Page:Japanese Peasant Songs.djvu/37

Needles of the Green Pine

This song, with its poetic sentiment is in marked contrast to the broad humor of the previous two, reminding one more of the Rokuchōshi verse (3) about the cherry tree growing on the border of Kuma and Satsuma. Some of the farewell songs of the next section (e.g. Nos. 26 and 28) are of this type also—reflecting a romantic sentimentalism about love in contrast to a bawdy appreciation of its humor. The form of this song is 7-7-7-5 dodoitsu with an extra word—karete—inserted and repeated after the second line (cf. the form of Songs 1–3).

10

Aoi matsuba no Shute uriya are Karete karete Karete ochiru mo F’taridzure Yoiya sa!

Needles of the green pine When dying— Even in falling Fall down In couples.

The Road to Meet the Lover

Dragons and water are associated in Japanese folklore. There may be a hidden meaning in this verse, but the writer is not aware of it. The form is regular 7-7-7-5 dodoitsu.

11

Sama ni kayō michya Kudashino no todoro Shita nya ja ga sumu Buku ga tatsu Yoiya sa!

The road to meet the lover: By thundering rapids. Underneath lives a dragon And bubbles rise.

Opening the Door

This song is to be interpreted as an arrangement by a young woman for a visit from her lover. Shōji means literally a kind of sliding screen, but it serves in this context as a door to the house. The form is somewhat irregular, the second line having nine instead of the usual seven syllables (cf. Song 1 for a similar form and Song 38 for one of similar content).

12

Shōji hikiake Konnyaku imo nageta Konya kuru tono Shirase daro Yoiya sa!

Opening the door, Throwing a konnyaku,[1] Coming tonight— It must be the sign.

---

1. A root tuber; the various imo, yama imo or mountain potato (a kind of long root, Dioscorea japonica), kara imo or sweet potato and konnyaku imo serve as phallic symbols in Kuma.