Kokinshu 29

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Text

をちこちの　たづきもしらぬ　山中に　おぼつかなくも　呼子鳥よぶこどりかな哉

Translation

In the mountains (3) / with no way of knowing (2) / here or there (1) / indistinctly calling / the yobuko bird!

Notes

をちこち

There is some difference of opinion on whether this means "near and far" (Ogisho, Katagiri) or "here and there" (Keichu, Kaneko, Kubota). Although the differences seem to be mostly about word etymology and not the overall meaning of the line.

たづき

In the context here it means a method or means, although there seems to be some difference on exactly what this refers to (see the analysis).

おぼつかなく

The basic meaning (etymologically related to 朧おぼろ) is "unclear", and it has associated meanings of "uneasy" or "worried". See the analysis for how this relates to the poem.

呼子鳥

There is a pivot construction here, on おぼつかなくも呼ぶ and 呼子鳥.

There has never been certainty on what this bird is. Katagiri analyzes the usage from the MYS and judges that it is associated with spring, and thus once referred to a specific bird. But he believes that even by the MYS era the exact reference may have been lost, and it was simply used (as it is here) to play on 呼ぶ ("call") or 呼ぶ子 ("call a child").

Takeoka sides with the majority on identifying it with a cuckoo, despite the seasonal mismatch. Other older theories (particularly those associated with kokin denju transmissions) included warbler, other kinds of cuckoos, and even a monkey. There were also associated legends involving mothers calling for their children.

Finally, Katagiri notes that the previous mostly involve the bird flying across the mountains, which bears on his interpretation of the overall poem (see analysis below).

Analysis

Almost everything about this poem is debated. The identification of the 呼子鳥 is complicated and covered above, but beyond that there are major interpretive questions that are subject to wide dispute. Where is the poet? Where is the bird? What is おぼつかなく? Who is the bird crying for?

In chronological order:

• Early Nijo-school poets such as Tameie accepted a tradition that ascribed this poem to Sarumaru (see below) and said that he composed this poem on his way to Tanba when he heard the yobukodori singing at Nakayama.
• The poet has gone into seclusion in the mountains and cannot get any tidings, and hearing the yobukodori cry is おぼつかなし. (Sogi)
• The bird crying for its child is おぼつかなし。(Engoki)
• The bird could be crying for me, or someone else, but if I try to seek it I won't be able to find it (Keichu)
• Because the trees are so deep I cannot find the bird that’s crying. (Seigi)
• The person does not know where to go -- should he use the bird as a guide? (Takanao shinshaku, Miura)
• Why is the bird crying for me when I'm in these unknown mountains? (Kaneko)
• The bird is calling for its mate; how sad. Kubota)
• I don't know where the bird is crying from. (Takeoka)
• The bird is flying overhead. (Katagiri)

To sum up, the basic disagreements are:

1. Whether the poet lives in the mountains or is traveling
2. Whether the poet is pretending the bird is calling for him, or for a mate/child
3. Whether the おぼつかなし refers to the location of the bird or the reason the bird is crying.

As you can see below, this poem appears in the Sarumaru collection and is listed under Sarumaru's name in several other sources (such as Shunzei's poetry competition and Kinto's "36 poet selection"). Sarumaru is a shadowy figure about whom very little is known, even whether he actually existed or not. Katigiri notes 24 anonymous KKS poems that are also found in the Sarumaru Collection. His conclusion is that the KKS and the Sarumaru Collection both drew from traditional songs.

Other sources

• 古今和歌六帖４４６５・呼子鳥
• 猿丸集４９
• 拾玉集３４７８. Jien's poem is よぶこ鳥うれしくもあるかをちこちのたつきにまよふ山のゆふ暮
• 俊成三十六人歌合３１（猿丸）
• 秘蔵抄　奥儀抄　和歌色葉　色葉和難集　六花注
• 三十六人撰（猿丸）

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