Japanese Literature

ELEGY ON THE POET'S WIFE

The gulls that twitter on the rush-grown shoreWhen fall the shades of night,That o'er the waves in loving pairs do soarWhen shines the morning light—'Tis said e'en these poor birds delightTo nestle each beneath his darling's wing                That, gently fluttering,Through the dark hours wards off the hoar-frost's might.Like to the stream that findsThe downward path it never may retrace,Like to the shapeless winds,Poor mortals pass away without a trace:—So she I love has left her place,And, in a corner of my widowed couch,Wrapped in the robe she wove me,                I must crouch,Far from her fond embrace.Nibi.

ON THE DEATH OF PRINCE HINAMI

IWhen began the earth and heaven,By the banks of heaven's river147All the mighty gods assembled,All the mighty gods in council.And, for that her sov'reign grandeurThe great goddess of the day-starRul'd th' ethereal realms of heaven,Downward through the many-piledWelkin did they waft her grandson,Bidding him, till earth and heaven,Waxing old, should fall together,O'er the middle land of reed-plains,O'er the land of waving rice-fields,Spread abroad his power imperial.IIBut not his Kiyomi's palace:—'Tis his sov'reign's, hers the empire;And the sun's divine descendant,Ever soaring, passeth upwardThrough the heav'n's high rocky portals.IIIWhy, dear prince, oh! why desert us?Did not all beneath the heaven,All that dwell in earth's four quarters,Pant, with eye and heart uplifted,As for heav'n-sent rain in summer,For thy rule of flow'ry fragrance,For thy plenilune of empire?Now on lone Mayúmi's hillock,Firm on everlasting columns,Pilest thou a lofty palace,Whence no more, when day is breaking,Sound thine edicts, awe-compelling.Day to day is swiftly gathered,Moon to moon, till e'er thy faithfulServants from thy palace vanish.Hitomaro.

ON THE DEATH OF THE NUN RIGUWAÑ

Ofttimes in far Corea didst thou hear        Of our Cipango as a goodly land;And so, to parents and to brethren dear        Bidding adieu, thou sailed'st to the strandOf these domains, that own th' imperial pow'r,        Where glittering palaces unnumbered rise;Yet such might please thee not, nor many a bow'r        Where village homesteads greet the pilgrim's eyes:—But in this spot, at Sahoyáma's base,        Some secret influence bade thee find thy rest—Bade seek us out with loving eagerness,        As seeks the weeping infant for the breast.And here with aliens thou didst choose to dwell,        Year in, year out, in deepest sympathy;And here thou buildest thee an holy cell;        And so the peaceful years went gliding by.But ah! what living thing mote yet avoid        Death's dreary summons?—And thine hour did soundWhen all the friends on whom thine heart relied        Slept on strange pillows on the mossy ground.So, while the moon lit up Kasuga's crest,        O'er Sahogáha's flood thy corse they boreTo fill a tomb upon yon mountain's breast,        And dwell in darkness drear for evermore.No words, alas! nor efforts can avail:—        Nought can I do, poor solitary child!Nought can I do but make my bitter wail,        And pace the room with cries and gestures wild,Ceaselessly weeping, till my snowy sleeve        Is wet with tears. Who knows? Perchance, againWafted, they're borne upon the sighs I heave,        On 'Arima's far distant heights to rain.Sakanouhe.

ON THE POET'S SON FURUBI

Sev'n are the treasures mortals most do prize,        But I regard them not:—One only jewel could delight mine eyes—        The child that I begot.My darling boy, who with the morning sun        Began his joyous day;Nor ever left me, but with child-like fun        Would make me help him play;Who'd take my hand when eve its shadows spread,        Saying, "I'm sleepy grown;'Twixt thee and mother I would lay my head:—        Oh! leave me not alone!"Then with his pretty prattle in mine ears,        I'd lie awake and scanThe good and evil of the coming years,        And see the child a man.And, as the seaman trusts his bark, I'd trust        That nought could harm the boy:—Alas! I wist not that the whirling gust        Would shipwreck all my joy!Then with despairing, helpless hands I grasp'd        The sacred mirror's148 sphere;And round my shoulder I my garments clasp'd,        And prayed with many a tear:—"'Tis yours, great gods, that dwell in heav'n on high,        Great gods of earth! 'tis yoursTo heed, or heed not, a poor father's cry,        Who worships and implores!"Alas! vain pray'rs, that more no more avail!        He languished day by day,Till e'en his infant speech began to fail,        And life soon ebbed away.Stagg'ring with grief I strike my sobbing breast,        And wildly dance and groan:—Ah! such is life! the child that I caress'd        Far from mine arms hath flown.

SHORT STANZA ON THE SAME OCCASION

So young, so young! he cannot know the way:—On Hades' porter I'll a bribe bestow,That on his shoulders the dear infant mayBe safely carried to the realms below.Attributed to Okura.

MISCELLANEOUS POEMS

VIEW FROM MOUNT KAGO

Composed by the Mikado ZhiyomeiCountless are the mountain-chainsTow'ring o'er Cipango's plains;But fairest is Mount Kago's peak,Whose heav'nward soaring heights I seek,And gaze on all my realms beneath—Gaze on the land where vapors wreathO'er many a cot; gaze on the sea,Where cry the sea-gulls merrily.Yes! 'tis a very pleasant land,Fill'd with joys on either hand,Sweeter than aught beneath the sky,Dear islands of the dragon-fly!149

THE MIKADO'S BOW 150

When the dawn is shining,He takes it up and fondles it with pride;When the day's declining,He lays it by his pillow's side.        Hark to the twanging of the string!This is the Bow of our great Lord and King!Now to the morning chase they ride,Now to the chase again at eventide:Hark to the twanging of the string!        This is the Bow of our great Lord and King!Hashibito.

SPRING AND AUTUMN

When winter turns to spring,Birds that were songless make their songs resound,Flow'rs that were flow'rless cover all the ground;Yet 'tis no perfect thing:—I cannot walk, so tangled is each hill;So thick the herbs I cannot pluck my fill.        But in the autumn-tideI cull the scarlet leaves and love them dear,And let the green leaves stay, with many a tear,        All on the fair hill-side:—No time so sweet as that. Away! Away!Autumn's the time I fain would keep alway.Ohogimi.

SPRING

When winter turns to spring,The dews of morn in pearly radiance lie,The mists of eve rise circling to the sky,And Kaminábi's thickets ringWith the sweet notes the nightingale doth sing.Anon.

RECOLLECTIONS OF MY CHILDREN

        Ne'er a melon can I eat,But calls to mind my children dear;        Ne'er a chestnut crisp and sweet,But makes the lov'd ones seem more near.Whence did they come, my life to cheer?        Before mine eyes they seem to sweep,        So that I may not even sleep.What use to me the gold and silver hoard?        What use to me the gems most rich and rare?        Brighter by far—aye! bright beyond compare—The joys my children to my heart afford!Yamagami-no Okura.

THE BROOK OF HATSÚSE

Pure is Hatsúse mountain-brook—So pure it mirrors all the clouds of heaven;Yet here no fishermen for shelter lookWhen sailing home at even:—'Tis that there are no sandy reaches,Nor sheltering beaches,Where the frail craft might find some shelt'ring nook.Ah, well-a-day! we have no sandy reaches:—                But heed that not;                Nor shelving beaches:—                But heed that not!Come a-jostling and a-hustlingO'er our billows gayly bustling:—Come, all ye boats, and anchor in this spot!Anon.

LINES TO A FRIEND

Japan is not a land where men need pray,For 'tis itself divine:—Yet do I lift my voice in prayer and say:—"May ev'ry joy be thine!And may I too, if thou those joys attain,Live on to see thee blest!"Such the fond prayer, that, like the restless main,Will rise within my breast.Hitomaro.

A VERY ANCIENT ODE

Mountains and ocean-waves        Around me lie;Forever the mountain-chains        Tower to the sky;Fixed is the ocean        Immutably:—Man is a thing of nought,        Born but to die!Anon.

THE BRIDGE TO HEAVEN 151

Oh! that that ancient bridge,Hanging 'twixt heaven and earth, were longer still!Oh! that yon tow'ring mountain-ridgeSo boldly tow'ring, tow'red more boldly still!Then from the moon on highI'd fetch some drops of the life-giving stream—A gift that might beseemOur Lord, the King, to make him live for aye!Anon.

ODE TO THE CUCKOO

Nightingales built the nestWhere, as a lonely guest,First thy young head did rest,        Cuckoo, so dear!Strange to the father-bird,Strange to the mother-bird,Sounded the note they heard,        Tender and clear.Fleeing thy native bow'rs,Bright with the silv'ry flow'rs,Oft in the summer hours        Hither thou fliest;Light'st on some orange tall,Scatt'ring the blossoms all,And, while around they fall,        Ceaselessly criest.Through, through the livelong daySoundeth thy roundelay,Never its accents may        Pall on mine ear:—Come, take a bribe of me!Ne'er to far regions flee;Dwell on mine orange-tree,        Cuckoo, so dear!Anon.

THE ASCENT OF MOUNT TSUKÚBA

When my lord, who fain would look onGreat Tsukúba, double-crested,To the highlands of HitachiBent his steps, then I, his servant,Panting with the heats of summer,Down my brow the sweat-drops dripping,Breathlessly toil'd onward, upward,Tangled roots of timber clutching."There, my lord! behold the prospect!"Cried I, when we scaled the summit.And the gracious goddess gave usSmiling welcome, while her consortCondescended to admit usInto these, his sacred precincts,O'er Tsukúba, double-crested,Where the clouds do have their dwelling.And the rain forever raineth,Shedding his divine refulgence,And revealing to our visionEv'ry landmark that in darknessAnd in shapeless gloom was shrouded;—Till for joy our belts we loosen'd,Casting off constraint, and sported.Danker now than in the dulcetSpring-time grew the summer grasses;Yet to-day our bliss was boundless.Anon.

COUPLET

When the great men of old pass'd by this way,Could e'en their pleasures vie with ours to-day?Anon.

SHORT STANZAS

ISpring, spring has come, while yet the landscape bears        Its fleecy burden of unmelted snow!        Now may the zephyr gently 'gin to blow,To melt the nightingale's sweet frozen tears.Anon.IIAmid the branches of the silv'ry bowers        The nightingale doth sing: perchance he knows        That spring hath come, and takes the later snowsFor the white petals of the plum's sweet flowers.152Sosei.IIIToo lightly woven must the garments be—        Garments of mist—that clothe the coming spring:—        In wild disorder see them flutteringSoon as the zephyr breathes adown the lea.Yukihara.IVHeedless that now the mists of spring do rise,        Why fly the wild geese northward?—Can it beTheir native home is fairer to their eyes,        Though no sweet flowers blossom on its lea?Ise.VIf earth but ceased to offer to my sight        The beauteous cherry-trees when blossoming,Ah! then indeed, with peaceful, pure delight,        My heart might revel in the joys of spring!Narihira.VITell me, doth any know the dark recess        Where dwell the winds that scatter the spring flow'rs?        Hide it not from me! By the heav'nly pow'rs,I'll search them out to upbraid their wickedness!Sosei.VIINo man so callous but he heaves a sigh        When o'er his head the withered cherry-flowers        Come flutt'ring down.—Who knows? the spring's soft show'rsMay be but tears shed by the sorrowing sky.Kuronushi.VIIIWhom would your cries, with artful calumny,        Accuse of scatt'ring the pale cherry-flow'rs?        'Tis your own pinions flitting through these bow'rsThat raise the gust which makes them fall and die!Sosei.IXIn blossoms the wistaria-tree to-day        Breaks forth, that sweep the wavelets of my lake:—        When will the mountain cuckoo come and makeThe garden vocal with his first sweet lay?Attributed to Hitomaro.XOh, lotus leaf! I dreamt that the wide earth        Held nought more pure than thee—held nought more true:—        Why, then, when on thee rolls a drop of dew,Pretend that 'tis a gem of priceless worth?153Heñzeu.XICan I be dreaming? 'Twas but yesterday        We planted out each tender shoot again;154        And now the autumn breeze sighs o'er the plain,Where fields of yellow rice confess its sway.Anon.XIIA thousand thoughts of tender, vague regret,        Crowd on my soul, what time I stand and gaze        On the soft-shining autumn moon; and yetNot to me only speaks her silv'ry haze.Chisato.XIIIWhat bark impelled by autumn's fresh'ning gale        Comes speeding t'ward me?—'Tis the wild geese arriv'n        Across the fathomless expanse of Heav'n,And lifting up their voices for a sail!Anon.XIVAutumnThe silv'ry dewdrops that in autumn light        Upon the moors, must surely jewels be;        For there they hang all over hill and lea,Strung on the threads the spiders weave so tight.Asayasu.XVAutumnThe trees and herbage, as the year doth wane,        For gold and russet leave their former hue—All but the wave-toss'd flow'rets of the main,        That never yet chill autumn's empire knew.Yasuhide.XVIAutumnThe dews are all of one pale silv'ry white:—        Then tell me, if thou canst, oh! tell me why        These silv'ry dews so marvellously dyeThe autumn leaves a myriad colors bright?Toshiyuki.XVIIAutumnThe warp is hoar-frost and the woof is dew—        Too frail, alas! the warp and woof to be:—For scarce the woods their damask robes endue,        When, torn and soiled, they flutter o'er the lea.Sekiwo.XVIIIAutumnE'en when on earth the thund'ring gods held sway        Was such a sight beheld?—Calm Tatsta's flood,        Stain'd, as by Chinese art, with hues of blood,Rolls o'er Yamáto's peaceful fields away.Narihira.XIXWinterWhen falls the snow, lo! ev'ry herb and tree,        That in seclusion through the wintry hours        Long time had been held fast, breaks forth in flow'rsThat ne'er in spring were known upon the lea.Tsurayuki.XXWinterWhen from the skies, that wintry gloom enshrouds,        The blossoms fall and flutter round my head,        Methinks the spring e'en now his light must shedO'er heavenly lands that lie beyond the clouds.Fukayabu.XXICongratulationsA thousand years of happy life be thine!        Live on, my lord, till what are pebbles now,        By age united, to great rocks shall grow,Whose venerable sides the moss doth line!Anon.XXII Congratulations 155 Of all the days and months that hurry by        Nor leave a trace, how long the weary tale!        And yet how few the springs when in the valeOn the dear flow'rets I may feast mine eye!Okikaze.XXIIICongratulationsIf ever mortal in the days of yore        By Heav'n a thousand years of life was lent,I wot not; but if never seen before,        Be thou the man to make the precedent.Sosei.XXIVPartingMine oft-reiterated pray'rs in vain        The parting guest would stay: Oh, cherry-flow'rs!        Pour down your petals, that from out these bow'rsHe ne'er may find the homeward path again!Anon.XXVTravellingWith roseate hues that pierce th' autumnal haze        The spreading dawn lights up Akashi's shore;        But the fair ship, alas! is seen no more:—An island veils it from my loving gaze.Attributed to Hitomaro.XXVITravellingMiyako-bird! if not in vain men give        Thy pleasing name, my question deign to hear:—        And has she pass'd away, my darling dear,Or doth she still for Narihira live?Narihira.XXVIIILoveThe barest ledge of rock, if but a seed        Alight upon it, lets the pine-tree grow:—If, then, thy love for me be love indeed,        We'll come together, dear; it must be so!Anon.XXIXLoveThere is on earth a thing more bootless still        Than to write figures on a running stream:—And that thing is (believe me if you will)        To dream of one who ne'er of you doth dream.Anon.XXXILoveSince that first night when, bath'd in hopeless tears,        I sank asleep, and he I love did seem        To visit me, I welcome ev'ry dream,Sure that they come as heav'n-sent messengers.Komachi.XXXIILoveMethinks my tenderness the grass must be,        Clothing some mountain desolate and lone;For though it daily grows luxuriantly,        To ev'ry mortal eye 'tis still unknown.Yoshiki.XXXIIILoveUpon the causeway through the land of dreams        Surely the dews must plentifully light:—        For when I've wandered up and down all night,My sleeve's so wet that nought will dry its streams.Tsurayuki.XXXIVLoveFast fall the silv'ry dews, albeit not yet        'Tis autumn weather; for each drop's a tear,Shed till the pillow of my hand is wet,        As I wake from dreaming of my dear.Anon.XXXVLoveI ask'd my soul where springs th' ill-omened seed        That bears the herb of dull forgetfulness;156And answer straightway came:—Th' accursed weed        Grows in that heart which knows no tenderness.Sosei.XXXVI Elegies 157 So frail our life, perchance to-morrow's sun        May never rise for me. Ah! well-a-day!        Till comes the twilight of the sad to-day,I'll mourn for thee, O thou beloved one!Tsurayuki.XXXVIIElegiesThe perfume is the same, the same the hue        As that which erst my senses did delight:—But he who planted the fair avenue        Is here no more, alas! to please my sight!Tsurayuki.XXXVIIIElegiesOne thing, alas! more fleeting have I seen        Than wither'd leaves driv'n by the autumn gust:—        Yea, evanescent as the whirling dustIs man's brief passage o'er this mortal scene!Chisato.XXXIXSoftly the dews upon my forehead light:—        From off the oars, perchance, as feather'd spray,        They drop, while some fair skiff bends on her wayAcross the Heav'nly Stream158 on starlit night.Anon.XLWhat though the waters of that antique rill        That flows along the heath, no more are cold;        Those who remember what it was of oldGo forth to draw them in their buckets still.Anon. XLI 159 Old Age is not a friend I wish to meet;        And if some day to see me he should come,I'd lock the door as he walk'd up the street,        And cry, "Most honored sir! I'm not at home!"Anon. XLII 160 Yes, I am old; but yet with doleful stour        I will not choose to rail 'gainst Fate's decree.        An' I had not grown old, then ne'er for meHad dawned the day that brings this golden hour.Toshiyuki. XLIII 161 The roaring torrent scatters far and near        Its silv'ry drops:—Oh! let me pick them up!        For when of grief I drain some day the cup,Each will do service as a bitter tear.Yukihira.XLIV

Composed on beholding the cascade of Otoha on Mount Hiye

Long years, methinks, of sorrow and of care        Must have pass'd over the old fountain-head        Of the cascade; for, like a silv'ry thread,It rolls adown, nor shows one jet-black hair.Tadamine.XLVIf e'en that grot where thou didst seek release        From worldly strife in lonesome mountain glen        Should find thee sometimes sorrowful, ah! thenWhere mayest thou farther flee to search for peace?Mitsune. XLVI 162 So close thy friendly roof, so near the spring,        That though not yet dull winter hath gone hence,        The wind that bloweth o'er our parting fenceFrom thee to me the first gay flow'rs doth bring.Fukayabu.XLVIIIf to this frame of mine in spring's first hour,        When o'er the moor the lightsome mists do curl,Might but be lent the shape of some fair flower,        Haply thou 'dst deign to pluck me, cruel girl!Okikaze.XLVIII"Love me, sweet girl! thy love is all I ask!"        "Love thee?" she laughing cries; "I love thee not!"        "Why, then I'll cease to love thee on the spot,Since loving thee is such a thankless task!"Anon.XLIXA youth once lov'd me, and his love I spurn'd.        But see the vengeance of the pow'rs above        On cold indiff'rence:—now 'tis I that love,And my fond love, alas! is not returned.Anon.LBeneath love's heavy weight my falt'ring soul        Plods, like the packman, o'er life's dusty road.Oh! that some friendly hand would find a pole        To ease my shoulders of their grievous load!Anon.

THE DRAMA OF JAPAN

[Selected Plays, translated by Basil Hall Chamberlain]

NAKAMITSU

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

Mitsunaka, Lord of the Horse to the Emperor Murakami.

Bijiyau, Son of Mitsunaka, and still a boy.

Nakamitsu, retainer of Mitsunaka.

Kauzhiyu, son of Nakamitsu, and foster-brother of Bijiyau.

Weshiñ, Abbot of the great monastery on Mount Hiyei, near Kiyauto (Miaco).

The Chorus

Scene.—The Temple of Chiynuzañzhi, and my Lord Mitsunaka's palace in Kiyauto.

Time.—Early in the Tenth CenturyNAKAMITSUPART IScene I.—Near the Monastery of Chiynuzañzhi

Enter Nakamitsu.

Nakamitsu.—I am Nakamitsu, a man of the Fujihara clan, and retainer of Mitsunaka, Lord of Tada in the land of Setsushiu. Now you must know that my lord hath an only son, and him hath he sent to a certain monastery amid the mountains named Chiynuzañzhi, while I, too, have a son called Kauzhiyu, who is gone as page to young my lord. But young my lord doth not condescend to apply his mind unto study, loving rather nothing so well as to spend from morn to night in quarrelling and disturbance. Wherefore, thinking doubtless to disinherit young my lord, my lord already this many a time, hath sent his messengers to the temple with summons to return home to Kiyauto. Nevertheless, as he cometh not, me hath he now sent on the same errand.

[The above words are supposed to be spoken during the journey, and Nakamitsu now arrives at the monastery163.]

Prithee! is any within?

Kauzhiyu.—Who is it that deigneth to ask admittance?

Nakamitsu.—What! Is that Kauzhiyu? Tell young my lord that I have come to fetch him home.

Kauzhiyu.—Your commands shall be obeyed. [He goes to his master's apartment.] How shall I dare address my lord? Nakamitsu is come to fetch my lord.

Bijiyau.—Call him hither.

Kauzhiyu.—Your commands shall be obeyed. [He returns to the outer hall and addresses his father.] Condescend to come this way.[They go to Bijiyau's apartment.

Nakamitsu.—It is long since I was last here.

Bijiyau.—And what is it that hath now brought thee?

Nakamitsu.—'Tis that my lord, your father, hath sent me to bid your lordship follow me home without delay.

Bijiyau.—Shall I, then, go without saying anything to the priests, my preceptors?

Nakamitsu.—Yes; if the priests be told, they will surely wish to see your lordship on the way, whereas, my lord, your father's commands were, that I alone was to escort you.

Bijiyau.—Then we will away.

Nakamitsu.—Kauzhiyu! thou, too, shalt accompany thy master.

Kauzhiyu.—Your commands shall be obeyed.

[They depart from the temple, and arrive at Mitsunaka's palace.

Nakamitsu.—How shall I dare address my lord? I have brought hither his lordship Bijiyau.

Mitsunaka.—Well, Bijiyau! my only reason for sending thee up to the monastery was to help thy learning; and I would fain begin, by hearing thee read aloud from the Scriptures.

               And with these words, and bidding him read on,               He lays on ebon desk before his son               The sacred text, in golden letters writ.Bijiyau.—But how may he who never bent his wit               To make the pencil trace Asaka's164 line               Spell out one letter of the book divine?               In vain, in vain his sire's behest he hears:—               Nought may he do but choke with idle tears.

Mitsunaka.—Ah! surely 'tis that, being my child, he respecteth the Scriptures too deeply, and chooseth not to read them except for purposes of devotion. What of verse-making, then?

Bijiyau.—I cannot make any.

Mitsunaka.—And music?[Bijiyau makes no answer.

Mitsunaka.—What! no reply? Hast lost thy tongue, young fool?

Chorus.—Whom, then, to profit wentest thou to school?               And can it be that e'en a father's word,               Like snow that falling melts, is scarcely heard,               But 'tis unheeded? Ah! 'twill drive me wild               To point thee out to strangers as my child!               No sooner said, than out the scabbard flies               His trusty sword, and with fierce flashing eyes               Forward he darts; but rushing in between,               Good Nakamitsu checks the bloody scene—               Firm, though respectful, stays his master's arm,               And saves the lad from perilous alarm.

Nakamitsu.—Good my lord, deign to be merciful this once!