JAPANESE CLASSICAL LITERATURE
Cool Breeze — Rare In Japan’s Humid Summer
Four poems about breeze found in Hyakunin Isshu 百人一首
Summer in Japan is unbearably hot and humid. Now that I’m living in Seattle, where I can enjoy the most comfortable and beautiful summer in the world (in my opinion), I refuse to go back to Japan in the summer.
It is not surprising, therefore, that I found only 5 poems about summer in Hyakunin Isshu 百人一首, a classical Japanese anthology of one hundred waka poems by one hundred poets compiled in the 13th century. In contrast, there are 20 poems about autumn and 9 about spring.
Out of four poems that read about the wind, only one clearly indicates the season, which is summer. Was the cool breeze a rarity in the summer in ancient Japan as well as in the present days?
12/100 僧正遍昭 by Sojo Henjo
あまつ風 Amatsu kaze 雲のかよひ路 Kumo no kayoiji 吹きとぢよ Fuki tojiyo をとめの姿Otome no sugata しばしとどめむShibashi todomemu.
The following is the English translation by William N. Porter (1909).
OH stormy winds, bring up the clouds, And paint the heavens grey; Lest these fair maids of form divine Should angel wings display, And fly far far away.
58/100 大弐三位 by Daini no Sammi
ありま山 Arima yama ゐなの笹原 Ina no sasawara 風吹けば Kaze fukeba いでそよ人を Ide soyo hito wo 忘れやはする Wasure yawa suru.
The following is the English translation by William N. Porter (1909).
As fickle as the mountain gusts That on the moor I’ve met, ’Twere best to think no more of thee, And let thee go. But yet I never can forget.
74/100 源俊頼朝臣by Minamoto no Toshiyori Ason
うかりける Ukari keru 人を初瀬の Hito wo Hatsuse no 山おろし Yama-oroshi 激しかれとは Hageshikare to wa 祈らぬものをInoranu mono wo.
The following is the English translation by William N. Porter (1909).
OH! Kwannon, Patron of this hill, The maid, for whom I pine, Is obstinate and wayward, like The gusts around thy shrine. What of those prayers of mine?
98/100 従二位 家隆 by Junii Ietaka
風そよぐ Kaze soyogu ならの小川のNara no ogawa no 夕暮は Yūgure wa みそぎぞ夏のMisogi zo natsu no しるしなりけるShirushi nari keru.
The following is the English translation by William N. Porter (1909).
THE twilight dim, the gentle breeze By Nara’s little stream, The splash of worshippers who wash Before the shrine, all seem A perfect summer’s dream.
Thank you, Sahil Patel, for your fun prompt.
Nin Abayata reminds me that humans are also part of nature.
Wow! I didn’t know the Simpsons has been predicting the future. Thanks, Marta Henriques, for sharing it. I seldom watch it but should I?
Originally published at https://akemisagawa.com on May 16, 2023.
