Discussion: Tales of Ise - Tales of Ise 2

A Ninth-Century Nobleman and the Courtly Ideal

Ta/11 of lie (Ise monogarari) is a collecrion of short tales and d . anec otes each cenre rrng on one or more poems that seems to h · ' ,. . , ave come into ex isten ce over a penod ex tending from the late . h l ntnt or ear y tenth 7nrudry ro arou nd 950. A passage in The Tale of Genji shows that it a rea y considered a cl assic ar th b . . was description below appl· he eg inrnng of the eleventh century. The

,es ro t e textual I .d which comains 209 . me const ered most reliable D . poems in 12 5 sections ' . unng the Heian and medieval . .

roA nwa ranoNarih,· (8 penods, Tales of lse was attributed . ra 25-80) .dd! nal descenr who is k . . 'a mi e-ranking bureaucrat of impe- lov • Ed nown to history . . ler. . a-period scholars p . d as a maior poet and a legendary inc uded · h • oi nre out th N · · . en er his own death at anh1ra could not have composition b h poem , which a · - which . Y t e mid-tench ppears tn Sect10n 12 5 or a

1s to be fi . -century p Jf . ' the work. . ound in Section I I d . o_et ach1bana no Tadamoco ,

In its pres r ' an it ts n authors po .bl . ent 1orm represe h ow generally agreed that . ' ss1 y incl d. nts t e ace 1 ri als on tx i· . u 1ng Nar,·h · umu ated labors of several . sting poe 1ra, who b .

tion of Na rih • , try coll ec tions d pro ably drew for their mate- I irasvers an orall . _l<Xd ·ms, because a l e seems to have 6 y circulating tales . A collec- 1 ent'c b r Cast h' een the 111a le auth t irry are fi . source of some of the 209 are of k ors We h. rorn his h d

. 1 _un nown prov re 1s associates B an and most of the ocher q/ei ,r, enanc . ur 75 8 cornt f 01 1ebeg ins . e. - 0 percent of the 209 o age With an

tagonist co ' continu es w. anecdote about holdin n rnposes a "" 'th numerous . a young nobleman recently

o one ofN ,~em k episod . arih ira' k nown to be b e~ JO which a male pro-

s no Y Na h. Wn offices rt tra or is described as 'and end .

s Wtth Narihira's death

Tales of lse

39

T he picture that emerges from these sec tions k . ocll1 · h h . . , ta eninco . P_ ·ch rnany ochers w ere c e prmctpal character is . .. n1unc- (I On w1 . bl . d . . d simply a man" . fa single recogmza e rn 1v1 ual who consistent! d , is rhat o .d l . . . y emonstratt

irivity of che 1 ea aristocrat, especially 10 his rel . h. . 5

the sens . at 1ons ips wuh n In Sectton 63, the only one that mentions Nari·h· b worne . . . . .. ira y name

. rtribute 1s made quire clear. Mose men show considera . c ' this a . . non 1or the en they Jove and ignore the feelmgs of the ones who fa1·1 t · worn . . . o inte res t

h Narihira made no such d1sc10ct10ns. " t ern . . . .

The reader is thu_~ tnvtted co recogntze Narihira as a real -life pre- cursor of Prince GenJt, to accept Tales of lse as his biography, and to recog nize sensitivity in courtly love as the work's main theme . There is doubtless some validity to these implicit claims , es pecially the last. At the same rime, it must be noted chat almost nothing is known abour the character or personal life of rhe historical Narihira, that some of the episodes in which the Narihira-characcer figures are demonstrably fic- titious, and that many other episodes have nothing to do with him.

The translation below contains thirty-nine of the r 25 sections .

Tales of Ise

I

Once a man who had lately come of age went hunting on his estate at Kasuga Village, near the Nara capital. In the village there lived rwo beautiful young sisters. The man stole a look at the sisters and quite lo5t

his head, so startling and incongruous did it seem for such women co~ dwel~ing at the ruined capital. He core a strip from che skirt of his hun~ing robe, dashed off a poem, and sent ic in . The fa bric of the robe Was imp· d · . nnte with a moss-fern design .

kasugano no Like che random patterns wakamurasaki no on chis robe dyed with young purple

surigoromo from Kasuga Plain, shinobu no midare utterly confused is the heart kagi · h.

rt 5 1rarezu of one secred y in love. It . · oppor-

tu · mu st have occurred to him that this was an inrercSt1ng n1cy for d .

an a aptat1on of the poem that runs:

l ~

The CourclY Ideal

.....

Above:Twochildren I . ~ at two women (Sec p ay beside a well (Se · 1 ) . Only the k' c. 2 3). Below: A young noble steals a look . . s ms of the second are visible.

h . m1ch1noku no

s inobum .. I OJ1zuri t is you alone . tare yue ni who ha m1dareso . . ve set my heart astir

men1shi w h ware nara k It emotions na u ni as confu d Peopl O I

se as moss-fern patterns e wer n c oth fr M · • e rernarkabi om JChmoku. y elegant in those . times .

t51 1i!lQ_ , Tales of Ise

4 1 I

2

once in the days after the move from Nara wh . h . 1 . , en people were st ill

n ot seeded in t e new capita , a certam man discovered . .

f h • a woman ltvtng

•n the western part o t e city. She was charming co I k 1 . oo at, and her

. e. t seemed disposition was even more delightful than her appearanc 1

. anyway, even t hat she was not single, but the man made love co her

though he was an honorable fellow. His conscience must have bothered . . . · y tnt e h

im after he got home, because he sent her this poem It was earl · h Third Month and a dnzzlmg ram was falling .

oki mo sezu ne mo sede yoru o

akashite wa haru no mono cote nagamekurashitsu

Having passed the night neither waking nor sleeping,

I have spent the day brooding and watching the rain- the unending rain of spring.

4 Once when a Grand Empress was living on Gojo Avenue in the

eastern sector of the capital, a certain woman occupied the western wing of her house . Quite without premeditation, a man fell in love with the woman and began to visit her. Around the Tenth of che First Month , the woman moved away without a word. The man learned where she had gone, but i t\.was not a place for ordinary people co frequent , and he could do nothing but lament the wretchedness oflife . In che First Month of the following year, when the plum trees were in full bloom , poignant memories drew him back to her old apartments. He sat and looked, he st

ood and looked, but it was hopeless co cry co recapture the past . He burS

t into tears, flung himself onto the floor of the bare room, _a

nd lay

proS t rate until the moon sank low in the sky. He composed

th is p0ern

with the preceding year in his thoughts: csuki ya aranu Is chis not che moon)

haru ya mukashi no And is this not the springri m~, haru naranu the springtime of old?

wa ga mi hicotsu wa Only this body of mine, moto no mi ni shite the same body as before · · ·

He went home at dawn, still shedding tears.

- 42 9

. decided chat it was useless for him to st . 0 a certain man d c • d ay tn h nee . d by one or cwo ol 1nen s, he set out t t e . I Accompame d award h

capita· f rovince where he coul settle down. Sine t e east in search o a p bl d d I e none f

k he way they simply un ere a ong as best th o the parry newt ' . 'k p . ey could . hey arrived at a place rn M1 awa rovrnce called Yatsuh h. ·

In nme, t b h d . . as 1 1 here rhe waters ofa stream ranc e rnto eight channels e h : t

wasw . . d ' ac With its own bridge, whKh ~as why 1c ha come to be call_ed Yatsuhash. [Eight Bridges] . They dismounted under a tree near this ma h 1

d . rs y area and sat down to a meal of parche nee. One of them noticed 5

..

· · h "C ome irises bloomrng rn r e swamp . om pose a poem on the subJ' ecr 'A T S . , b . . h 1· . h ' raveler's ennmenrs, egmmng eac me Wit a syllable firom th

. ,, . e word·· · , (kakrtsubata], he said. The man recited: ins

karagoromo kitsutsu narenishi

tsuma shi areba harubaru kinuru tabi o shi 20 omou

I have a dear wife familiar to me as ski;ts

of a well-worn robe and thus these distant ~ravels darken my h · h

Th eart wit sorrow ey all wept onto their rice until its . . On they journeyed to the . welled with the moisture.

road ahead was dark, narrow /rdov1nce of Suruga. At Mount U tsu the were eyeing . fill , n overgrown . h . '

. it, ed wirh di I c wit IVy and maples. They came into view "W sma iorebodings h Recog · . · hat are you d . ' w en a wandering ascetic

n1z1ng hi oing on a d 1 'k gave hirn mas someone he h d k roa I e this?" he asked.

a message for a woma . ah nown in the old days the man suruga naru n tn t e capital: '

Utsu no Yamabe B . d utsutsu . no . es1 e Moum Utsu

Yurne . n, mo in Suruga Province n1 rno h' I ,

awanu n 'k ito ni . can see you an eri neither wh I

A Pure Wh. nor al en am awake end of the F'ii h•te snow had f: II , as, even in my dreams.

• r M a en o Ar Onth n n1ount F .. 10ki sh · · UJt, even though it was the Ya iranu rnawar -. . •u,, n •rsu one

tore ka Fu ·· · . JI is a peak •ndilfer

\\,' enr to season. har rno h

nt does it think this,

ka 00 ko madara ni

yuki no fururan

Tales of Ise

that sn~wflakes should be falli to spot its slopes lik d . ~g

e eerskin?

43

rr speak in terms of the mountains around here M .. . io H' ., ·1 cl , oum Fui1 ts II

enty Mount 1e1 s p1 e on top of one anorher Ir b as ta as cw . resem !es a salt in shape. . cone

As the travelers contrnued on rheir way they cam . h . f . ' e to a mighty river flowing between t e provrnces o Musash1 and Shimosa I

· t was called the Sumidagawa. They huddled together on rhe shore, saddened b .

h f h .. ,v, , Y invol-untary thoug ts o ome. we ve come such a long distance " h .d . . , t ey sa1

The ferryman rnterrupted their lamentations "Hurry up d . ·

It's late." · an get 10 .

They embarked in wretched spirits, for not a soul among them bur had left someone dear to him in the capital.

A white bird about as big as a snipe, with a red bill and red legs , was

idling on the water, eating a fish. Its like was nor ro be seen in rhe

capital, and nobody could say what ir was. When they consulted the

ferryman, he answered, "Why, that's a capital-bird , of course. " Someone composed this poem:

na ni shi owaba iza koto towamu

miyakodori wa ga omou hito wa ari ya nashi ya to

Everyone in the boar shed tears.

If you are in truth what your name would tell us,

let me ask you, capital-bird, about the health of the one for whom 1 yearn.

IO

. A certain man, having reached the province of Musash i in his wan-

?erings, began to court a Musashi girl. Her father told him that she was

tnte nd

ed for someone else but her mother was delighted by the prospect of s h ' d' .

uc an elegant son-in-law. (Although the father came of or wary Stock th h 'd d h with a

b ' e mot er was a Fujiwara and she cons1 ere a mare .

no Iem • ' h iror rh,s an entirely suitable and most desirable .) She sent t e su Poem. The family lived in Miyoshi no Village in the Iruma DiSrricc.

miyoshino no tanomu no kari mo

The wild goose carrying on the surface of the fie ld

The Courtly Ideal

~~- -~--~~~~r-=~~~~ ~~ ~§~~--~ ~- ~ ::::::-====;:::-=r-=r==l I ~ '

~ -- ">-;

~~n - y of travel

ers see s capit l b· - hitab a - 1rds at th S .

kirni uru ni e um1da River (Sec. 9) 8akata ·

Yoru t n, 20 Onil(

if u naru ,, reply:

Illa &a,. Yoru t '-ata ni

o Oak u Oaru

at lr· . ,vuyoshino

cries that it I and toward ooks toward you

no other man.

When rni h the Wild g t I forget

goose that tarries

Tales of lse 45

rniyoshino no on the surface

tanornu no kari o of the field at Miyoshino

itsu ka wasuren crying that it looks towa~d me?

Even in che provinces, this man did not depart from his customary

behavior.

12

Once there was a man who abducted someone's daughter. He was on

his way co Musashi Plain with her when some provincial officials arrested

him for theft. He had left the girl in a clump of bushes and run off, but

the pursuers felt certain that he was on the plain, and they prepared to

set fire to it . The girl recited this poem in great agitation:

musashino wa kyo wa na yaki so

wakakusa no tsuma mo komoreri ware mo komoreri

Light no fires today on the plain ofMusashi,

for my young spouse, sweet as new grass , is hidden here,

and I am hidden here too.

They heard her, seized her, and marched the two off together.

14

Once a man found himself in Michinoku in the course of his wander-

!ngs. A girl of the province, who was probably unaccustomed to meet-

ing people from the capital, fell head over heels in love with him and se th' n tm a poem as countrified as she was:

nakanaka ni koi ni shinazu wa

kuwako ni zo narubekarikeru tama no o bakari

Far better it were to turn into a silkworm,

even for a while, than to be rorrured to death

by a foolish passion.

lie muse h · · h o her h ave pitted her in

spite of her crudity because e went t ouse and l . ' . h

Sh s epc Wtth her. He left in the middle of the night , w ereupon

e sent h. tm this:

. yo mo akeba k1rsu ni hamenade

When daybreak arrives,

I'll ross him into the cistern-

The Courtly Ideal

chat pesky rooster

kucakake no madaki ni nakire whdodra_ises his v oice too soon

•rs uru an nves my lover a way -0~ .

Presenrl)', rhe man sent word that he was r eturning to the ca .

His paem: Pita!,

kurihara no Were it but hu man-

aneha no marsu no the pine tree of Aneha

hiro naraba at Kurihara-

miyako no rsuro ni I would cell it, "C ome and be

iza ro iwamashi o my keepsake in the city. " ,

me, she said. The girl was overjoyed. 'Tm sure he's in love w

ith ., .

16

Once there was a man named Ki A . Emperors. He prospered for a t" no n

csune who served three

found himself even less well off h tme' but ch anges took place' and he

of exceptional sensibility and t fian an average co urtier. He was a person

rarned rhe re nement De s · h ·

rhe b rasres and attitudes of h . s . pt te ts poverty, he re-

dre:Co lems of everyday life He :ndm:,re afflu ent past' untroubled by

vows ::;rt, and _at length the. wife mad is wife of many years gradually Even thou! ~ t~live with an older siste e i;;' her mind to take Buddhist was deep] t e couple had not be _r, :' o had al

ready become a nun.

y moved by h en mttmate ii 1 to givehera fatewe t eprospecrofherd

ora ongtime,Arirsune

roan old friend. "S~l presenr. In great d ' epart ure, but he was coo poor

50 much as a trifl' e '.s leaving fore tStcess,

he wrote of her decision

re o . ing gift." He ende;er'. a hnd I must se nd her off without

. orire Wit this

3 •mishi k po

em : oroo W

kaioureba I hen, telling b

co ro iir counr o be y tens,

Yorsu /ursu each n nt f ingers

a henikeri we h of the years

His fi · ave lived quilt . riend found . the total a

s man and wife,

, W1rh this P<>e it lllOst to . amounts to four.

,. ,., m: uching H " '"•m · e se h ·

d _naJIOb,; •0

impJ; nt 1m b oth a robe an a

~,,h m, "J nrerprere,1 cs thar he . ro IIJl'an " Wou/d like ' I cons;d to take the . er you scarcely fr! home wirh him. (Bu

t che p<>f 111

uman • Naturally, I won't cake you

coshi dani mo

co core yorsu wa benikeru o

jkutabi kimi o

canomikinuran

j\ritsune replied:

Tales of Ise

In that marriage

enduring over a span

of four decades,

many must have been the times

when she came ro you for help.

Might this be che famed

feather robe from the heavens? '

Indeed , my lord ,

you yourself must have deigned

co wear it as your own.

So great was his joy chat he sent a nother poem:

kore ya kono

arna no hagoromo mube shi koso

kirni ga mikeshi to

racemacsurikere

That my sleeves seem as wet

as though autumn had arrived

with its drenching dews-

the explanation is here

aki ya kuru

tsuyu ya magau to omou made

aru wa namida no

furu ni zo arikeru in the joyous rears I shed.

47

I7

After staying away for months , a man once visited a certain house

to see the cherry trees in bloom . T he woman who lived there com pose

d

this poem:

ada nari to na ni koso tatere

sakurabana toshi ni mare naru

hito mo machikeri

They are called fickle,

these blossoms of the cherry,

yet they have waited

for someone whose visits

come but seldom in the year.

His reply:

kyo kozu wa Had I not come coday,

asu wa yuki to zo they would have fallen comorrow

furinamashi like drifting snowflakes.

kiezu wa ari tomo Thou g h they have not yet melted,

hana to mim h ' fl as 1 ya they are scarcely tr

ue owers.

m • 2

· According c I ed · ti b heavenly

a1dens h O egend, the inhab itants of earth we

re visir occasiona Y Y •

w O

wore er f a . d d ·ed · ch rna.rvelous

owns o uowers and many-hued ski rts an anc w,

-

The Courtly Ideal

18

her shallow wo man who wished to be h

was a rat t ou h Once rhere . Jived nearby. Because the woman was c g t

A ce rra1n man , c 1 · . iond f eJ eganr. d .d d co rest che mans 1ee rngs wtth this poern

. o ·r · g she eci e , Wh1 h

vers1 yin ' ~ ded chrysanthemum: c

she arrached ro a a

kurenai ni niou wa izu ra

shirayuki no eda mo riio m furu ka to mo miyu

Where might it be-

chat beautiful crimson glow?

We can see only

a whiteness as of snowflakes

fallen thick on bending boughs. 3

The man pretended not ro understand. He answered:

kurenai ni niou ga ue no

shiragiku wa orikeru hito no sode ka to mo miyu

A white chrysanthemum

with petals snowy above

a crimson glow-

might it not bloom in the sleeve

of the one who picked the flower?

19

Once a man in the service of an . . to one of the conso , d imperial consort began to

make love rt s atten ants p 1

. When the two met · h · resent Y, the affair came to

an end . beh JO t e course of h . d .

. avedasifthewo . t etr ut1es at the house

the man e h man were tnvisibl

, noug • She senr him th' e, even though she saw h

im plainly 15 Poem:

amagumo no yoso ni mo h' . Jtono

nar,yuku ka sasuga ni me ni w m,y a

uru mono kara

His reply:

amag umono

Although you remain visible to the eye,

we are quite estranged: you have be . come as distant as a cloud . h 10 t e heavens.

Yoso ni no . ------

1111 shite Th I ,,.,.. "------ at spend my days 81ace. Diapha ever as d · and "1 rth. nous robes lllad !Stant from you

J 1'h c of bird . fi rhc, ... ~ e 8ifr of a f. s eathers enabJ d

n

lllan app . ading \1/h . e the maidens co fly between heave

'CC rared 1tc chr the Poi Ysanthernurn .

&nancy of the h ' its petals tinged with red showed that

c ange ' r d s wrought by time. Her pro1esse

furu koto wa

wa ga iru yama no

kaze hayami nari

Tales of lse

as a cloud in the sky

is the fault of the harsh wind

on the hill where I would rest .

He meant that another man had been visiting her .

20

49

Once a man met, courted, and won a woman who lived in Yamato .

After a time, he had to return to the capital , where he served an imperial

personage. On the way, he was intrigued by the sight of a maple tree

whose leaves were red, even though it was the Th ird Month. He broke

off a branch and sent it to the woman with this po em:

kimi ga tame taoreru eda wa

haru nagara kaku koso aki no momiji shinikere

As you may see, this bough I have broken off

just because of you is dyed with the red color

of autumnal foliage .~

Her answer came after he had reached the capital:

itsu no ma ni ucsurou iro no

csukinuran kimi ga sato ni wa haru nakarurashi

How very swiftly the color seems co have changed !

I can only think there is no springtime ac all

in the city where you live.

21

Once a man and a woman loved one another dea rly. I am not sure

what happened-nothing of any importance-b ut the woman grew

unhappy with the relationship and decided to go away. She left behind

this poem, scribbled on something in the house:

inability to see the reddened petals was a fashionabl e pose. " Red d ish tinge" sug gests passion ;

th us, the real message of the poem is, "I've heard you are someth.ing of a gallant , but I see no

sign of it ." In his response, which is a graceful eva sion, the man surm ises cha r che woman is

"'.'e:1nng a robe in the " white chrysanthemum" c olor combination (white with a reddish

ltn1ng) .

. 4· "I send you this branch noc only so chat you may admi re its beauty but also as a

reminder of the flaming passion in my heart." In he r re ply, th e woman prere nd s co misunder-

s.~and the man's feelings. She accuses him of losing interes t, mnk ing un im p licir pun on "ki

~ autumn"; "weary of"). " How quickly your sentiments have changed ! fo r you, ic see ms,

here is no spring-only aki ."

The Courdy Ideal

5° If I go away,

idere inaba. ochers will doubtless conclude

kokoro karushi co chat I am fickle.

ii ya sen They have no way of know in ·~o

g yo no ansa b what has passed between us hiro wa sh1 rane a .

astonished and bewildered that she should h The man was . k f . ave

w · . h • because he could thrn o nothmg at whic

h h . r1t- ren JO r ar ve in, .

s e mi h

h ak en offense. He went outside the gate, weeping bi

tt 1 g t

ave r . er y and

wonderingwhererosearch first, but though he looked this way and that

he had no norion of where to start, and he finally went ba ck i 'd •

. ~e.& recited rh1s poem :

omou kai naki yo narikeri

toshitsuki o ada ni chigirite ware ya sumaishi

In our marriage

my love counted for nothing-

yet for all those years

was I ever once untrue

co my pledge of constancy?

Then he sat staring gloo ·1 · . m1 y mto space. He also compose

d this:

h1ro wa isa omoi ya suran I wonder if she

tamakazura might still be thinking of me.

omokage ni nomi Fair as a gemmed fillet

irodo miersursu t!me after time her image,

Aft rises before my mind's eye er a long time h .

could no l ' t e woman sent h . h . ongerconrrolherr 1

. tm t 1s, possibly because she i ,ee tngs: ma wa tote

wasururu kUSa no . tane o danj

h1ro nok k makas o oro ni

ezu lllog LJ • a na ri1s reply:

wasuregUs uu t d a

. . Perhaps you believe tt ts time to forget me-

yet l would like to stop th "c r e rorgetting-grass" seed ,rom bei l . ng Panted m your heart.

o anj kiku lllon0 0 Had

I so h ~ ·k ~~ th moc ash~~ 01 erj at You w shi · to wa ere planting the gr

ass

ri lllo shillain h' I of forgetfulness \\;iith as , Would h ,

day the that, ther "Ah s a~e understood: lllancoill ebeganane . , he stdl remembers me! "

Posed th . w intirn 15 Poelll: acy even closer than che old. ooe

wasururan to

omou kokoro no utagai ni

arishi yori ke ni mono zo kanashiki

She replied:

nakazora ni tachiiru kumo no

ato mo naku mi no hakanaku mo narinikeru ka na

Tales of Ise

Because of these doubts- these fears that even now

you are forgetting- my misery is greater

than when we were estranged .

Because of your doubts,

I feel on the point of death , ready to vanish

like a cloud in the heavens

dissolving without a trace .

Bur in the end they found new partners and sep arated.

23

SI

A boy and a girl, the children of two men w ho traveled over the

countryside, used to play together beside a wel l. As they grew up , they

both felt rather self-conscious about continuing the old relationship, but

the boy had sec his h~rt on marrying the girl, and she was determ ined

that she would be his wife, and refused to agree when her father tried to

betroth her to someone else. The boy sent the g irl this poem:

tsutsui tsu no izutsu ni kakeshi

maro ga take suginikerashi na imo mizaru ma ni

She replied:

Since last I saw you,

it seems to have grown until

I am the taller- my height that we two measured

against the curb of the well.

kurabekoshi The mid-parted hai r

furiwakegami mo I once measured ag ainst yours

kata suginu hangs coward my w aist .

kimi narazu shite For whom should it be put up,

tare ka agubeki unless it be for you ?

_After many such poems had passed between the m , their wishes were

realized and they became man and wife.

Some years lacer the wife's father died, leaving her without support ,

and the husband tired of living with her in p overty, cook to visiting a

Woman in the Takayasu District of Kawachi P rovince. The wife always

The Courtly Ideal

52 . 1

. de apparent resentment that he bega ~ wrrh so rr d.

n to su SJW hrm O One day after preten mg to set ou

r c v 5Pect .- g a lover. '

ior .ri..a herof h_Ji rn h bbery and watched her. She made

up h f: \Vachi, h d in rhe s ru . . .

er ace .

he I nd recited this poem, gaztng tnto space·

With mrnculous care a

.

k,ze fukeba okJ1sU shir.rnami

wsurayama ro•·a ni ya kimi ga huori ko)'uran

Is he journeying

alone in the dead of night

across that mountain

whose name recalls waves at sea

rising when the tempest blow ~ s.

His hea rr swelled with love for her, and his visits to K aw h.

. . ac t cea sed

0n rherareoccaswns when the man did go to Takayas h b ·

u, e o served dur rhe woman there had abandoned all decorum d

· · d ,

espite the gre p;ims she ha taken wirh her appearance at first =, t h • h .

at . . wa c

tng er set h nreladle and heap her bowl to overflowing he fc I d .

ze t e

he finally severed the connection altogethe:. e t so isenchanted that

One day rhe woman in Kawachi . toward Yamaro: composed this po

em as she looked

kimi ga arari mitsutsu O oran Though rain

may fall I be '

ikomayama g you, clouds, do not hi de

kumo na kakushi so Ikoma Mountain,

ame v.a furu romo for I think only of seeing

With some rel the place where my belove d dwells.

waited in io o uc~a_nce' the man se thing had h Y us ant1c1parion b h nt word that he wo

uld come. She

appened several/ ut e failed to appear. Afte r the same

kim·k •mes, she sent h . . ·· .

1 0mu to im this poem· ~

. )'Dgoronj N' h

sugioureba I h ig t after night, iaoon.,. ave await d h . . k . .. ..,,u llJon e t e visits

Oitiursu zo fu o no th you promised to make. Burh ru ough I 1

e ne~e I no onger trust yo u

tcalll spend m d . ' e again. Y ays in longing.

d. l'liere r he bad Was once 24

lc~k e e his....,. a ll!an Wh ilJp/oy,,, rfe an atr o lived .

·••enr • 11ecr· in a r O e

10 a0 a . 10nare f:a emote country district. n

rrsr0c reweJJ d . I o

raric h an set off for the cap1ra r ouse Wh ed

· en three years had pass

Tales of lse 53

. h 00

sign of him, his wife, tired of waiting, p romised to marry

wic . h . h . B h

e who h ad been woomg er wtt great persisten

ce. ut on t e

50meon .

·ght she had selected for the first meetmg , her husband appeared

very 01 . . · .

and knocked on the door to be let m. Inst ead of openmg , she wrote this

poem and passed it out:

aratama no coshi no micose o

machiwabite tada koyoi koso niimakura sure

He replied:

azusayumi mayumi tsukiyumi

coshi o hete wa ga seshi ga goco

uruwashimi se yo

Meer three Jong years

of wearisome waiting

for your return,

on this very evening

I am to wed another.

Love your new husband

as I have loved you for years

as numerous as bows

made of birch and spindlewood,

made from the zelkova tree.

Then he started to leave. His wife recited this poem:

azusayumi hikedo hikanedo

mukashi yori kokoro wa kimi ni yorinishi mono o

It does not matter

whether ochers seek my love.

From the beginning ,

you were always the one

for whom I truly cared .

All the same, he set out . His anguished w ife went after him but

could not overtake him, and at length she fell down beside a clear

spring. She wrote this poem on a rock wit h blood from her finger.

aiomowade karenuru hito o

todomekane

wa ga mi wa ima zo kiehatenumeru

She died on that very spot.

I could not detain

the one who wenc away,

rejecting my love,

and now, it seems, the time has come

co bid farewell to life.

40 Once a yo k c ·

enou h b ~ng man too a ,ancy to a girl who was really acceptable

g ' ut his parents, a conceited couple , decided to send the girl

~ The Courtly Ideal rne serious-or so they said tio 54 ient beca ' r at fir

he ,11rachn Th boy was unable to oppose them b St , before r lk e . . ' ecau

a"'a) ·d ching but ra . d had no strong will of his own yet· d se rhey d1 no n rhem an 1 Th ' an the

d Pcndenr o equally power ess . e two mer 1 he was c birth, was . 1 e Y felt . 1 being of low Then, quite abrupt y, the parents resolv d g1r , r1nlove. . h b' e to

deepe r and deepc he boy had no way of stopping t em' i tterly thou oerr id of rheg irl. T •ed off. Sobbing, the boy composed this P gh " r and she was earn oern: hewep ' It would not be hard

,dere inaba rare ka wakare no

karakara n arishi ni masaru kyo wa kanashi mo

co lose someone who had gone of her own free will,

but the grief I feel today scrikes far deeper than before.

Then he lost consciousness . His parents were terribly upset. After all , they had spoken only_ out of concern for his ":'elfare ~ never dreaming char rhe affair was so serious-yet there he lay 10 a faint. They offered agirated prayers 10 the gods and Buddhas.

Although the boy had lose consciousness at sunset, it was the Hour of rhe Dog [r oo P.M. -9:00 P.M.} on the next day before he came around. _Such were the depths of feeling chat the young used to display. Sensibility of that order is not co be found nowadays, even among older people .

49 Once a man who w .

composed rhis poem: as stirred by the beauty of his younger sister

ura wakami neyoge ni miyuru

wakaJcusa o hito no musubamu koro o shi zo

She rep! ied: omou

hatsukusa nad no

o mezurashiki koro no h

Ura nak a ZO u mo

orn 'k no o o, eru ka na

It pains me to think that another hand will bind

the young grasses- the herbs so fresh and tender so ideal for sleeping. '

. Why do you speak of me in word

s as unfamiliar as th ·

Wh e sight of young grass

ens · • I Pnngc1me comes? Have I not oved yo .

u 1n all innocence?

Tales of lse 55

50

Once a man who was nettled by a woman's reproaches composed this poem:

cori no ko o t6 zutsu to wa

kasanu tomo omowanu hito o omou mono ka wa

She answered:

asatsuyu wa kienokorite mo

arinubeshi tare ka kono yo o tanomihatsubeki

Then he wrote:

fuku kaze ni kozo no sakura wa

chirazu tomo ana tanomigata hito no kokoro wa

The woman's rejoinder:

yuku mizu ni kaze kaku yori mo

hakanaki wa omowanu hito o omou narikeri

The man:

yuku mizu to suguru yowai to

chiru hana to 1zure mate cha koto o kikuran

How can I love one who would care nothing for me

even were I able to make layers of hens' eggs ten eggs high and ten eggs wide )

Of the morning dew an occasional drop

may perhaps remain, but a relationship with you is ephemeral indeed.

It is less likely that you should prove trustworthy

than that the breezes should have failed to scatter last year's cherry blossoms.

Less profitable than writing on the water

of a flowing stream- such is the futility of unrequited passion .

Flowing waters, the years gliding by,

scattering blossoms- which of them will listen if someone asks them co waic?

In spite of their mutual accusations of infidelity, both of them were probably involved in secret affairs with other people.

r 60 duties at a palace kept him so bu ,an whose ff sy tha rhere as an leered ran o to another province . t one~ b ·ng neg ' . Wtth . .- (e rired of ei eat her better. Some time later, the first h1s\\ 1 , rn isedro tr h · . lllan rneonewhopro_ enger co Usa . As e was Journeying toward h so . penal mess . . t e

15 named 1m h' cormer wife was now married to one f w. ed rhat is ,, . . o the shrine, he learn 'ble for providing him with accommodations on h

{! lsrespons1 h" . " O t e 1ocalo111oa h c she was co serve 1s wme. therwise I , He ave orders c a , Wont way. . .~ .d When she presented che cup, he took an orange fro drink ir he sat . . lll a dish of ;elishes and recited this poem:

sarsuki macsu hana tachibana no

ka o kageba mukashi no hico no sode no ka zo suru

Scenting the fragrance of orange blossoms chat await

the Fifth Month's coming, I recall a perfumed sleeve worn by someone long ago.

The woman, overcome with shame, became a nun and entered . a mouncam rerreat .

62 Once there was a woman wh h b d

Perhaps becaus h ose us an had neglected her for years. e s e was not clever sh k h d person and becam d . . ' e too t e a vice of an unreliable, e a omestlC 1n · • one day that she se d fi a provincial household. It happened husband told th rve ood to her former husband That night the k e master of h h · ' now me?" he asked Th t e ouse to send her to him. " Don't you

. . · en he recited · in1shie no ·

nioi wa izura Wh ere is the beauty

sakurabana you fl d kokeru ka aunte in days of old? narinike rakato mo Ah! You have become 1'h ru na merely a cherry tree

Ille )" he Woman was despailed of its blossoms . e k too e b . recit as e<l . "l a Ill arrassed t ed: m blind and o reply. "Why don't you answer

koreyak speechless with tears," she said. He Ware n· Ono

I au rn · •••I 0

Iiere i h s a person w o has ·

Wished to be rid

Tales of Ise 57

nogaretsutsu of her ties to me. coshitsuki furedo Although much time has elapsed, masarigao naki her lot seems little improved .

He removed his cloak and gave it to her, but she left it and ran off.- nobody knows where.

Once a man went to lse Province as an imperial huntsman. Because che Ise Virgin's mother had sent word chat he was co be treated better than the ordinary run of imperial representatives, the Virgin looked after his needs with great solicitude, seeing him off co hunt in the morn- ing and admitting him to her own residence when he returned in the evening. 5

On the night of the second day of this hospitable treatment , the man suggested that they get better acquainted . The Virgin was not unwill- ing, but it was impossible to arrange a private meeting with so many people around. However, the man, as leader of the hunting party, had been given accommodations rather close to the Virgin's own bedchamber instead of in some distant quarter, and she went co his rooms around eleven o'clock that night, after the household had quieted down. He was lying there wide awake, gazing out into the night, when he saw her by the faint light of the moon, standing behind a little page g irl. Over- joyed, he led her into the bedchamber. But she left without pledging her love , even though she stayed from eleven o'clock until two-thirty.

The disappointed man spent a sleepless night . Despite h is impa- tience , he could not very well send a message on the following morning ; he could only wait anxiously for word from the Virgin . Soon after dawn, she sent this poem without an accompanying letter:

kimi ya koshi ware ya yukikemu

omoezu yume ka utsutsu ka nete ka samete ka

Might you have come here , or did I perhaps go there?

I cannot recall . . . Was it dre\illl or reality? Was I sleeping or wak ing?

S · The lse Virgin was the chief priestess of che Inner Shrine at lse, dedicat~d co Ama- terasu, the ancestor of the imperial clan. At che beginning of each reign , a new mcumbenc Was chosen from among the unmarried daughters of Emperors and Princes ·

~ The Courtly Ideal -8 . yes he composed this and sent it ) . g from his e , to her• \\7ich rears streafll '

0 I wandered confused ·

kakikurasu . . in the darkness of a mind kokoro no yam1 01 bereft of reason.

rnadoin iki You must pronounce it tonight ,urneucsucsu co wa either dream or reality. l d l'o koyoi sa ame

h went our co hunt. . . Then e

11 ped over the plam, his thoughts strayed to the c Asche man ga O • • om-. . M. h he not hope to meet the V1rg10 as soon as the oth mg night . 1g t . h d d ers d bedl But word of his presence a reache the Governor f ha gone to · . . . , o

che provi nce, who was also rn charge of the V1rg10s affairs, and the Gove rnor proceeded co entertain him with wine all night long. It was impossible ro see the Virgin. He was to leave at dawn for Owari Prov- ince , so cherecould be no further opportunity, even though he was quite frantic with longing-as was the Virgin herself.

Toward dawn , the Virgin sent a farewell cup of wine with a p . oem wrmen on the saucer. The man picked up the saucer and examined it .

kachibito no wararedo nurenu

e ni shi areba

Our relationship was but a creek too shallow

The last two lines were m. . ISSIOg.

The man completed the . .

to wet a walker's skirts .

. poem with a btt of charcoal: mara osaka no seki wa koenan I shall sure! y cross again Th v· . the Barrier to Meeting. e irg1n w h

rhedau h as t e one whose d . g terofEmperor M k rve during Emperor Seiwa's reign,

onto uand h . t e sister of Prince Koretaka.

A certain ~{' . 8 I on the bank f in1ster of the Lee Mo h O the Ka 1t once 1 · d · d . nt one Yea mo River ive in a very interesting house tsh · r, wh near Rok ·- h ,, . _tinge and

11 en the white h UJO Avenue. Late in the Tent "11 n1st · a th c rysan h d and er invited e trees and b t emums had taken on a re -lllUsi some i . ushes bl • h Praise fc. As dawn mpertal Pri· azed rn autumn hues, t e o th app nces t · . • e man · , roached h O visit him for a night of wine s1ons el ' t e gues . egance. A. h ts fell to composing poerns 10

umble old fellow, who had been

Tales of lse 59

creeping about below the veranda, recited this after the others had finished:

shiogama ni itsu ka kinikemu

asanagi ni tsuri suru fune wa koko ni yoranan

When might I have come to Shiogama shore ?

How nice it would be were a boat trolling for fish to approach in the morning calm!

A traveler to Michinoku Province sees countless unusual and in- triguing places. In all the sixty and more provinces of our country, there is nothing quite like Shiogama; thus, the old man heaped praise on the host's garden in saying, "When might I have come to Shiogama?"

82 There was once an imperial Prince named Koretaka. He owned a

house at Minase, beyond Yamazaki, which he visited every year when the cherry trees were in full bloom, always taking with him a man who served as Director of the Imperial Stables of the Right. (It was so long ago that I have forgotten the man's name.) The Prince would go out hawking during such visits, but the hunts did not greatly interest him ; they were, indeed, little more than pretexts for sipping wine and com- posing verses . On one occasion, he noticed some exceptionally lovely blossoms at the Nagisa House in Katano. He and some of the others dismounted to sit under the trees, decorated their caps with flowers , and began to compose poems. The Director of the Stables of the Right:

yo no naka ni taete sakura no

nakariseba haru no kokoro wa nodokekaramashi

Someone retorted:

chireba koso itodo sakura wa

medetakere ukiyo ni nani ka hisashikarubeki

If ours were a world where blossoming cherry trees

were not to be found , what tranquility would bless the human heart in springtime!

It is just because the cherry blossoms scatter

that they win our praise . Does anything last for long in this insubstantial world?

At dusk, shortly after they had left the trees to ride in the direction

60

I est of che Prince's people came over th fi f M. ase r 1e r . d e eld o 10 . ' ncs bearing wine, an the parry cont . s tow with serva . . . 1nued ard rhe t~ r n attractive spot in which to drmk. Present1 togethe looking ior a [R' f H ] Y, they . r, lied Amanogawa 1ver o eaven , and th arrived at a place ca d rr ere the D.

Sca bies of the Right scarce to oner the Prince a cu irector of rhe . ,, h p . . P. "When you presentthe wine, t e rmce said, "recite a Poem

b. er 'Coming to Amanogawa After a Hunt at Katano , ,, Th 0 n the SU )e • e Q· . 1recc @~ : ~ kari ku ras hi Having hunced all day,

cana bacatsume ni lee us borrow a lodging yado karam u from the Weaver Maid

ama no kawara ni for we have come co the shore ware wa kinikeri of the River of Heaven.

After the Prince had chanted the poem several times · h h " . I Ki A . wu out ming on a rep y, no ntsune, who was one of the party, responded thus: hitotose ni

hitotabi kimasu kimi maceba

yado kasu hito mo araji co zo omou

Since the Weaver Maid awaits her beloved spouse

who comes once a year, she is not at all likely to take us in for the n ight.

Back at the mansion h d When the p • ' c ey rank and told tales far into the night. nnce prepared · day-old moo . co retire, somewhat befuddled, the eleven-n was Just ready d · of the Stables of h . to tsappear behind the hills . The Director

t e Right recited: akanaku ni

rnadaki mo ts k· Muse the moon vanish u t no kakururu ka in such great haste , leaving us

Yamanoha · still unsatisfied.:> . ntgere trezu mo aranamu Retreat, 0 rim of the hills,

Ki no Aritsu and refuse to lee it sec . ne answered fo .

ash · r the Prince· . tnabece . rn1ne

mo taira · n . 01 annanam

Yarna no h u tsuki rn _a naku Wa

0 ltajj O

Would that every peak, every summit far and near,

might turn to flatlands, for without a mountain rim the moon could not disappear.

Tales of lse 61

83

Once an elderly Director of the Imperial Stables of che Rig ht went along on one of Prince Korecaka's frequent hunt ing excursions co Minase . The Prince returned co his palace in the capital a few days lace r. But instead of dismissing the Director (who had intended co escort him home and then go to his own house) , he detained him, saying that he wanted co drink with him and give him a present . The Director , impa- tient co be off, recited:

makura tote kusa hikimusubu

koto mo seji aki no yo to dani tanomarenaku ni

I shall pull up no grasses to be fashioned

into a pillow : tonight will not last as long as though the season were au t umn .

(It was lace in the Third Month.) Nevertheless, the Prince stayed up al l night.

Such was che manner in which chis Director made himself useful co the Prince; but one day, while he was still in constant attendance at the palace, he was astonished to learn that his patron had become a monk . When che First Month came around , he resolved co go and pay h is respects co him at Ono, a place blanketed with snow at the foot of Mount Hiei. With much difficulty, he made his way co the hermitage , where he found the Prince looking bored and forlorn . The Director li ngered on and on, reminiscing about the past, but his official responsibilities obliged him co start back at nightfall, even though he would have liked to remain longer. As he set out, he recited:

wasurete wa When for an instant yume ka to zo omou I forget , it seems a dream .

omoiki ya Did I imagine yuki fumiwakete chat I might behold my lord kimi o m imu co wa only by cramping through snow ?

He Wene back co the capital in tears.

84 . Once there was a man of rather low rank whose mother was an imperial Princess. The mother lived ac Nagaoka , and the son, who was

Courtly Ideal The

. 1

fi und it hard to visit her as often 62 capita , o 1 h"ld I as he ·ceat rhe d ly beloved on y c i . n the Tw ic . rial se fV' as her ear I e l th in 1rnfJf Jked -Hew came from her. t was a matter of h id have , a teeter 1 h t e ~-ou f cerrain yea r, said. In great a arm, t e man opened . Month o a rhe rnessenger It osc urgency, u[JII . rn · and read chis pae .

oinu reba saranu wakare no

ari to ieba iyoiyo mimaku hosh ilci ki mi ka na

Weepi ng birrerl y, her son wrote:

yo no naka ni saranu wakare no

naku mo ga na chi yo mo to inoru hito no ko no tame

Now more than ever I long to look on my son,

for when we grow old there is a kind of parting none of us can evade.

For the sake of sons who pray that their parents

may live a thousand years, how I wish that in this world there were no final partings!

85 Once rhere was a man who visited his former patron, a Buddhist

monk , during the First Month of every year. He had attended this personag~ smcehischildhood, and he made his annual pilgrimage with und1mm1shed loyalt h . . . ; . Y, even t ough his duties at court prevented him rom calling very ofte O . h gentleme d n. ne year, the hermitage was crowded wit nan monks II fi served in h f ' a ormer attendants of the master. Wine was onor o the seas I company beg on. t snowed hard all day long and the tipsy an to compo ' f whomlspeak . d se on the theme "Snowbound ." The man° recite these lines:

_omoedomo mi O shi wakeneba Though I think of you,

mekare senu I am powerless to split Yuki no isu If wa rnoru zo myse asunder: ga kokor thu I · · lb O naru 5 re101Ce to see the snow

e Prince took ff fall and fall and pile in drifts. o arobea d n gave it t h. 0 1m, deeply moved.

Tales of lse

Once a man w_ent_ to stay on some property he owned in Ashiya Village, Mubara District, Settsu-the very place mentioned in the old poem that runs:

ashinoya no nada no shioyaki

icoma nami csuge no ogushi mo sasazu kinikeri

The sale-fire tenders by the Bay of Reed-Thatched Hues

have too little time even to dress their hair with simple wooden combs .

(From this, the place came to be called Ashiya-no-nada, Bay of Reed- Thatched Huts.)

The man held a minor official post that involved no very onerous duties, and certain Assistant Guards Commanders used the connection as an excuse for joining him . His older brother was a Guards Com- mander. One day, as the gentlemen were idling along the beach in front of the hose's house, with no particular destination in mind, someone proposed going up into the mountains for a view of Nunobiki Falls. After making the ascent, they saw a spectacular cascade stretching like white silk across a rock face 200 feet high and 50 feet across. At the very top, the water rushed over a rock lip the size of a straw cushion , spraying globules as big as tangerines and chestnuts. The host called for waterfall poems, and the Guards Commander recited:

wagayooba kyo ka asu ka to

matsu kai no namida no taki co izure takaken

Which might be the higher- these falls or the cascade

of the tears I shed in vain hope of prospering today or tomorrow?

Next, the host composed this:

nukimidaru There must be a man hito koso arurashi unstringing them at the top-

shiratama no those transparent beads ma naku mo chiru ka scattering incessantly. sode no sebaki ni Alas for my narrow sleeves!

The others seem to have been much amused . They all praised the Poem and fu · · ·r . re sed to go on with their vers1 ymg .

7

I

\

ji The c ou1uy ,~~-- 64

1 g and twilight was falling as they p

. ey was on ' . h. h l M. assed TherecurnJournd belonged co Moch1yos t, t e. ate inister of the

d e!ling chat ha . ahead coward the Ash.1ya house the

rhe w h Id Gazing . d ' Y saw I erial House o ·. boars. The host reote : mp f many fishing rhe fi res O Might they be scars

haruru yo no twinkling in cloudless skies, hos hi ka kawabe no or fireflies near the stream,

horaru ka mo or are they fish lures kindled wa gas umukarano by the shore folk where I dwell? ama no rak u hi ka

So rhey re turned . . . . The waves reared and cossed during the night, whipped by a south

wi nd , and maidservants went out early in the morning to gather the seaweed rhar had been washed ashore. The lady of the house heaped the seaweed on a pedestal rray and presented it co the guests, covered with an oak leaf on which she had scribbled chis poem:

wararsumi no kazashi ni sasu to

iwau mo mo kimi ga tame ni wa oshimazarikeri

For these gentlemen, gladly the god of the sea

relinquishes the seaweed he treasures to decorate his head.

How are we to i· udge th. , . 1s country persons poem? Was 1t good or bad?

88 Once a group of friend

moon together O

f s, no longer very young, were admiring che · ne O them recited:

iikata wa tsuki o mo medeji

kore zo kono tsumoreba h. . Ito no 01 to naru mono

As a general thing, 1 t~e but little pleasure

10 praising the moon. Does not its every circuit make us a little older?

Once there 90 worn c Wasam an ior an Who h d b . receive h. some time ll d a een striving to win an unresponsrve

1rn O • !VJ.Ove h them . the rn n the following '. per aps, by pity, she finally agreed co

an was night w · h en overjoyed b it only a flimsy barrier becwe

, ut could h ·ght not elp fearing that she rn•

Tales of Jse 65

change her mind . He sent her a poem h d attac e to b .fu cherry blossoms: a eaut1 l spray of

sakurabana kyo koso kaku mo

Today, as we see

niou como the cherry blossom; glow

with radiant beauty, ana tanomigaca b b uc none can e sure alas asu no yo no koco of h h ' ' w at t e morrow may bring.

His misgivings were probably justified .

91

Once there was a man who had been much depressed by certain troubles and, indeed, even by the passing of time . He composed this poem coward the end of the Third Monch:

oshimedomo haru no kagiri no

kyo no hi no yiigure ni sae narinikeru ka na

With all my heart, I willed it co be otherwise,

and yet on chis , the final day of springtime, the shades of evening fall.

92

Once a man, deeply in love, journeyed time and again to the neigh- borhood where a certain woman lived, but was always obliged to go home without seeing her. He could not even send her a letter. At length , he wrote this poem:

ashibe kogu cananashiobune

ikusocabi yukikaeruran shiru hito mo nami

For how many cimes- how many dozens of trips-

might the c~ny boac go and return among che reeds wich none co know of ic ?

93 Once a man of humble stacus fell in love with a woman who moved

· h · b d that he had cause for in t e very highest circles . Can 1c e suppose . optimism? He thought of her waking and sleeping, and one day,

10

miserable spirits, he composed this poem:

66

onaona omoi wa subeshi

oazoe nak u cakaki iyashiki kurus hika ri keri

The Courtly Ideal

We should fall in love as befits our station in life

for it is bitter ' to feel the disparity be~ween exalted and base.

E . earlier rimes, may it not have been common wisdom h

ven in . 1 t at such arcachments lead to unhappmess.

94

Once there was a man who stopped living with a woman c. . . 1or some

reas~n. She fo rmed another lia1_son, but she had borne him a child and he

continued to send her an occas10nal letter, though with no great display

of ardor. It ~appened th~t he asked her to paint a picture for him-she was something of an amst-but she replied that her new husb d · hh · an was

wi t . er Just the~ . ,:V-Cer first one day and then another had passed with

n? sign of the patntmg , he wrote in considerable irritation " I suppose

tts na~ural enough that you still haven't bothered to do as I asked, but you will understand that I fi d . . " poe ( h n It annoying. H

e sent along a sarcastic m t e season was autumn):

aki no yo wa haruhi wasururu

mono nare ya kasumi ni ki ri ya chie masaruran

The woman's reply:

. chi ji no aki hitotsu no h . aru 01

mukawarn mo ... e ya

m111moh tomo n· k ana mo

l oso chire

Autumn nights, it seems, have caused you to forget

the days of springtime- else why should misc be adjudged so vastly superior to haze?

Noc a thousand autumns can equal a single spring-

yet in scattering there is little difference between foliage and blossoms.

Once th 9 he ho.l b ere Was a 5

""ee · rnanh 5tan J n 1n lo w o ser d rime, t Y, andh

6 ve With a 1 d . ve the Nijo Empress. For sorne _ e nall b a Y-1n · · d coo Y egg d -waiting whom he encountere .

e to be all . rra10s owed to visit her, keepmg cu

► Tales of Ise

between chem if necessary, "for I should like to try to clear up a m atte r

chat has been very much on my mind ." The lady received him , tak-

ing great pains not to be observed. He chatted aw hile and the n reci ted

rhis poem:

hikobosh i ni koi wa masarinu

ama no kawa hedacsuru seki o ima wa yamete yo

My longing for you makes the Ox-Driver's pass ion pale.

Please put aside the River of Heaven, that barrier between us .

Struck with admiration, she accepted him as her lover.

Once there was a man who wooed a woman with such persistence

that she gradually began to return his affection. (Not being made of

stone or wood, she could scarcely have helped feeling sorry for h im. )

Unfortunately, it was the middle of the Sixth Month by then, and a boil

or two had erupted on her skin. "Although I think of nobody but you , I am suffering from a boil or two just now-and besides, it's so frightfull y

hot. I promise co meet you as soon as the autumn w inds begin to b low, " she sent him word .

While the woman was waiting for autumn to arrive , some of the

people around her started to complain chat she meant co go off w ith the

man, and her older brother came suddenly co cake her away. She told a

servant to gather some maple leaves chat had just turned red . T h e n she

composed a poem, attached it co the leaves , and left it to be sent co the man:

aki kakece "In autumn," I pledged- iishi nagara mo but it was nor to happen .

aranaku ni Our relat ionship ko no ha furishiku proved to be as shallow e ni koso arikere as an inlet choked with leaves.

"If anyone comes from there, give him chose leaves," she sa id . To this very day, no one knows what became of h er-w h e t her she

was happy or miserable, or even where she went co live. People say the rnan clapped his hands and uttered blood-curdl ing impreca t ions against

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The Courtly Ideal

68 on learn whether one human being has the 0

her. "\V/e shall so h curses," he is supposed to have said . p \Ver to . . e another th roug ,niur '

97

ce a personage known as the Horikawa Min. There was on . b . f . . tster of

h d of a banquet m cele ration o that Minister's fo .

S are On r e ay . d rtieth r · h. h as held at the Kujo Mansion, an el erly Middle Cap .

year, w IC w tain

composed this poem :

saku rabana chi ri kai kumore

oi raku no komu ro iu naru michi magau ga ni

Scatter at random,

0 blossoms of the cherry,

and cloud the heavens ,

chat you may conceal the path

old age is said co follow.

105

0nceamansentword to a woman, 'TH die if things go on like this."

She answered :

shiratsuyu wa If the white dew

kenaba kenanan must vanish, let it vanish.

kiezu tote Even if it stayed,

tama ni nukubeki I doubt chat anyone

hito mo araji o would sering the drops like jewels.

The man cons1·d d h . l c.or her · ere t e reply most discourteous but his ove

1'

increased. '

107 Once a Private S . k. began co

coun a girl h ecretary named Fujiwara no Toshiyu 1 ng

w o serv d · ·11 too you towritead e a certain nobleman. The girl was stt ea

ecent letter 1 comP 05

!>Oern-50 h or express herself properly-much ess Quite

d er master d nd azzled, Toshi u1c· wrote something for her to copy an se ·

Y t respond d . e with this poem:

tsurezure no nagarne .

n1 lllasaru na .d rn1 agawa

Unable to meet you,

I am lost in lonely thought, · h rears

my sleeves drenched wit

sode nomi hijice au yoshi mo nashi

Tales of lse

as abundant as the waters of a rain-swollen ri ver.

The girl 's master composed her reply:

asami koso sode wa hizurame

namidagawa mi sae nagaru to kikaba canomamu

Because it Jacks depth , it merely drenches your sleeve-

yon river of tears . Were your body to float off, I m ight have faith in your words .

People say Toshiyuki was so impressed that he rolled up the poem

and put it in his letter box, where it remains co this d ay.

Somewhat later, after Toshiyuki had succeeded in winning the gi rl ,

he sent her a letter: "I am upset to see that it looks like it's goi ng to

rain. If I'm lucky it won't. " The girl's master wrote this poem for her to

send him:

kazukazu ni omoi omowazu

toigatami mi o shiru ame wa furi zo masareru

Since I cannot ask , point by point , whether your love

is love or no Jove , the rain that knows of my plight

falls ever harder, harder.

Toshiyuki went rushing off co see her without even stopping to put o n

rain gear or a hat, and arrived sopping wet.

125

Once a man was taken ill. Sensing the approach of deat h, he co m-

posed this poem:

tsui ni yuku michi to wa kanete

kikishikado kino kyo to wa 0 mowazarishi o

Upon this pathway, I have long heard it said,

man sets forth at last-

yet I had not thoug ht to go

so very soon as today.

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