Kokinshū

 

The “Kokinshū,” or “Collection of Ancient and Modern Poems,” was the first of the anthologies of Japanese poetry compiled by Imperial order. It was completed in 905, and contains 1,111 poems, almost all of them waka. The preface to the work by Ki no Tsurayuki (died 946) indicates the tone of the poetry included; and he lists some of the circumstances under which the “Kokinshū” poets expressed themselves: “when they looked at the scattered blossoms of a spring morning; when they listened of an autumn evening to the falling of the leaves; when they sighed over the snow and waves reflected with each passing year by their looking glasses; when they were startled into thoughts on the brevity of life by seeing the dew on the grass or the foam on the water; when, yesterday all proud and splendid, they have fallen from fortune into loneliness; or when, having been dearly loved, are neglected.” These subjects were all capable of inspiring beautiful poetry, but the gentle melancholy they imply imposed severe limitations on the range of expression, certainly when compared with the “Man’yōshū. The “Kokinshū,” however, was the model of waka composition for a thousand years (particularly until the eighteenth century) and as such is of the greatest importance. One curious feature is that many of the best poems are anonymous.

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Tagitsu se no Naka ni mo yodo wa Ari chō wo Nado waga koi no Fuchise to mo naki

They say there is A still pool even in the middle of The rushing whirlpool— Why is there none in the whirlpool of my love?

Anonymous

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Haru tateba Kiyuru kōri no Nokori nabu Kimi ga kokoro mo Ware ni tokenamu

Like the ice which melts When spring begins Not leaving a trace behind, May your heart melt toward me!

Anonymous

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Oiraku no Komu to shiriseba Kado sashite Nashi to kotaete Awazaramashi wo

If only, when one heard That Old Age was coming One could bolt the door Answer “not at home” And refuse to meet him!

Anonymous

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Yo no naka wa Mukashi yori ya wa Ukarikemu Waga mi hitotsu no Tame ni nareru ka

Can this world From of old Always have been so sad, Or did it become so for the sake Of me alone?

Anonymous

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Waga koi wa Yukue mo shirazu Hate mo nashi Au wo kagiri to Omou bakari zo

My love Knows no destination And has no goal; I think only Of meeting as its limit.

Ōshikōchi no Mitsune (859–907)

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Iro miede Utsurou mono wa Yo no naka no Hito no kokoro no Hana ni zo arikeru

A thing which fades With no outward sign— Is the flower Of the heart of man In this world!

^[1]
Ono no Komachi (Ninth Century)
TRANSLATED BY ARTHUR WALEY

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Ariake no Tsurenaku mieshi Wakare yori Akatsuki bakari Uki mono wa nashi

Since I left her, Frigid as the setting moon, There is nothing I loathe As much as the light Of dawn on the clouds.

Mibu no Tadamine (Ninth Century)
TRANSLATED BY KENNETH REXROTH

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Hito ni awamu Tsuki no naki yo wa Omoiokite Mune hashiri hi ni Kokoro yakeori

This night of no moon There is no way to meet him. I rise in longing— My breast pounds, a leaping flame, My heart is consumed in fire.

Ono no Komachi

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Omoitsutsu Nureba ya hito no Mietsuramu Yume to shiriseba Samezaramashi wo

Thinking about him I slept, only to have him Appear before me— Had I known it was a dream, I should never have wakened.

Ono no Komachi

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Wabinureba Mi wo ukigusa no Ne wo taete Sasou mizu araba Inamu to zo omou.

So lonely am I My body is a floating weed Severed at the roots. Were there water to entice me, I would follow it, I think.

Ono no Komachi

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Yume ni da mo Miyu to wa mieji Asa na asa na Wa ga omokage ni Hazuru mi nareba

Not even in dreams Can I meet him any more— My glass each morning Reveals a face so wasted I turn away in shame.

Ise^[2]

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Fuyugare no Nobe to waga mi wo Omoiseba Moede mo haru wo Matashimono wo

If I consider My body like the fields Withered by winter, Can I hope, though I am burnt, That spring will come again?[3]

Ise

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Wa ga yado wa Michi mo naki made Arenikeri Tsurenaki hito wo Matsu to seshi ma ni

The weeds grow so thick You cannot even see the path That leads to my house: It happened while I waited For someone who would not come.

Sōjō Henjō (815–890)

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Hisakata no Hikari nodokeki Haru no hi ni Shizu kokoro naku Hana no chiruramu[4]

This perfectly still Spring day bathed in the soft light From the spread-out sky, Why do the cherry blossoms So restlessly scatter down?

Ki no Tomonori

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Ōzora wa Koishiki hito no Katami ka wa Mono omou goto ni Nagameraruramu

Are the vast heavens Some keepsake of her I love? No, that is absurd. What then makes me stare skyward Whenever I think of her?

Sakai no Hitozane (died 931)

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Tane shi areba Iwa ni mo matsu wa Hainikeri Koi wo shi koiba Awarazarame ya wa

Because there was a seed A pine has grown even here On these barren rocks: If we really love our love What can keep us from meeting?

Anonymous

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Kome ya to Omou mono kara Higurashi no Naku yūgure wa Tachimataretsutsu

Although I am sure That he will not be coming, In the evening light When the locusts shrilly call I go to the door and wait.

Anonymous

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Yūgure wa Kumo no hatate ni Mono zo omou Amatsu sora naru Hito wo kou to te

At the sunset hour The clouds are ranged like banners And I think of things: That is what it means to love One who lives beyond my world.[5]

Anonymous

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Hana no iro wa Utsurinikeri na Itazura ni Wa ga mi yo ni furu Nagame seshi ma ni

The flowers withered, Their color faded away, While meaninglessly I spent my days in the world And the long rains were falling.

Ono no Komachi
TRANSLATED BY DONALD KEENE

1. A famous poetess and subject of the Nō play “Sotoba Komachi” which appears on page 264.
2. Poetess and consort of the Emperor Uda.
3. The fields were burnt before the new crop was planted.
4. Note how the use of words beginning in h intensifies the meaning of the poem.
5. Meaning either a person in a distant place beyond the clouds, or someone in a hopelessly superior social position.