KKS Kanajo 3

Part 2 | Contents | Part 4

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かくてぞ花をめで、鳥を羨うらやみ、霞をあはれび、露をかなしぶ、心・言葉多く、様々になりにける。遠き所も出でたつ足下あしもとより始まりて、年月を渡り、高き山も麓の塵ひぢよりなりて、天雲あまくもたなびくまで生おひのぼれるごとくに、この歌もかくのごとくなるべし。難波津なにはづの歌は御門みかどの御おほん初めなり。

（大鷦鷯おほさざきの御門の難波津なにはづにて皇子みこと聞こえける時、東宮とうぐうを互ひに譲りて、位くらゐにつきたまはで、三年になりにければ、王仁わにといふ人のいぶかり思ひて詠みてたてまつりける歌なり。この花は梅の花をいふなるべし。）

安積山あさかやまの言葉は采女うねめのたはぶれよりよみて、

（葛城王かづらきのおほきみを陸奥みちのおくへ遣つかはしたりける時に、国の司つかさ、事おろそかなりとて、設まうけなどしたりけれど、すさまじかりければ、采女うねめなりける女の、かわらけとりて詠めるなり。これにぞ王おほきみの心とけにける。）

この二歌ふたうたは歌の父母のやうにてぞ、手習ふ人の初めにもしける。

In this way [the poems] praise flowers, express jealousy towards birds, are moved by haze, and sorrow over the dew: the feelings and words become numerous, and result in various [poems]. A [journey to] to a far place begins with the starting step and continues over months and years, and a tall mountain starts from the mud and dirt at the base and grows to touch the trailing clouds: poetry is just the same.

The Naniwazu poem is the beginning of Imperial poems.

(When Emperor Oosazaki was at Naniwazu and was [still] a prince, [he and his brother] each wished to transfer the role of Heir Apparent to the other, and [neither of them] assumed the position for three years. A person named Wani found this strange and read the poem. The "flower" [in the poem] is presumably a plum flower.)

The "Asaka mountain" words were sung in performance,

(When Prince Kazuraki was sent to Michinoku, the provincial governor was neglectful of his duties. He gave a banquet but it was not very good. A girl named Uneme took the sake cup and read this poem, softening the heart of the prince.)

And these two poems are like the father and mother, and serve as the beginning for people learning to write.

Notes

jealousy towards birds

Because the birds can do things that humans cannot (such as fly away from human cares). One example of such a poem is MYS 893.

moved by haze

See KKS 857.

sorrow over the dew

See KKS 860.

A far place

This first simile is based on lines from a Bai Juyi poem in volume 39 of his Collected Works. (続座右銘).

Naniwazu poem

This poem, which is given in the next section of the preface, is not found in the historical sources such as the Nihon shoki. This preface seems to be the oldest appearance of the poem in a written source. But its appearance in graffiti and inscriptions in Nara-period artifacts (see Katagiri p 125ff.) supports the preface's claim that this was a traditional poem for people starting to learn calligraphy.

beginning of Imperial poems

This is a long-standing crux: the Japanese phrase could also be read as "The first poem by an Emperor," or "The first poem by the Emperor [that is, Nintoku]." Either interpretation would run counter to the historical records (Kojiki and Nihon shoki), and as both the "old commentary" and the next section of the preface indicate, the Naniwazu poem was read to the Emperor, not by him. So a number of editions (even modern ones) take it to mean "The first poem by Nintoku after he became Emperor," and suggest that the "Naniwazu poem" reference is not to the traditional one given in the next section, but to a poem read by Nintoku when he was at Naniwazu (which is recorded in the Nihon shoki). Takeoka and Katagiri both reject this idea and give the same explanation: while the word mikado does mean "Emperor," it can also refer to the Imperial court or palace in general. And given the claim at the end of this section of the preface, this reference must be to the traditional Naniwazu poem and not Nintoku's other poem. Therefore this refers to the first poem read at court.

When Emperor Oosazaki was at Naniwazu...

The story in the "old commentary" is an abbreviated, alternate version of the beginning of Nihon shoki volume 11 (see pp 272ff. in Aston's translation). Oosazaki is an alternate name for Nintoku.

Wani

Wani appears in volume 10 of Nihon shoki as a (possibly legendary) figure who brought back Chinese texts to Japan. There is no connection between him and the Naniwa poem, but as Katagiri indicates, this may be the record of some Heian-period legend that connected Wani to early poetic development as well.

Asuka mountain

This is a reference to MYS 3807. The information given by the "old commentary" is a rough equivalent of the side note in the MYS.

father and mother

This would seem to mean that it is the father and mother of poetry itself. However, a better explanation (first given by Kagawa Kageki in the Seigi) is that because these poems are used by children to learn to write, they are the "father" (the poem read by a male courtier) and the "mother" (read by the woman Uneme) of their handwriting lessons.

Analysis

The first section of this part shows the growth of poetry from its beginnings to Tsurayuki's time: Katagiri notes that the four examples given are especially associated with Heian poetry, although the Waka bungaku taikei edition gives examples from the Man'yoshu for all four.

The two examples of poems given are a contrast -- one is an official poem read in an Imperial context, whereas the other one is a joking, private one (though still involving the Imperial family).