Three Poets at Minase

Here is this month’s poetry column from poet and translator Keiji Minato…

The Minase Sangin Hyakuin by Sogi, Shohaku, and Socho

雪ながら山もとかすむ夕かな　　　　宗祇
Yuki nagara yama-moto kasumu yube kana

As it snows the base
of the mountain is misty
this evening (Sogi)

行く水とほく梅にほふ里　　　　　　肖柏
Yuku mizu toku ume niou sato

Far in the way the water goes
a plum-blossom-smelling hamlet (Shohaku)

川かぜに一むら柳春みえて　　　　　宗長
Kawakaze ni hitomura yanagi haru miete

The wind from the river
sways weeping willows
now it’s spring (Socho)

舟さすおとはしるき明がた　　　　　宗祇
Fune sasu oto wa shiruki akegata

The pole of a boat makes
a clear sound at dawn (Sogi)

月は猶霧わたる夜にのこるらん　　　肖柏
Tsuki wa nao kiri wataru yo ni nokoru ran

The moon must be
visible even
in a foggy night (Shohaku)

霜おく野はら秋はくれけり　　　　　宗長
Shimo oku nohara aki wa kurekeri

Frost on the field
autumn at its end (Socho)

Above are the first six verses of Minase Sangin Hyakuin (水無瀬三吟百韻; 1488), a renga written by Sogi (宗祇; 1421-1502), Shohaku (肖柏; 1443-1527), and Socho (宗長; 1448-1632). Renga is a type of collaborative poetry with linked 5-7-5 and 7-7 verses. Lengths vary from just two (tan-renga) to 10,000 or more(!). The genre was at its height in the late fifteenth century, and Minase Sangin Hyakuin is often considered the best work in its history. Renga emulated the aesthetics of the world of classic waka and were thought to please gods, especially war gods. At that time renga masters travelled around the country, often invited by feudal lords, and “rolled” scrolls of their verses for religious/political occasions.

The first verse in Minase Sangin Hyakuin is based on a waka by the retired emperor Gotoba-joko (後鳥羽上皇; 1180-1239):

見渡せば山もと霞む水無瀬川夕べは秋となに思ひけむ　　　後鳥羽上皇

Miwataseba yamamoto kasumu minase-gawa yube wa aki to nani omoiken

I look over the misty base

of the mountain where

the Minase River runs through —

Why did they say the evening

was best in autumn? (Gotoba-joko)

Emperor_Go-Toba — Gotoba-joko (This is a public domain image. The original is at the Minase Shrine)

Gotoba-joko was the strong center of culture in his day and led the editing of Shin-kokin-wakashu (新古今和歌集), one of the best anthologies of waka. Most of all Gotoba-joko was a great poet himself, who wrote great works like the above. He often visited Minase, situated right between current Kyoto City and Osaka City, to spend time at his favorite villa there. He is reported to have been fond of writing renga too, and he enjoyed rolling renga scrolls in Minase for sure. In the poem above he challenges his predecessors’ judgment that evening time is most beautiful in autumn, the common view even among contemporary Japanese.

Minase Sangin Hyakuin was dedicated to the 後鳥羽院御影堂 (Gotobaingoeido – a hall housing a sacred image of the retired Emperor) at 水無瀬神宮 (Minase Jingu shrine) on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the ex-emperor’s death. Hyakuin (百韻) in the title means “one hundred verses,” so the verses above are followed by ninety seven more (三吟 – Sangin means “sung by three”). What is interesting in renga (and later haikai or haikai-no-renga) is constant changes of scenes and seasons. They do not tell you stories but show a kaleidoscopic array of images and landscapes. Let me quote the first six lines again, with some simple commentary:

As it snows the base

of the mountain is misty

this evening (Sogi)

Here Sogi sums up the essence of the waka by Gotoba-joko and sets the tone for the entire renga. The verse has the word “snow” in it, but “mist” in renga is a word for spring and it clearly refers to Gotoba’s waka, so the season here is early spring.

Far in the way the water goes

a plum-blossom-smelling hamlet (Shohaku)

Shohaku takes up the river, what Sogi omits, from Gotoba-joko’s poem and follows its flow to where spring is at its height with plum blossoms.

The wind from the river

sways weeping willows

now it’s spring (Socho)

Yes, Socho gives a finishing touch to the spring scene the first two verses set up.

The pole of a boat makes

a clear sound at dawn (Sogi)

This verse of Sogi has no seasonal word. In renga you cannot linger on one season too long, so…

The moon must be

visible even

on a foggy night (Shohaku)

The moon is the definitely most important word for autumn, so it is now autumn. Something interesting happens here: via Sogi’s pivotal non-seasonal verse the renga leaps from spring to autumn. In other words Verses 4 and 5 show us a riverside scene in spring, and then Verses 5 and 6 make up an autumnal landscape with the moon above the river. And Socho follows up the autumnal scene with:

Frost on the field

the autumn is at its end (Socho)

It is really wonderful to experience the free movement from one season to another that the three poets make through the one hundred verses of this excellent renga.

As I wrote, renga often had religious purposes. Minase Sangin Hyakuin, which commemorates the death of the ex-emperor, also ends with lines in a religiously didactic tone:

けぶりのどかに見ゆるかり庵　　　　　肖柏

Keburi nodokani miyuru kari’io

Smoke rises up calmly

from a temporary shed (Shohaku)

いやしきも身ををさむるは有つべし　　宗祇

Iyashiki mo mi o osamuru wa aritsubeshi

Even among the poor

there must be the righteous

in their living (Sogi)

人をおしなべ道ぞただしき　　　　　　宗長

Hito o oshinabe michi zo tadashiki

No matter who you are

the Right Way is the Right Way (Socho)

The shed is “temporary” because it is a metaphor for our existence in this world. No matter what life we live, we are just passing through. So, why not live righteously?

If you would like to feel the atmosphere of Minase at Gotoba-joko’s time I would recommend you visit the Oyamazaki area next to Minase, just across the border of Osaka Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture. It is still a cozy quiet recess a little bit away from Kyoto City. There you can visit two attractions: the Oyamazaki Villa Museum of Art and the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery. The museum is up on a steep hill, but don’t worry. You can take a free shuttle bus from both JR and Hankyu Oyamazaki Stations.

This text and translations by Keiji Minato. Keiji writes a guest blog for Deep Kyoto once a month introducing Kyoto’s poets and poetry. You can find former articles by Keiji Minato here.