Session 06—Haru no uta from the Kokinshū and the Shin-Kokinshū
Topics for this session
Mid-spring waka from KKS and SKKS
Introduction of the important poets: Fujiwara no Teika and Ki no Tsurayuki
Poems for this session
- 04 大空は梅のにほひに霞みつつ、くもりもはてぬ春の夜の月。
- 05 ひさかたの光のどけき春の日に、しづ心なく花の散るらむ。
- 06 さくら花散りぬる風のなごりには水なき空に波ぞ立ちける。
Details
04 大空は梅のにほひに霞みつつ、くもりもはてぬ春の夜の月。
おほぞら | は | うめ | の | にほひ | に | かすみ | つつ | くもり | も | はて | ぬ | はる | の | よ | の | つき
Collection: SKKS 0040 • 春歌上 (well into spring in a sense because the first book has 98 spring poems total; however, plum blossoms are associated with late snows so that should be kept in mind; plums bloom before cherries)
Author: 藤原定家 (ふじわらのていか・さだいえ) Fujiwara no Teika/Sadaie or just Teika for two reasons: first, there are so many Fujiwara that if the last name is not mentioned it is safe to assume that it is a Fujiwara; second, Teika is so famous that his first name has become more or less the designated common name for him. Many of the poets we read are among the most famous. Teika is perhaps the greatest of them all so please get to know a bit about his life. He is son of the great classicist Fujiwara Shunzei, was deeply involved in all things poetic during the creation of the SKKS, and left a permanent mark on the course of waka history. Required reading: Wiki Fujiwara no Teika, Overview (the first two paragraphs) and "Poetic Achievements" (detailed but spend some time with this).
The only other poem we read by Teika is Poem 27.
Special requests for preparing this poem
- Skim this for the comment on smelling plums: ... seeking serenity: The Smell of Plum Trees
- Read this with some care (testable): UMEMI (梅見)
- This is just for fun—a list of perfumes you can buy with a plum component: Plum Crazy: A Plum Fragrance Guide
- View this image of ume because it is fairly close to the classic Kokin image of ume + uguisu although this one is a Japanese white-eye (scroll down to 梅とメジロ！！): Page01
- Web search (images): 梅
- Web search (images): 春の霞 ("Kasumi" is a personal name so it isn't very useful as a single keyword) — but remember that we are dealing with the verb kasumu in this poem
05 ひさかたの光のどけき春の日に、しづ心なく花の散るらむ。
ひさかたの | ひかり | のどけき | はる | の | ひ | に | しづこころ | なく | はな | の | ちる | らむ
Collection: KKS 0084 • 春歌下 (part of the many poems devoted to cherry blossoms in this collection, these are all about 1/3 of the way into the second book of spring so we should think of sakura poems as deep into spring, not the arrival of spring)
Author: 紀友則 (きのとものり). Ki no Tomonori. A Heian poet who died before the completion of the KKS although he was one of its compliers. Cousin to the preeminent poet of the time, Ki no Tsurayuki. This is his most famous poem and is part of the famous Ogura Hyakunin Isshu.
06 さくら花散りぬる風のなごりには水なき空に波ぞ立ちける。
さくらばな | ちり | ぬる | かぜ | の | なごり | に | は | みづ | なき | そら | に | なみ | ぞ | たち | ける
Collection: SKKS 0089 • 春歌下 (part of the many poems devoted to cherry blossoms in this collection, these are all about 1/3 of the way into the second book of spring so we should think of sakura poems as deep into spring, not the arrival of spring)
Author: 紀貫之 (きのつらゆき). Ki no Tsurayuki. He is the dominant poet of the Heian period, the leader in the compilation of the KKS which was the gold standard for waka composition for centuries after its completion. He is about as famous a poet as we will read, together with Teika and Bashō. Note these details: "Ki no Tsurayuki (868-945). He was the chief compiler of the KKS and wrote its famous Japanese preface. He led the battle to have Japanese poetry seen as the equal of Chinese verse. He has 202 poems in the KKS (comprising nearly 10 percent). [The correct number is 102.] In 930 he was appointed governor of Tosa in Shikoku.. In the persona of a woman, he wrote a famous diary, the Tosa Nikki, about his journey from Tosa back to Kyoto. He was considered the greatest poet of his time. He had 452 works in imperial anthologies, 102 of them in the KKS. ... He is listed as one of Kintō's Thirty-Six Poetic Geniuses." (from One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each : A Translation of the Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, p139 n35) And read pages 59-60 from Japanese Culture by Paul Varley.
Poems are covered in the order presented. We may not be able to discuss all poems listed. It is likely that I will add links and preparation requests as we go along, even in the last hour before class. There is no class participation grade so all of this work is optional, but interesting, and will enhance your ability to share in the session. Poem details are given in class and not repeated. Take excellent notes. They are the basis for the test. Our course goals in order of priority: 1) above all, appreciation of the poem as a poem, 2) understanding the components of the poems (the words in their function as grammar and their history in poems), 3) details of authors and collections. Prepare with these priorities in mind.