2011年4月6日水曜日

Ode to cherry blossoms ( sakura )

振り向かば枝にはじけて開くらむ さくらさくらは夢に見るごと

Cherry blossoms will burst out blooming

on each of the branches

as though I will see them in a dream,

      if I'll look back just now (haricot)




Once a cherry blossom starts to open up, all of blossoms will be at their peak before long, and it gives us somehow unreal state of mind.


And, even when people undergo their hardship, looking up to see these transient blossoms brings brightness into their hearts and appreciating their short lives makes people feel special sentiment.



Cherry Blossoms ( sakura ) have been one of major material of Tanka poem from ancient days in Japan, e.g. being expressed in "manyo-shu"The Anthology of Myriad [Ten Thousand] Leaves, compiled in the 8 century. And of course it is still continuing to be written suggesting some theme in genre of modern tanka.


In this time of year I often remember a tanka composed by Kanoko Okamoto(1889~ 1939), about 100 years ago.


桜ばないのち一ぱいに咲くからに生命(いのち)をかけてわが眺めたり

岡本 かの子

       ( As cherry blossoms bloom their full of lives with all the strength they have, I gaze them with my tremendous dignity and utmost power of my life.)




( image from website)


This tanka expresses not only nature of cherry blossoms but also Kanoko's passionate life. I've ever read that when she faced with her quite difficult situation, her partner and a cartoonist, Ippei Okamoto, let her intimate two boyfriends live with them to encourage her. Their intense way of living exerted influence on their youngest son, Tarō Okamoto, by necessity.


As an avant-garde painter,Tarō Okamoto designed 「太陽の塔」,( Tower of the Sun ) for a symbol tower of world exposition that was held in 1970 in Japan.


This year(2011) is 100th anniversary of his birth.




(image from website )


Ten years later of the event, so-called "Bubble economy " term started and it lasted nearly a decade in Japan. In the midst of the bubble economy, Machi Tawara(1962~ ) who is a forefront of colloquial tanka poem wrote about transient nature of cherry blossoms like this.



さくらさくらさくら咲き初め咲き終わりなにもなかったような公園

                       俵 万智

          ( Sakura sakura, their floral term broke out and came to an end,

then the park stays totally as it used to be.)



Since the period of bubble economy terminated, in Japan people have struggled with prolonged recession.

And now, aftermath of the unprecedented earthquake and tsunami, including trouble of leak of radioactivity from power plants, makes people get to grips with new phase of difficulties.


New term of challenge ourselves has begun.

8 件のコメント:

Tomoko さんのコメント...

Hello,Haricot.
Thank you for your beautiful tanka.

“賽のかわら”という言葉を思うこの頃です。積み上げても、積み上げても、小石の塔は一瞬のうちに鬼に崩されてしまう。次の世代の人々が、この困難を乗り越えて、又たくましい新しい日本をつくる事を願わずにはいられません。

cosmos さんのコメント...

I hear cherry blossoms in those disaster-stricken Tohoku area are ready to bloom. They never forget the time to bloom as if nothing had happened. Everything isn't the same but the life is going on.
Last year I was going after cherry blossoms and I'm going after them this year again.

stardust さんのコメント...

I see not only elegance and transience but also passion in cherry blossoms like Kanoko Okamoto. They burst into bloom and live their lives with their full power, sometimes healing, sometimes enchanting people. That requires tremendous inner energy.

ruma さんのコメント...

A great variety of cherry blossoms encourage many Japanese.
ruma

haricot さんのコメント...

Thank you, redrose.
生活の立て直しに全力をあげてをられる方々を見ると、速く支援が届いてほしいと切に願います。この度は地震だけではなかったので、なかなかはかどらないようです、、、。とにかく元気でと祈ります。

haricot さんのコメント...

Thank you ,cosmos.
I remember that you wrote about it and the reason why you were going after cherry blossoms.
This year you have another motivation,I suppose.

haricot さんのコメント...

Thank you, stardust.
Yes, Kanoko's sentiment is quite agreeable when I see cherry blossoms.
Sometimes they bloom overwhelmingly.

haricot さんのコメント...

Thank you, ruma.
I think so, too. And I hope many people will be healed the pain doing.