eBook - ePub
1000 Poems from the Manyoshu
The Complete Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkokai Translation
- 464 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
Dating from the 8th century and earlier, the Manyoshu is the oldest Japanese poetry anthology; it is also widely considered to be the best. The 1,000 poems (out of a total of more than 4,500) in this famous selection were chosen by a distinguished scholarly committee based on their poetic excellence, their role in revealing the Japanese national spirit and character, and their cultural and historical significance. The acclaimed translations artfully preserve the simplicity and direct quality of the originals, and encompass an enormous range of human emotions and experiences. Text is in English only.
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Information
NARA PERIOD
Empress Gemmyō and Princess Minabé
231
Composed by the Empress in the first
year of Wadō (708).
year of Wadō (708).
[I : 76]
LISTEN to the sounds of the warriors’ elbow-guards;186
Our captain must be ranging the shields
To drill the troops.187
Our captain must be ranging the shields
To drill the troops.187
232
Reply by the Princess.
[I : 77]
BE not concerned, O my Sovereign;
Am I not here,
I, whom the ancestral gods endowed with life,
Next of kin to yourself ?
Am I not here,
I, whom the ancestral gods endowed with life,
Next of kin to yourself ?
Empress Genshō
253
On the occasion of her visit to Yamamura.
[XX : 4293]
The Empress said to those attending upon her, ‘Princes and noblemen, make poems to match this one of mine!’ She then recited the following:
THIS is the mountain souvenir
That a wizard of the mountain
Gave me as I went
To Yama, the mountain village.
That a wizard of the mountain
Gave me as I went
To Yama, the mountain village.
Emperor Shōmu
234–5
On giving saké to the Inspectors-General.188
[VI : 973–4]
WHEN you are thus gone
To the far courts of my realm,
I shall rest tranquil,
And wait with folded arms.
To requite your loyal service,
I, your emperor,
With my sovereign hand
Stroke you tenderly and caress you.
This wine we will drink again together
On the day of your return—this bounteous wine.
To the far courts of my realm,
I shall rest tranquil,
And wait with folded arms.
To requite your loyal service,
I, your emperor,
With my sovereign hand
Stroke you tenderly and caress you.
This wine we will drink again together
On the day of your return—this bounteous wine.
Envoy
You go the way of men of valour;
Go not with light minds,
You valiant men!
Go not with light minds,
You valiant men!
236
On granting to Prince Kaʐuraki the surname
of Tachibana, in winter, in the eleventh
month of the eighth year of
Tempyō (736).
of Tachibana, in winter, in the eleventh
month of the eighth year of
Tempyō (736).
[VI : 1009]
THINE is a happy name:
‘Tachibana ’189—abundant in fruit,
In bloom and in foliage;
A tree of evergreen leaves that thrives
Though the hoar-frost falls on its branches.
‘Tachibana ’189—abundant in fruit,
In bloom and in foliage;
A tree of evergreen leaves that thrives
Though the hoar-frost falls on its branches.
Prince Kaʐuraki petitioned the Throne to be allowed to renounce his status as a member of the imperial family and to take the rank of subject by assuming the surname of Tachibana. The Emperor, consenting, gave in his honour a banquet, on which occasion the above poem was composed by His Majesty.
Empress Kōken
237–8
A poem and envoy granted to Fujiwara
Kiyokawa,190 ambassador to China, to-
gether with food and drink, by her mes-
senger, Koma Fukushin, of the
Lower Fourth Rank Senior, whom
she sent down to Naniwa.
Kiyokawa,190 ambassador to China, to-
gether with food and drink, by her mes-
senger, Koma Fukushin, of the
Lower Fourth Rank Senior, whom
she sent down to Naniwa.
[XIX: 4264–5]
THE spacious Land of Yamato
Is a land guarded by the gods;
You go upon the waters
As upon the land ;
You sit in the ship
As on the floor at home.
Is a land guarded by the gods;
You go upon the waters
As upon the land ;
You sit in the ship
As on the floor at home.
In your four ships,191 prow by prow,
You travel in safety,
Return in haste,
Then make your reports ;
On that day we will take this wine—
This bounteous wine.
You travel in safety,
Return in haste,
Then make your reports ;
On that day we will take this wine—
This bounteous wine.
Envoy
That your four ships may soon come back
I pray to the gods,
Tying white hemp
To my skirt.192
I pray to the gods,
Tying white hemp
To my skirt.192
Emperor Junnin
239
At the palace banquet193 on the eighteenth day
of the eleventh month of the first year of
Tempyō-Hōji194 (757).
of the eleventh month of the first year of
Tempyō-Hōji194 (757).
[XX : 4486]
SINCE thy reign is to endure
With the sun and the moon
That illumine heaven and earth,
What could ever trouble our hearts ?
With the sun and the moon
That illumine heaven and earth,
What could ever trouble our hearts ?
Empress Kōmyō
240
To the Emperor Shōmu.
[VIII : 1658]
HOW gladdening would be this falling snow,
Could I but watch with you, my husband !
Could I but watch with you, my husband !
241
A poem which the Empress Dowager of
Fujiwara195 composed at the supplication
ceremony196 at the Kasuga Shrine,197 and
gave to Fujiwara Kiyokawa,
ambassador to China.
Fujiwara195 composed at the supplication
ceremony196 at the Kasuga Shrine,197 and
gave to Fujiwara Kiyokawa,
ambassador to China.
[XIX : 4240]
IN the great ship, full-oared,
I speed this child of mine198 to the Land of Kara ;
Bless him, O gods!
I speed this child of mine198 to the Land of Kara ;
Bless him, O gods!
Prince Toneri and...
Table of contents
- NIPPON GAKUJUTSU SHINKŌKAI
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- PREFACE
- NOTES
- Table of Contents
- INTRODUCTION
- PRE-ŌMI AND ŌMI PERIODS
- ASUKA AND FUJIWARA PERIODS
- NARA PERIOD
- PERIOD UNKNOWN
- INDEX
- MAPS
- A CATALOG OF SELECTED DOVER BOOKS IN ALL FIELDS OF INTEREST