plants in Man’yō-shū

Man' yo Botanical Garden(Man'yo shokubutuen) is located close together with Casuga Grand Shrine( Casuga-Tasha). There various plants from ancient times, especially sung in the verses for Man’yō-shū,The Anthology of Myriad (Ten Thousand) Leaves(750), can be observed, and visitors can enjoy a variety of  seasonable plants and flowers.

Many plants are lined with tiles on each of them Tanka poem, any botany is sung in it, is written.

Sort of iris are in full flourish.

Hydrangeas  wacropylla originated in Japan are bloomimg in a quiet air

Some plants used to have different names from those of current, for example....

  　　　　


　冬ごもり　春去り来れば　鳴かざりし　鳥も来鳴きぬ　咲かざりし　花も咲けれど　

　　　　　　　　　　　　　山を茂（し）み入りても取らず　草深み　取りても見ず、、、
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　額田王

When spring comes,

bursting winter's bonds,

birds that were still

come out crying

and flowers that lay unopening

split into blossoms.

But, the hillsides being overgrown,

I may go among the foliage

yet cannot pick those flowers.

The grass being rank,

I may pick

yet cannot examine them...Nukata-no-Ohkimi
( translated by Hideo Levy)

Man’yō-shū complies many Chouka( literally long song with 7,5,7,5,7,5...7,7 syllables for Japanese), as well as Tanka that was from the last phrase 5,7,5,7,7(literally short song).

According to some expressions in verses,we can see in what manner flowers and plants used to be appreciated by ancient people. Picking and examining them were quite important for them to admire any plant.

春の日に　張れる柳を　取り持ちて　見れば都の　大路思ほゆ
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　大伴家持

　

As I break off and admire

a branch of the willow

swelling large on a spring day,

my mind turns

to the broad avenues of the capital
(Ohtomo-no-Yakamochi)(translated by Hideo Levy)

Thinking of the way of ancient people, I looked at the willow trees along Sarusawa pond.

Spider's thread

When I stood beneath a tree for shade, I felt like I was enveloped with a verdure space.

曇り日の大樹の下のうす青く　われに届かぬ蜘蛛の糸垂る

I'm standing beneath the boughs

in a wispy green space,

A thread of a spider

from a bough

is too short for me to reach
(haricot)

Recently, after long time, I visited Byōdō-in in Uji city in Kyoto prefecture. The architecture is famous for the design of 10yen coin, and was built by one of the most powerful member of Fujiwara clan as a villa, and was changed to a Buddhist temple by Fujiwara no Yorimich in 1052, as a Pure Land.

I was attracted by the design of the main building, Phoenix Hall, while I'm captivated by the pond called Aji-ike(阿字池）, especially nearby the right wing of the Hall.

The pond reminds me of a tale, The spider's Thread「蜘蛛の糸」, by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (芥川　龍之介）. At the beginning of the tale, Buddha was meandering around in Paradise and looked down upon the depth of a pond and found a criminal, Kandata.Buddha lowered a thread of a spider for him who did not kill a spider which he scarcely crushed. (the plot is here)

Byōdō-in is located near the wealth of water, Uji-river, the source of it is Biwa-lake.

Strolling along the river that flows with passage of time, I felt as if it ware a brief dream that I was in  the tranquil atmosphere of Byōdō-in a little while ago, this world and another one were mingled there.



On my way to go back I saw various white- tinged flowers.
They were blooming in each stage of their lives.

Thinking of a soul

Nan-en-do Hall (南円堂）is located at the southwest corner on the temple ground of Koufukuji, with octagonal shape and a Kannon statue, Goddess of Mercy, inside. The statue, holding a net called kensaku(羂索) with her hand for salvation, is a national treasure, and is sitting in the behind of the reddish door which is seldom opened.

At the next to this Hall, there is a small hall where an another statue, Hitokoto-kannon(一言観音）( Goddess for one wish) is situated.

I came here for prayer. I wanted to pray for an acquaintance who had departed from this life, for peace of his soul.
Praying I thought that his soul had been already in peace.
When I came to know that he had passed away, I had no tear as if my body rejected to accept the reality, while I felt that my soul accepted it slowly and quietly.

In front of the small hall, there is a small trellis for wisterias. The flowers of wisteria have gone and through the green leaves I could see sunshine in the afternoon after a couple of rainy days. I looked up at the sky thinking of a soul.

When I came here last time, my husband offered a long prayer for the One wish goddess, I remembered.

われよりも長く拝みて礼（あや）をしぬ　夫は一言観音さまに

After prayed

for longer than I have done

my husband bowed from the waist

at the Kannon statue

for One wish





Doves are flying away....
Where do you make streak for? There is no hurry. Never hurry.

Closed Up

Can't you see a vast poppy field through this photo? If you can, I'm very happy, but actually this is a photo of a pot of poppies which I planted seeds, as you can guess easily.

I took this closed up photo thinking of Akiko Yosano's famous tanka that she composed in southen France, I don't know exactly where it is, viewing
a field full of poppies.

ああ皐月(さつき）仏蘭西（フランス）の野は火の色す
君も雛罌粟（こくりこ）われも雛罌粟（こくりこ）（ 与謝野　晶子）

( Oh, how fantastic this May is!

We are both here in France, on the field of colour of fire.

You are one of the plenty of coquelicots. And me, too )

Akiko Yosano （１８７８～１９４２）(与謝野　晶子）　was a writer and a poet, besides she wrote a lot of tanka poems with Tekkan Yosano（１８７３～１９３５）(与謝野　鉄幹） who became her husband after he divorced. The two of them had twelve children together.

Akiko and Tekkan organised an association for poetry and started to publish magazine maned "Myojyou"(「明星」 明＝bright 星＝star) in 1900, and the passionate style of expression of their poems complied in it had quickly become a mainstream of the field of literature and was called Romanticism, which became popular in Europe about 150 years earlier than in Japan.

The tanka which is noted above was written when Akiko visited Tekkan who went to France for climbing out of his doldrums. She was truly a great accompanist for the earnest runner.

たんぽぽとおなじ高さにみておればチェルノブイリか春のかげろう

　　　　　                                                                                      永田　和宏

(I lie on a spring ground and see dandelions being as high as they are.

Is it air turbulence or something of Chernobyl disaster ,
rising up behind of them, in a distance?)

This tanka was written by Kazuhiro Nagata( 1947～）who is a tanka poet and a scientist, and it is set in his the fifth tanka book, 「華氏」（ Fahrenheit).
In the postscript of this book, Nagata mentions that he realised that he got used to feel the temperature as measure of Fahrenheit in US, during his sojourn with his family to study science.

This book was published in 1996, ten years later since nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl happened.
I think the tanka I wrote down above was composed in Japan after he returned from US.
I don't intend to say that Nagata predicted the same revel of disaster would occur at nuclear power plants in Japan.

What I wonder is how his experiences in different culture effected upon his poetry.
Through this tanka he gives us a message with a sight of being closed up and of defamiliarization that might come from some living experience of him, mentioning not only as his knowledge but as his sensory temperature.

What can you see in the distance?



First of May

About fifty days have passed since the northen area in Japan was attacked by unprecedented earthquake and Tsunami.
Recently flowerage of cherry blossoms in the district was on the news.
As thousands of people are living as evacuates, many of them might have seen the blossoms only on TV, or from far away.

What have I done for them? Just economise of possible amount for consecutive donation, so far.
It is somehow dazzling to see on TV people who are working voluntarily to help restoration in the disastrous area to the utmost of their ability.

Out of the window green leaves are shining in the Sun of May.
Sun shine is merciful for everyone and for everything.






Oak tree started to have young leaves. The leaves that just have come out look like tiny birds which try to learn how to fly, and they grow close together so rapidly.
May, it is leafy season.







Grown up oak leaves look thick and robust, though it is transparent like some peaces of paraffin paper when sun rays come though.
And they whisper each other when they touch with breath of wind.

I used to imagine some unknown words for me listening to their whisper.
I feel that so long time has passed since I wrote a tanka as the following.

Such a greenhorn I was.

まだ誰も聞かぬ言葉のあるならむ　若き青葉の零すささめき


Green and fresh leaves
are whispering
just like they let trickle their whisper from the tree
like unknown words for anyone

In Japanese language, words is ”kotoba”(言葉）（葉 means leaves).
In olden days people sometimes used the word koto-no-ha(言の葉）, while words do not directly regard to leaves but leaves seem to represent some variety and plenitude.




On the ground, Saxifrage stolonifera（雪の下）is ready to have their little white flowers.

I wish this lovely season will last for a certain time.

Today when I turned on my radio "First of May"「青葉のころ」 was on air.(You Tube)
Listening to this fresh song, I thought I'd like to keep my desire for unknown and untold words in my mind.

black-and-white photographs

black-and-white photographs

There are two black and white photographs that I treasure as shining souvenir ,taken by an American photographer, Ansel Adams. (1902~1984)

One of the two is taking two of dog wood trees in a forest.

from web site

In this photo the dog wood trees are giving a glimmer of light in a dark forest.

It is said that dog wood trees came to Japan in 1915 for exchanging with cherry trees that mayor of Tokyo sent to US in 1912.
In Japan they are generally planted along streets or in gardens, besides in US where the trees came from, many of them grow wild.

Several years ago I had a chance to visit Yosemite National Park in US, famous for rocky mountains represented by Half Dome that was shaped during Ice Age, and falls, Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil fall and so on which have abundance of water especially in April, there I saw many wild dog wood trees were covered with boom. Many were much taller than those in Japan and they had their glorious flowers on the high branches.

Ansel Adams' museum is in the huge park that makes it look tiny.

Dog wood is called Hana-mizuki in Japan.

This is my favourite tanka poem by contemporary tanka poet.

青春は水木のしたをかよう風　あるいはとおき線路のかがやき
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　高野　公彦

( Adolescence, it is a breeze which comes and goes beneath a dog wood tree, or is a mail off shining of silver train tracks Kimihiko Takano 1941~)

In the tanka poem, Takano doesn't mention any substance of youth but floral-fresh breeze
and far-flung shining of rail road.
Thinking of it I remember the very short period time of staying at the magnificent park, Yosemite.
Definitely I was several years younger than I am.



The other one is this.
I've heard that Ansel Adams was influenced by the painters, impressionists, who brought their canvas into the sunshine from their darker ateliers, and depicted subtle change of sunlight on objects.



via here
The little prince in "Le Petit Prince " by Saint-Exupéy saw one day, the sunset forty-four times ,　rawing back his chair by inch on his small planet.
The sun in this photo might be going to set in, though I keep me it in suspence whether it is rising or setting in, because to see the sunset many times is too sad.

モノクロームの大樹の向こう　のぼるとも沈むとも見え白き太陽

The sun shining whitely

over a large-boughed mighty tree

looks setting in

and also rising up

or going to do in parallel (haricot)

I see the photos again and I feel the fragrance of that April.

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.