Hitomaro’s poem on the Ōmi capital has often been read as an attempt to ritually pacify the spirits of the dead courtiers of the Ōmi capital. Many of the poem’s expressions also appear in elegies (banka), suggesting that the poem is a lament on the ruins. By definition, the capital was the center of the realm, situated directly beneath “heaven.” According to the poem, the present capital and all capitals (except Ōmi) were in Asuka in Yamato Province. Thus it follows that from the Yamato-centered point of view, Ōmi was “a barbarous place, far from heaven,” and yet it was from Ōmi that Tenchi “reigned and ruled all beneath heaven.” In other words, during Tenchi’s reign, Ōmi was the center of the realm.
1:29–31
Passing by the ruined capital of Ōmi, poems composed by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro.
tamadasuki Unebi no yama no
Since the glorious age of the Kashiwara
Kashihara no hijiri no miyo yu
sun-ruler,40 by Mount Unebi of the cords of gems,41
aremashishi kami no kotogoto
each and every of the gods that have appeared42
tsuga no ki no iya tsugitsugi ni
like the winding spruce one after the next,
ame no shita shirashimeshishi o
have reigned and ruled all beneath heaven,
sora ni mitsu Yamato o okite
but to leave Yamato, so full of heaven,
ao ni yoshi Narayama o koe
and cross the Nara hills, so rich in green,43
ikasama ni omohoshimese ka
—what designs were in his mind,44
amazakaru hina ni wa aredo
that in a barbarous place, far from heaven,45
iwabashiru Ōmi no kuni ni
in the land of Ōmi of the racing rocks,46
sasanami no Ōstu no miya ni
in the palace of Otsu of the lively waves,47
ame no shita shirashimeshikemu
he48 reigned and ruled all beneath heaven?
sumeroki no kami no mikoto no
The heavenly lord, divine sovereign,
ōmiya wa koko to kikedomo
though we have heard here was his glorious palace,
otono wa koko to iedomo
though it is said here were his glorious halls,
harukusa no shigeku oitaru
now all is overgrown by the spring grass
kasumi tachi haruhi no kireru
and clouded by the haze of the spring sun,
momoshiki no ōmiyadokoro
as we look at the site of the glorious palace
mireba kanashi mo
we are filled with sadness.
hanka
Envoys
Sasanami no Shiga no Karasaki
O Kara Cape of Shiga in Sasanami,
sakiku aredo
though you are unchanged,
ōmiyahito no fune machikanetsu
in vain we wait for the courtiers’ boats.
Sasanami no Shiga no ōwada
O Shore of Shiga in Sasanami,
yodomu to mo
though your waters are still,49
mukashi no hito ni mata awame ya mo
how could we meet the people of the past?
Poems on Parting from His Wife in Iwami
The poetic category of sōmon (exchanges) includes mostly short poems (tanka), with the following renowned exception of two chōka with tanka by Hitomaro. Although the poems have often been regarded as autobiographical, recent scholarship suggests that the male protagonist, the “I,” was probably meant as a fictional figure with whom the courtiers traveling from the provinces to the capital could identify. The heading of the poem, which names Hitomaro himself as the protagonist, was likely a later addition by the compilers of volume 2, who fictionalized and romanticized Hitomaro’s life.
One of the most curious aspects of the first chōka is its long introduction. The first half of the poem seems to be an extended preface phrase that introduces the woman by means of a pun on the seaweed drawing to the shore and the girl drawing close to the man in sleep. This metaphor of seaweed swaying for a woman lying down or making love is unique to Hitomaro.
2:131–137
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, on parting from his wife in the land of Iwami and traveling up to the capital, two poems with short poems.
Iwami no umi Tsuno no urami o
In the sea of Iwami50 is Tsuno Bay,
ura nashi to hito koso mirame
which people may see as having no coves,
kata nashi to hito koso mirame
and people may see as having no inlets,
yoshieyashi ura wa naku to mo
but yet, all the same, though it has no coves,
yoshieyashi kata wa naku to mo
and yet, all the same, though it has no inlets,
isanatori umihe o sashite
toward the shore of that whale-hunting sea,51
Watazu no ariso no ue ni
and onto the barren beach of Watazu,
kaaoku ouru tamamo okitsumo
may the green gem weed and the open seaweed
asa hafuru kaze koso yoseme
be drawn by the morning wings of the wind,
yū hafuru nami koso kiyore
be drawn by the evening wings of the waves:
nami no muta kayori kakuyoru
and so by the waves drawn back and drawn forth,52
tama mo nasu yorineshi imo o
like gem weed, my girl drew to me in sleep,
tsuyushimo no okiteshi kureba
and since I left her, like the dew and the frost,53
kono michi no yasokumagoto ni
though a myriad times I turn to look back
yorozu tabi kaerimi suredo
on each of the eighty bends of this road,
iya tō ni sato wa sakarinu
farther and farther I’ve come from her village,
iya taka ni yama mo koekinu
and higher and higher I’ve crossed the hills.
natsukusa no omoishinaete
As I think of my girl, wilting with sorrow
shinofuramu imo ga kado mimu
like the summer grass, I wish I could see her gate:
nabike kono yama
Let these hills move aside!
hanka nishū
Two Envoys
Iwami no ya
In Iwami,
Takatsuno yama no
through the trees on the hill
ko no ma yori
of Takatsuno,
waga furu sode o imo mitsuramu ka
can my girl see me as I wave my sleeves?
sasa no ha wa
Though the sasa54 leaves
miyama mo soya ni midaru to mo
may rustle and scatter on the hills,
are wa imo omou
I think of my girl from whom I
wakarekinureba
have parted.
Tsuno sawau Iwami no umi no
In Tsuno Bay55 in the sea of Iwami,
koto saeku Kara no saki naru
on Kara Cape of the chattering voices,56
ikuri ni so fukamiru ouru
on the seabed the deep seaweed grows,
ariso ni so tamamo wa ouru
and on the barren beach the gem weed grows,
tamamo nasu nabikineshi ko o
and the girl who like gem weed slept beside me,
fukamiru no fukamete omoedo
like the deep seaweed was deep in my thoughts,
saneshi yo wa ikuda mo arazu
yet few were the nights that we slept together
hautsuta no wakareshikureba
before I left her like a parting vine,
kimo mukau kokoro o itami
with a heavy heart, my courage failing,57
omoitsutsu kaerimi suredo
and as I yearn now, turning to look back
ōbune no Watari no yama no
from Mount Watari, as if from a great ship,58
momichiba no chiri no magai ni
through the yellow leaves as they scatter
imo ga sode saya ni mo miezu
I cannot see my girl waving her sleeves,
tsumagomoru Yakami no yama no
and over the wife-hiding Mount Yakami,59
kumoma yori watarau tsuki no
the moon now crosses through the clouds,
oshikedomo kakuraikureba
and as it passes, regrettably, out of sight
amazutau irihi sashinure
the heaven-sent sun60 has already set,
masurao to omoeru ware mo
and though I had thought I was a brave man,
shikitae no koromo no sode wa
the sleeves of my robe of fine quilted cloth
tōrite nurenu
are drenched with tears.
hanka nishū
Two Envoys
aokoma ga agaki o hayami
So fast is the gallop of my gray horse
kumoi ni so
that I have left behind
imo no atari o sugite kinikeru
the village of my girl beyond the clouds.
akiyama ni otsuru mōmichiba
Yellow leaves, falling on the autumn hill,
shimashiku wa na chiri magai so
stop scattering for just a while
imo no atari mimu
so I may see the village of my girl.
Poems on the Death of His Wife
In addition to composing elegies (banka) in honor of members of the imperial family, Hitomaro composed a set of two poems on the death of his wife, the first of which is translated here. It is not known whether the poem is autobiographical or fictional. The opening suggests that the relationship is secret or forbidden and that the two lovers find it hard to meet. Then the “messenger” (through whom they correspond) comes to tell the protagonist that his wife has died. The death is described in a series of natural metaphors of passing (the sun setting, the autumn leaves) that are characteristic of Hitomaro. In the second half of the poem, the protagonist goes to the Karu market, not in search of the woman herself, but of her spirit. And yet, since he cannot hear the cries of the birds on Unebi Mountain (the dead were thought to manifest themselves as birds shortly after death) and she does not appear to him in the faces of passersby, he can do nothing but call her name and wave his sleeves (a ritual to summon the spirits of the dead back to life).
2:207–209
Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, after his wife died, crying tears of blood in his grief, composed two poems, with short poems.
ama tobu ya Karu no michi wa
On the road to Karu, that soars in heaven,61
wagimoko ga sato ni shi areba
was the village where my girl lived,
nemokoro ni mimaku hoshikedo
and I wanted to visit her with all my heart,
yamazu ikaba hitome o ōmi
but if I went too often, too many would see,
maneku ikaba hito shirinu bemi
and if I went many times, too many would know,
sanekazura nochi mo awamu to
so we parted like vines that meet again
ōbune no omoitanomite
or so I hoped, as if for a great ship,62
tamakagiru iwagakifuchi no
and to a pool surrounded by gem-gleaming63 rocks
komori nōmi koitsutsu aru ni
I retreated, but as I longed for her,
wataru hi no kurenuru ga goto
like the sky-crossing sun sets in the evening,
terutsuki no kumogakuru goto
like the light of the moon is obscured by the clouds,
okitsumo no nabikishi imo wa
my girl, who like the deep seaweed had slept beside me,
mōmichiba no sugite iniki to
had passed away like the autumn leaves,
tamazusa no tsukai no ieba
so, said the messenger of the catalpa gem,64
azusayumi oto ni kikite
and as I heard his voice like a catalpa bow,65
iwamu sube semu sube shira ni
I knew not what to say or what to do,
oto nōmi o kikite arieneba
but since I could not bear to hear the words,
aga kouru chie no hitoe mo
nagusamoru kokoro mo ari ya to
for just a single part of my thousandfold longing
wagimoko ga yamazu idemishi
I went where my girl always used to go,
Karu no ichi ni waga tachikikeba
to Karu Market, and stood there and listened,
tamadasuki Unebi no yama ni
but on Mount Unebi of the cords of gems
naku tori no oto mo kikoezu
I could not hear the voices of the birds,
tamahoko no michiyukibito no
and of the people walking on the road
hitori dani niteshi yukaneba
not a single one resembled my girl,
sube o nami imo ga na yobite
and all I could do was call out her name
sode so furitsuru
as I waved my sleeves.
tanka nishū
Two Short Poems
akiyama no momichiba o shigemi
I search for my girl who has lost her way
matoinuru imo o motomemu
in the thick yellow leaves of the autumn hill
yamaji shirazu mo
but do not know the mountain path.
momichiba no chiriyuku nae ni
As the yellow leaves scatter and fall,
tamazusa no tsukai o mireba
when I see a messenger of the catalpa gem66
aishi hi omohoyu
I think of the days when we met.
The Lament for Princess Asuka
The following lament for Princess Asuka is, in addition to being Hitomaro’s last datable poem, the third of Hitomaro’s three “laments of temporary interment” (hinkyū banka), the other two being for Prince Kusakabe and Prince Takechi. Whereas both Kusakabe and Takechi were successors to the throne at the time of their deaths, there is nothing to indicate that Princess Asuka was a figure of particular importance. She was a daughter of Emperor Tenchi and Lady Tachibana. According to the Shoku Nihongi (ca. 797), she died in 700. The poem has none of the political-mythical content of the laments for Kusakabe and Takechi and is more reminiscent of love exchanges and personal laments. The poem mentions Princess Asuka’s husband (her “magnificent lord”), who is not identified. Scholars have speculated that he was Tenmu’s second son, Prince Osakabe (d. 705).
The poem is an interesting mix of Hitomaro’s public and private poetry. The voice of the poem grieves as a courtier of Princess Asuka but also describes her husband’s grief at her death. The binary measures that were used in the Yoshino poems to express the absoluteness of Empress Jitō’s power are used here to describe the absoluteness of Asuka’s splendor and the husband’s grief.
2:196–198
At the time of the temporary burial palace of Princess Asuka, a poem by Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, with short poems.
tobutori no Asuka no kawa no
On the Asuka River, where the birds fly,67
kamitsuse ni ishibashi watashi
in the upper shoals there is a bridge of stone,
shimotsuse ni uchihashi watasu
and in the lower shoals a bridge of wood.
ishibashi ni oinabikeru
The gem weed that grows on the bridge of stone,
tamamo mo zo tayureba ouru
though it may wither, will grow back again.
uchihashi ni oi o oreru
The stream weed that grows on the bridge of wood,
kawamo mo zo karureba hayuru
though it may dry, will spring forth again.
nani shi ka mo waga ōkimi no
So for what reason then, has my great lady,
tataseba tamamo no mokoro
who was like gem weed when she stoo
d,
koyaseba kawamo no gotoku
and like stream weed when she lay down
nabikaishi yoroshiki kimi ga
by the side of her magnificent lord,
asamiya o wasuretamau ya
why has she forgotten his morning palace?
yūmiya o somukitamau ya
and why does she forsake his evening palace?
utsusomi to omoishi toki ni
When we thought she was of this world,
haruhe ni wa hana orikazashi
her lord would bring her flowers in spring
akitateba mōmichiba kazashi