No More Learning

And on either side came pressing
My wife and my children dear,
Fluttering like birds, and with garments
Besprinkled with many a tear;

And clasped my hands and would stay me,
For 'twas so hard to part;
But mine awe of the sovereign edict
Constrained my loving heart.

I went; yet each time the pathway
O'er a pass through the mountains did wind,
I'd turn me round--ah! so lovingly! --
And ten thousand times gaze behind.

But farther still, and still farther,
Past many a land I did roam,
And my thoughts were all thoughts of sadness,
All loving, sad thoughts of home;--

Till I came to the shores of Sumi,
Where the sovereign gods I prayed,
With off'rings so humbly offered--
And this the prayer that I made:--

"Being mortal, I know not how many
The days of my life may be;
And how the perilous pathway
That leads o'er the plain of the sea,

"Past unknown islands will bear me:--
But grant that while I am gone
No hurt may touch father or mother,
Or the wife now left alone! "

Yes, such was my prayer to the sea-gods;
And now the unnumbered oars,
And the ship and the seamen to bear me
From breezy Naniha's shores,

Are there at the mouth of the river:--
Oh! tell the dear ones at home,
That I'm off as the day is breaking
To row o'er the ocean foam.

_Anon. _

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 132: Such frantic demonstrations of grief are very
frequently mentioned in the early poetry, and sound strangely to those
who are accustomed to the more than English reserve of the modern
Japanese. Possibly, as in Europe, so in Japan, there may have been a
real change of character in this respect. ]

[Footnote 133: The Mikado is meant. The feudal system did not grow up
till many centuries later. ]

[Footnote 134: The N-a-h-i are sounded like our English word nigh, and
therefore form but one syllable to the ear. ]

[Footnote 135: Anciently (and this custom is still followed in some
parts of Japan) the hair of female children was cut short at the neck
and allowed to hang down loosely till the age of eight. At twelve or
thirteen the hair was generally bound up, though this ceremony was
often frequently postponed till marriage. At the present day, the
methods of doing the hair of female children, of grown-up girls, and
of married women vary considerably. ]

[Footnote 136: The original of this stanza is obscure, and the native
commentators have no satisfactory interpretation to offer. ]

[Footnote 137: In the original the title is "The Beggar's Dialogue,"
there being two poems, of which that here translated is the second.
The first one, which is put into the mouth of an unmarried beggar, who
takes a cheerier view of poverty, is not so well fitted for
translation into English. ]

[Footnote 138: Because, according to the Buddhist doctrine of
perpetually recurring births, it is at any given time more probable
that the individual will come into the world in the shape of one of
the lower animals. ]

[Footnote 139: A literal translation of the Japanese idiom. ]

[Footnote 140: The Japanese commentators are puzzled over the meaning
of the passage "with skirt uplifted, drew near and fondled me. " To the
European mind there seems to be nothing obscure in it. The mother
probably lifted her skirt to wipe her eyes, when she was crying. It is
evidently a figurative way of saying that the mother was crying. ]




LOVE SONGS

ON BEHOLDING THE MOUNTAIN

_Composed by the commander of the forces of the Mikado Zhiyomei_


The long spring day is o'er, and dark despond
My heart invades, and lets the tears flow down,
As all alone I stand, when from beyond
The mount our heav'n-sent monarch's throne doth crown.

There breathes the twilight wind and turns my sleeve.
Ah, gentle breeze! to turn, home to return,
Is all my prayer; I cannot cease to grieve
On this long toilsome road; I burn, I burn!

Yes! the poor heart I used to think so brave
Is all afire, though none the flame may see,
Like to the salt-kilns there by Tsunu's wave,
Where toil the fisher-maidens wearily.

_Anon_.




LOVE IS PAIN


'Twas said of old, and still the ages say,
"The lover's path is full of doubt and woe. "
Of me they spake: I know not, nor can know,
If she I sigh for will my love repay.
My heart sinks on my breast; with bitter strife
My heart is torn, and grief she cannot see.
All unavailing is this agony
To help the love that has become my life.

_Anon_.




HITOMARO TO HIS MISTRESS


Tsunu's shore, Ihami's brine,
To all other eyes but mine
Seem, perchance, a lifeless mere,
And sands that ne'er the sailor cheer.

Ah, well-a-day! no ports we boast,
And dead the sea that bathes our coast;
But yet I trow the winged breeze
Sweeping at morn across our seas,

And the waves at eventide
From the depths of ocean wide,
Onward to Watadzu bear
The deep-green seaweed, rich and fair;

And like that seaweed gently swaying,
Winged breeze and waves obeying,
So thy heart hath swayed and bent
And crowned my love with thy content.

But, dear heart! I must away,
As fades the dew when shines the day;
Nor aught my backward looks avail,
Myriad times cast down the vale,

From each turn the winding road
Takes upward; for thy dear abode
Farther and still farther lies,
And hills on hills between us rise.

Ah! bend ye down, ye cruel peaks,
That the gate my fancy seeks,
Where sits my pensive love alone,
To mine eyes again be shown!

_Hitomaro. _




NO TIDINGS


The year has come, the year has gone again,
And still no tidings of mine absent love!
Through the long days of spring all heaven above
And earth beneath, re-echo with my pain.

In dark cocoon my mother's silk-worms dwell;
Like them, a captive, through the livelong day
Alone I sit and sigh my soul away,
For ne'er to any I my love may tell.

Like to the pine-trees I must stand and pine,[141]
While downward slanting fall the shades of night,
Till my long sleeve of purest snowy white,
With showers of tears, is steeped in bitter brine.

_Anon. _




HOMEWARD


From Kaminabi's crest
The clouds descending pour in sheeted rain,
And, 'midst the gloom, the wind sighs o'er the plain:--
Oh! he that sadly press'd,
Leaving my loving side, alone to roam
Magami's des'late moor, has he reached home?

_Anon. _




THE MAIDEN AND THE DOG


As the bold huntsman on some mountain path
Waits for the stag he hopes may pass that way,
So wait I for my love both night and day:--
Then bark not at him, as thou fearest my wrath.

_Anon_.




LOVE IS ALL


Where in spring the sweetest flowers
Fill Mount Kaminabi's bowers,
Where in autumn dyed with red,
Each ancient maple rears its head,
And Aska's flood, with sedges lin'd,
As a belt the mound doth bind:--
There see my heart--a reed that sways,
Nor aught but love's swift stream obeys,
And now, if like the dew, dear maid,
Life must fade, then let it fade:--
My secret love is not in vain,
For thou lov'st me back again.




HUSBAND AND WIFE


WIFE. --

Though other women's husbands ride
Along the road in proud array,
My husband, up the rough hill-side,
On foot must wend his weary way.

The grievous sight with bitter pain
My bosom fills, and many a tear
Steals down my cheek, and I would fain
Do aught to help my husband dear.

Come! take the mirror and the veil,
My mother's parting gifts to me;
In barter they must sure avail
To buy an horse to carry thee!

HUSBAND. --

And I should purchase me an horse,
Must not my wife still sadly walk?
No, no! though stony is our course,
We'll trudge along and sweetly talk.

_Anon. _




HE COMES NOT


He comes not! 'tis in vain I wait;
The crane's wild cry strikes on mine ear,
The tempest howls, the hour is late,
Dark is the raven night and drear:--
And, as I thus stand sighing,
The snowflakes round me flying
Light on my sleeve, and freeze it crisp and clear.

Sure 'tis too late! he cannot come;
Yet trust I still that we may meet,
As sailors gayly rowing home
Trust in their ship so safe and fleet.
Though waking hours conceal him,
Oh! may my dreams reveal him,
Filling the long, long night with converse sweet!

_Anon_.




HE AND SHE


HE. --To Hatsuse's vale I'm come,
To woo thee, darling, in thy home;
But the rain rains down apace,
And the snow veils ev'ry place,
And now the pheasant 'gins to cry,
And the cock crows to the sky:--
Now flees the night, the night hath fled,
Let me in to share thy bed!

SHE. --To Hatsuse's vale thou'rt come,
To woo me, darling, in my home:--
But my mother sleeps hard by,
And my father near doth lie;
Should I but rise, I'll wake her ear;
Should I go out, then he will hear:--
The night hath fled! it may not be,
For our love's a mystery!

_Anon. _




THE PEARLS


Oh! he my prince, that left my side
O'er the twain Lover Hills[142] to roam,
Saying that in far Kishiu's tide
He'd hunt for pearls to bring them home.

When will he come? With trembling hope
I hie me on the busy street,
To ask the evening horoscope,
That straightway thus gives answer meet--

The lover dear, my pretty girl,
For whom thou waitest, comes not yet,
Because he's seeking ev'ry pearl
Where out at sea the billows fret.

"He comes not yet, my pretty girl!
Because among the riplets clear
He's seeking, finding ev'ry pearl;
'Tis that delays thy lover dear.

"Two days at least must come and go,
Sev'n days at most will bring him back;
'Twas he himself that told me so:--
Then cease, fair maid, to cry Alack! "

_Anon. _




A DAMSEL CROSSING A BRIDGE


Across the bridge, with scarlet lacquer glowing,
That o'er the Katashiha's stream is laid,
All trippingly a tender girl is going,
In bodice blue and crimson skirt arrayed.
None to escort her: would that I were knowing
Whether alone she sleeps on virgin bed,
Or if some spouse has won her by his wooing:--
Tell me her house! I'll ask the pretty maid!

_Anon_.




SECRET LOVE


If as my spirit yearns for thine
Thine yearns for mine, why thus delay?
And yet, what answer might be mine
If, pausing on her way,
Some gossip bade me tell
Whence the deep sighs that from my bosom swell?

And thy dear name my lips should pass,
My blushes would our love declare;
No, no! I'll say my longing was
To see the moon appear
O'er yonder darkling hill;
Yet 'tis on thee mine eyes would gaze their fill.

_Anon_.




THE OMEN[143]


Yes! 'twas the hour when all my hopes
Seemed idle as the dews that shake
And tremble in their lotus-cups
By deep Tsurugi's lake--
'Twas then the omen said:--
"Fear not! he'll come his own dear love to wed. "
What though my mother bids me flee
Thy fond embrace? No heed I take;
As pure, as deep my love for thee
As Kiyosumi's lake.
One thought fills all my heart:--
When wilt thou come no more again to part?

_Anon_.




A MAIDEN'S LAMENT


Full oft he swore, with accents true and tender,
"Though years roll by, my love shall ne'er wax old! "
And so to him my heart I did surrender,
Clear as a mirror of pure burnished gold;

And from that day, unlike the seaweed bending
To ev'ry wave raised by the summer gust,
Firm stood my heart, on him alone depending,
As the bold seaman in his ship doth trust.

Is it some cruel god that hath bereft me?
Or hath some mortal stol'n away his heart?
No word, no letter since the day he left me,
Nor more he cometh, ne'er again to part!

In vain I weep, in helpless, hopeless sorrow,
From earliest morn until the close of day;
In vain, till radiant dawn brings back the morrow,
I sigh the weary, weary nights away.

No need to tell how young I am and slender--
A little maid that in thy palm could lie:--
Still for some message comforting and tender,
I pace the room in sad expectancy.

_The Lady Sakanouhe_.




RAIN AND SNOW


Forever on Mikane's crest,
That soars so far away,
The rain it rains in ceaseless sheets,
The snow it snows all day.

And ceaseless as the rain and snow
That fall from heaven above,
So ceaselessly, since first we met,
I love my darling love.

_Anon_.




MOUNT MIKASH


Oft in the misty spring
The vapors roll o'er Mount Mikash's crest,
While, pausing not to rest,
The birds each morn with plaintive note do sing.
Like to the mists of spring
My heart is rent; for, like the song of birds,
Still all unanswered ring
The tender accents of my passionate words.
I call her ev'ry day
Till daylight fades away;
I call her ev'ry night
Till dawn restores the light;--
But my fond prayers are all too weak to bring
My darling back to sight.

_Akahito. _




EVENING


From the loud wave-washed shore
Wend I my way,
Hast'ning o'er many a flow'r,
At close of day--
On past Kusaka's crest,
Onward to thee,
Sweet as the loveliest
Flower of the lea!

_Anon. _

[Note. --A note to the original says: "The name of the composer of the
above song was not given because he was of obscure rank," a reason
which will sound strange to European ears. ]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 141: The play in the original is on the word Matsu, which
has the double signification of "a pine-tree" and "to wait. "]

[Footnote 142: Mount Lover and Mount Lady-love (Se-yama and Imo-yama)
in the province of Yamato. ]

[Footnote 143: The reference in this song is to an old superstition.
It used to be supposed that the chance words caught from the mouths of
passers-by would solve any doubt on questions to which it might
otherwise be impossible to obtain an answer. This was called the
yufu-ura, or "evening divination," on account of its being practised
in the evening. It has been found impossible in this instance to
follow the original very closely. ]




ELEGIES

ON THE DEATH OF THE MIKADO TENJI[144]

_By One of His Ladies_


Alas! poor mortal maid! unfit to hold
High converse with the glorious gods above,[145]
Each morn that breaks still finds me unconsoled,
Each hour still hears me sighing for thy love.

Wert thou a precious stone, I'd clasp thee tight
Around mine arm; wert thou a silken dress
I'd ne'er discard thee, either day or night:--
Last night, sweet love! I dreamt I saw thy face.




ON THE DEATH OF THE POET'S MISTRESS


How fondly did I yearn to gaze
(For was there not the dear abode
Of her whose love lit up my days? )
On Karu's often-trodden road.

But should I wander in and out,
Morning and evening ceaselessly,
Our loves were quickly noised about,
For eyes enough there were to see.

So, trusting that as tendrils part
To meet again, so we might meet,
As in deep rocky gorge my heart,
Unseen, unknown, in secret beat.

But like the sun at close of day,
And as behind a cloud the moon,
So passed my gentle love away,
An autumn leaf ta'en all too soon.

When came the fatal messenger,
I knew not what to say or do:--
But who might sit and simply hear?
Rather, methought, of all my woe.

Haply one thousandth part might find
Relief if my due feet once more,
Where she so often trod, should wind
Through Karu's streets and past her door.

But mute that noise, nor all the crowd
Could show her like, or soothe my care;
So, calling her dear name aloud,
I waved my sleeve in blank despair.

_Hitomaro_.




ELEGY ON THE POET'S WIFE


The gulls that twitter on the rush-grown shore
When fall the shades of night,
That o'er the waves in loving pairs do soar
When shines the morning light--
'Tis said e'en these poor birds delight
To nestle each beneath his darling's wing
That, gently fluttering,
Through the dark hours wards off the hoar-frost's might.

Like to the stream that finds
The downward path it never may retrace,
Like to the shapeless winds,
Poor mortals pass away without a trace:--
So she I love has left her place,
And, in a corner of my widowed couch,
Wrapped in the robe she wove me,
I must crouch,
Far from her fond embrace.

_Nibi_.




ON THE DEATH OF PRINCE HINAMI


I

When began the earth and heaven,
By the banks of heaven's river[146]
All the mighty gods assembled,
All the mighty gods in council.
And, for that her sov'reign grandeur
The great goddess of the day-star
Rul'd th' ethereal realms of heaven,
Downward through the many-piled
Welkin did they waft her grandson,
Bidding him, till earth and heaven,
Waxing old, should fall together,
O'er the middle land of reed-plains,
O'er the land of waving rice-fields,
Spread abroad his power imperial.

II

But not his Kiyomi's palace:--
'Tis his sov'reign's, hers the empire;
And the sun's divine descendant,
Ever soaring, passeth upward
Through the heav'n's high rocky portals.

III

Why, dear prince, oh! why desert us?
Did not all beneath the heaven,
All that dwell in earth's four quarters,
Pant, with eye and heart uplifted,
As for heav'n-sent rain in summer,
For thy rule of flow'ry fragrance,
For thy plenilune of empire?
Now on lone Mayumi's hillock,
Firm on everlasting columns,
Pilest thou a lofty palace,
Whence no more, when day is breaking,
Sound thine edicts, awe-compelling.
Day to day is swiftly gathered,
Moon to moon, till e'er thy faithful
Servants from thy palace vanish.

_Hitomaro_.




ON THE DEATH OF THE NUN RIGUWAN


Ofttimes in far Corea didst thou hear
Of our Cipango as a goodly land;
And so, to parents and to brethren dear
Bidding adieu, thou sailed'st to the strand
Of these domains, that own th' imperial pow'r,
Where glittering palaces unnumbered rise;
Yet such might please thee not, nor many a bow'r
Where village homesteads greet the pilgrim's eyes:--
But in this spot, at Sahoyama's base,
Some secret influence bade thee find thy rest--
Bade seek us out with loving eagerness,
As seeks the weeping infant for the breast.
And here with aliens thou didst choose to dwell,
Year in, year out, in deepest sympathy;
And here thou buildest thee an holy cell;
And so the peaceful years went gliding by.
But ah! what living thing mote yet avoid
Death's dreary summons? --And thine hour did sound
When all the friends on whom thine heart relied
Slept on strange pillows on the mossy ground.
So, while the moon lit up Kasuga's crest,
O'er Sahogaha's flood thy corse they bore
To fill a tomb upon yon mountain's breast,
And dwell in darkness drear for evermore.
No words, alas! nor efforts can avail:--
Nought can I do, poor solitary child!
Nought can I do but make my bitter wail,
And pace the room with cries and gestures wild,
Ceaselessly weeping, till my snowy sleeve
Is wet with tears. Who knows? Perchance, again
Wafted, they're borne upon the sighs I heave,
On 'Arima's far distant heights to rain.

_Sakanouhe_.




ON THE POET'S SON FURUBI


Sev'n are the treasures mortals most do prize,
But I regard them not:--
One only jewel could delight mine eyes--
The child that I begot.

My darling boy, who with the morning sun
Began his joyous day;
Nor ever left me, but with child-like fun
Would make me help him play;

Who'd take my hand when eve its shadows spread,
Saying, "I'm sleepy grown;
'Twixt thee and mother I would lay my head:--
Oh! leave me not alone! "

Then with his pretty prattle in mine ears,
I'd lie awake and scan
The good and evil of the coming years,
And see the child a man.

And, as the seaman trusts his bark, I'd trust
That nought could harm the boy:--
Alas! I wist not that the whirling gust
Would shipwreck all my joy!

Then with despairing, helpless hands I grasp'd
The sacred mirror's[147] sphere;
And round my shoulder I my garments clasp'd,
And prayed with many a tear:--

"'Tis yours, great gods, that dwell in heav'n on high,
Great gods of earth! 'tis yours
To heed, or heed not, a poor father's cry,
Who worships and implores! "

Alas! vain pray'rs, that more no more avail!
He languished day by day,
Till e'en his infant speech began to fail,
And life soon ebbed away.

Stagg'ring with grief I strike my sobbing breast,
And wildly dance and groan:--
Ah! such is life! the child that I caress'd
Far from mine arms hath flown.




SHORT STANZA ON THE SAME OCCASION


So young, so young! he cannot know the way:--
On Hades' porter I'll a bribe bestow,
That on his shoulders the dear infant may
Be safely carried to the realms below.

_Attributed to Okura. _

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 144: Died A. D. 671. ]

[Footnote 145: Viz. , with the departed and deified Mikado. ]

[Footnote 146: The Milky Way. ]

[Footnote 147: The part played by the mirror in the devotions of the
Japanese is carried back by them to a tale in their mythology which
relates the disappearance into a cavern of the Sun-goddess Amaterasu,
and the manner in which she was enticed forth by being led to believe
that her reflection in a mirror that was shown to her was another
deity more lovely than herself. ]




MISCELLANEOUS POEMS

VIEW FROM MOUNT KAGO

_Composed by the Mikado Zhiyomei_


Countless are the mountain-chains
Tow'ring o'er Cipango's plains;
But fairest is Mount Kago's peak,
Whose heav'nward soaring heights I seek,
And gaze on all my realms beneath--
Gaze on the land where vapors wreath
O'er many a cot; gaze on the sea,
Where cry the sea-gulls merrily.
Yes! 'tis a very pleasant land,
Fill'd with joys on either hand,
Sweeter than aught beneath the sky,
Dear islands of the dragon-fly! [148]




THE MIKADO'S BOW[149]


When the dawn is shining,
He takes it up and fondles it with pride;
When the day's declining,
He lays it by his pillow's side.
Hark to the twanging of the string!
This is the Bow of our great Lord and King!
Now to the morning chase they ride,
Now to the chase again at eventide:
Hark to the twanging of the string!
This is the Bow of our great Lord and King!

_Hashibito_.
SPRING AND AUTUMN


When winter turns to spring,
Birds that were songless make their songs resound,
Flow'rs that were flow'rless cover all the ground;
Yet 'tis no perfect thing:--
I cannot walk, so tangled is each hill;
So thick the herbs I cannot pluck my fill.
But in the autumn-tide
I cull the scarlet leaves and love them dear,
And let the green leaves stay, with many a tear,
All on the fair hill-side:--
No time so sweet as that. Away! Away!
Autumn's the time I fain would keep alway.

_Ohogimi. _




SPRING


When winter turns to spring,
The dews of morn in pearly radiance lie,
The mists of eve rise circling to the sky,
And Kaminabi's thickets ring
With the sweet notes the nightingale doth sing.

_Anon. _




RECOLLECTIONS OF MY CHILDREN


Ne'er a melon can I eat,
But calls to mind my children dear;
Ne'er a chestnut crisp and sweet,
But makes the lov'd ones seem more near.
Whence did they come, my life to cheer?
Before mine eyes they seem to sweep,
So that I may not even sleep.
What use to me the gold and silver hoard?
What use to me the gems most rich and rare?
Brighter by far--aye! bright beyond compare--
The joys my children to my heart afford!

_Yamagami-no Okura. _




THE BROOK OF HATSUSE


Pure is Hatsuse mountain-brook--
So pure it mirrors all the clouds of heaven;
Yet here no fishermen for shelter look
When sailing home at even:--
'Tis that there are no sandy reaches,
Nor sheltering beaches,
Where the frail craft might find some shelt'ring nook.
Ah, well-a-day! we have no sandy reaches:--
But heed that not;
Nor shelving beaches:--
But heed that not!
Come a-jostling and a-hustling
O'er our billows gayly bustling:--
Come, all ye boats, and anchor in this spot!

_Anon. _




LINES TO A FRIEND


Japan is not a land where men need pray,
For 'tis itself divine:--
Yet do I lift my voice in prayer and say:--
"May ev'ry joy be thine!
And may I too, if thou those joys attain,
Live on to see thee blest! "
Such the fond prayer, that, like the restless main,
Will rise within my breast.

_Hitomaro. _




A VERY ANCIENT ODE


Mountains and ocean-waves
Around me lie;
Forever the mountain-chains
Tower to the sky;
Fixed is the ocean
Immutably:--
Man is a thing of nought,
Born but to die!

_Anon. _




THE BRIDGE TO HEAVEN[150]


Oh! that that ancient bridge,
Hanging 'twixt heaven and earth, were longer still!
Oh! that yon tow'ring mountain-ridge
So boldly tow'ring, tow'red more boldly still!
Then from the moon on high
I'd fetch some drops of the life-giving stream--
A gift that might beseem
Our Lord, the King, to make him live for aye!

_Anon. _




ODE TO THE CUCKOO


Nightingales built the nest
Where, as a lonely guest,
First thy young head did rest,
Cuckoo, so dear!
Strange to the father-bird,
Strange to the mother-bird,
Sounded the note they heard,
Tender and clear.
Fleeing thy native bow'rs,
Bright with the silv'ry flow'rs,
Oft in the summer hours
Hither thou fliest;
Light'st on some orange tall,
Scatt'ring the blossoms all,
And, while around they fall,
Ceaselessly criest.
Through, through the livelong day
Soundeth thy roundelay,
Never its accents may
Pall on mine ear:--
Come, take a bribe of me!
Ne'er to far regions flee;
Dwell on mine orange-tree,
Cuckoo, so dear!

_Anon. _




THE ASCENT OF MOUNT TSUKUBA


When my lord, who fain would look on
Great Tsukuba, double-crested,
To the highlands of Hitachi
Bent his steps, then I, his servant,
Panting with the heats of summer,
Down my brow the sweat-drops dripping,
Breathlessly toil'd onward, upward,
Tangled roots of timber clutching.
"There, my lord! behold the prospect! "
Cried I, when we scaled the summit.
And the gracious goddess gave us
Smiling welcome, while her consort
Condescended to admit us
Into these, his sacred precincts,
O'er Tsukuba, double-crested,
Where the clouds do have their dwelling.
And the rain forever raineth,
Shedding his divine refulgence,
And revealing to our vision
Ev'ry landmark that in darkness
And in shapeless gloom was shrouded;--
Till for joy our belts we loosen'd,
Casting off constraint, and sported.
Danker now than in the dulcet
Spring-time grew the summer grasses;
Yet to-day our bliss was boundless.

_Anon. _




COUPLET


When the great men of old pass'd by this way,
Could e'en their pleasures vie with ours to-day?

_Anon. _

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 148: One of the ancient names of Japan, given to the country
on account of a supposed resemblance in shape to that insect. The
dragon-flies of Japan are various and very beautiful. ]

[Footnote 149: The Mikado referred to is Zhiyomei, who died in A. D.
641. ]

[Footnote 150: The poet alludes to the so-called Ama-no-Ukihashi, or
"floating bridge of heaven"--the bridge by which, according to the
Japanese mythology, the gods passed up and down in the days of old. ]




SHORT STANZAS


I

Spring, spring has come, while yet the landscape bears
Its fleecy burden of unmelted snow!
Now may the zephyr gently 'gin to blow,
To melt the nightingale's sweet frozen tears.

_Anon. _


II

Amid the branches of the silv'ry bowers
The nightingale doth sing: perchance he knows
That spring hath come, and takes the later snows
For the white petals of the plum's sweet flowers. [151]

_Sosei. _


III

Too lightly woven must the garments be--
Garments of mist--that clothe the coming spring:--
In wild disorder see them fluttering
Soon as the zephyr breathes adown the lea.

_Yukihara. _


IV

Heedless that now the mists of spring do rise,
Why fly the wild geese northward? --Can it be
Their native home is fairer to their eyes,
Though no sweet flowers blossom on its lea?

_Ise_.


V

If earth but ceased to offer to my sight
The beauteous cherry-trees when blossoming,
Ah! then indeed, with peaceful, pure delight,
My heart might revel in the joys of spring!

_Narihira. _


VI

Tell me, doth any know the dark recess
Where dwell the winds that scatter the spring flow'rs?
Hide it not from me! By the heav'nly pow'rs,
I'll search them out to upbraid their wickedness!

_Sosei. _


VII

No man so callous but he heaves a sigh
When o'er his head the withered cherry-flowers
Come flutt'ring down. --Who knows? the spring's soft show'rs
May be but tears shed by the sorrowing sky.

_Kuronushi. _


VIII

Whom would your cries, with artful calumny,
Accuse of scatt'ring the pale cherry-flow'rs?
'Tis your own pinions flitting through these bow'rs
That raise the gust which makes them fall and die!

_Sosei. _


IX

In blossoms the wistaria-tree to-day
Breaks forth, that sweep the wavelets of my lake:--
When will the mountain cuckoo come and make
The garden vocal with his first sweet lay?

_Attributed to Hitomaro. _


X

Oh, lotus leaf! I dreamt that the wide earth
Held nought more pure than thee--held nought more true:--
Why, then, when on thee rolls a drop of dew,
Pretend that 'tis a gem of priceless worth? [152]

_Henzeu. _


XI

Can I be dreaming? 'Twas but yesterday
We planted out each tender shoot again;[153]
And now the autumn breeze sighs o'er the plain,
Where fields of yellow rice confess its sway.

_Anon. _


XII

A thousand thoughts of tender, vague regret,
Crowd on my soul, what time I stand and gaze
On the soft-shining autumn moon; and yet
Not to me only speaks her silv'ry haze.

_Chisato. _


XIII

What bark impelled by autumn's fresh'ning gale
Comes speeding t'ward me? --'Tis the wild geese arriv'n
Across the fathomless expanse of Heav'n,
And lifting up their voices for a sail!

_Anon. _


XIV

_Autumn_

The silv'ry dewdrops that in autumn light
Upon the moors, must surely jewels be;
For there they hang all over hill and lea,
Strung on the threads the spiders weave so tight.

_Asayasu. _


XV

_Autumn_

The trees and herbage, as the year doth wane,
For gold and russet leave their former hue--
All but the wave-toss'd flow'rets of the main,
That never yet chill autumn's empire knew.

_Yasuhide. _


XVI

_Autumn_

The dews are all of one pale silv'ry white:--
Then tell me, if thou canst, oh! tell me why
These silv'ry dews so marvellously dye
The autumn leaves a myriad colors bright?

_Toshiyuki. _


XVII

_Autumn_

The warp is hoar-frost and the woof is dew--
Too frail, alas! the warp and woof to be:--
For scarce the woods their damask robes endue,
When, torn and soiled, they flutter o'er the lea.

_Sekiwo. _


XVIII

_Autumn_

E'en when on earth the thund'ring gods held sway
Was such a sight beheld? --Calm Tatsta's flood,
Stain'd, as by Chinese art, with hues of blood,
Rolls o'er Yamato's peaceful fields away.

_Narihira. _


XIX

_Winter_

When falls the snow, lo! ev'ry herb and tree,
That in seclusion through the wintry hours
Long time had been held fast, breaks forth in flow'rs
That ne'er in spring were known upon the lea.

_Tsurayuki. _


XX

_Winter_

When from the skies, that wintry gloom enshrouds,
The blossoms fall and flutter round my head,
Methinks the spring e'en now his light must shed
O'er heavenly lands that lie beyond the clouds.

_Fukayabu. _


XXI

_Congratulations_

A thousand years of happy life be thine!
Live on, my lord, till what are pebbles now,
By age united, to great rocks shall grow,
Whose venerable sides the moss doth line!

_Anon. _


XXII

_Congratulations_[154]

Of all the days and months that hurry by
Nor leave a trace, how long the weary tale!
And yet how few the springs when in the vale
On the dear flow'rets I may feast mine eye!

_Okikaze. _


XXIII

_Congratulations_

If ever mortal in the days of yore
By Heav'n a thousand years of life was lent,
I wot not; but if never seen before,
Be thou the man to make the precedent.

_Sosei. _


XXIV

_Parting_

Mine oft-reiterated pray'rs in vain
The parting guest would stay: Oh, cherry-flow'rs!
Pour down your petals, that from out these bow'rs
He ne'er may find the homeward path again!

_Anon. _


XXV

_Travelling_

With roseate hues that pierce th' autumnal haze
The spreading dawn lights up Akashi's shore;
But the fair ship, alas! is seen no more:--
An island veils it from my loving gaze.

_Attributed to Hitomaro. _


XXVI

_Travelling_

Miyako-bird! if not in vain men give
Thy pleasing name, my question deign to hear:--
And has she pass'd away, my darling dear,
Or doth she still for Narihira live?

_Narihira. _

* * * * *


XXVIII

_Love_

The barest ledge of rock, if but a seed
Alight upon it, lets the pine-tree grow:--
If, then, thy love for me be love indeed,
We'll come together, dear; it must be so!

_Anon. _


XXIX

_Love_

There is on earth a thing more bootless still
Than to write figures on a running stream:--
And that thing is (believe me if you will)
To dream of one who ne'er of you doth dream.

_Anon. _

* * * * *


XXXI

_Love_

Since that first night when, bath'd in hopeless tears,
I sank asleep, and he I love did seem
To visit me, I welcome ev'ry dream,
Sure that they come as heav'n-sent messengers.

_Komachi. _


XXXII

_Love_

Methinks my tenderness the grass must be,
Clothing some mountain desolate and lone;
For though it daily grows luxuriantly,
To ev'ry mortal eye 'tis still unknown.

_Yoshiki. _


XXXIII

_Love_

Upon the causeway through the land of dreams
Surely the dews must plentifully light:--
For when I've wandered up and down all night,
My sleeve's so wet that nought will dry its streams.

_Tsurayuki. _


XXXIV

_Love_

Fast fall the silv'ry dews, albeit not yet
'Tis autumn weather; for each drop's a tear,
Shed till the pillow of my hand is wet,
As I wake from dreaming of my dear.

_Anon. _


XXXV

_Love_

I ask'd my soul where springs th' ill-omened seed
That bears the herb of dull forgetfulness;[155]
And answer straightway came:--Th' accursed weed
Grows in that heart which knows no tenderness.

_Sosei. _


XXXVI

_Elegies_[156]

So frail our life, perchance to-morrow's sun
May never rise for me. Ah! well-a-day!
Till comes the twilight of the sad to-day,
I'll mourn for thee, O thou beloved one!

_Tsurayuki. _


XXXVII

_Elegies_

The perfume is the same, the same the hue
As that which erst my senses did delight:--
But he who planted the fair avenue
Is here no more, alas! to please my sight!

_Tsurayuki. _


XXXVIII

_Elegies_

One thing, alas! more fleeting have I seen
Than wither'd leaves driv'n by the autumn gust:--
Yea, evanescent as the whirling dust
Is man's brief passage o'er this mortal scene!

_Chisato. _


XXXIX

Softly the dews upon my forehead light:--
From off the oars, perchance, as feather'd spray,
They drop, while some fair skiff bends on her way
Across the Heav'nly Stream[157] on starlit night.

_Anon. _


XL

What though the waters of that antique rill
That flows along the heath, no more are cold;
Those who remember what it was of old
Go forth to draw them in their buckets still.

_Anon. _


XLI[158]

Old Age is not a friend I wish to meet;
And if some day to see me he should come,
I'd lock the door as he walk'd up the street,
And cry, "Most honored sir! I'm not at home! "

_Anon_.


XLII[159]

Yes, I am old; but yet with doleful stour
I will not choose to rail 'gainst Fate's decree.
An' I had not grown old, then ne'er for me
Had dawned the day that brings this golden hour.

_Toshiyuki. _


XLIII[160]

The roaring torrent scatters far and near
Its silv'ry drops:--Oh! let me pick them up!
For when of grief I drain some day the cup,
Each will do service as a bitter tear.

_Yukihira. _


XLIV

_Composed on beholding the cascade of Otoha on Mount Hiye_

Long years, methinks, of sorrow and of care
Must have pass'd over the old fountain-head
Of the cascade; for, like a silv'ry thread,
It rolls adown, nor shows one jet-black hair.

_Tadamine. _


XLV

If e'en that grot where thou didst seek release
From worldly strife in lonesome mountain glen
Should find thee sometimes sorrowful, ah! then
Where mayest thou farther flee to search for peace?

_Mitsune. _


XLVI[161]

So close thy friendly roof, so near the spring,
That though not yet dull winter hath gone hence,
The wind that bloweth o'er our parting fence
From thee to me the first gay flow'rs doth bring.

_Fukayabu. _


XLVII

If to this frame of mine in spring's first hour,
When o'er the moor the lightsome mists do curl,
Might but be lent the shape of some fair flower,
Haply thou 'dst deign to pluck me, cruel girl!

_Okikaze. _


XLVIII

"Love me, sweet girl! thy love is all I ask! "
"Love thee? " she laughing cries; "I love thee not! "
"Why, then I'll cease to love thee on the spot,
Since loving thee is such a thankless task! "

_Anon. _


XLIX

A youth once lov'd me, and his love I spurn'd.
But see the vengeance of the pow'rs above
On cold indiff'rence:--now 'tis I that love,
And my fond love, alas! is not returned.

_Anon. _


L

Beneath love's heavy weight my falt'ring soul
Plods, like the packman, o'er life's dusty road.
Oh! that some friendly hand would find a pole
To ease my shoulders of their grievous load!

_Anon. _

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 151: The plum-tree, cherry-tree, etc. , are in Japan
cultivated, not for their fruit, but for their blossoms. Together with
the wistaria, the lotus, the iris, the lespedeza, and a few others,
these take the place which is occupied in the West by the rose, the
lily, the violet, etc. ]

[Footnote 152: The lotus is the Buddhist emblem of purity, and the
lotus growing out of the bud is a frequent metaphor for the heart that
remains unsullied by contact with the world. ]

[Footnote 153: The transplanting of the rice occupies the whole rural
population during the month of June, when men and women may all be
seen working in the fields, knee-deep in water. The crops are gathered
in October. ]

[Footnote 154: This ode was composed on beholding a screen presented
to the Empress by Prince Sadayasu at the festival held in honor of her
fiftieth birthday, whereon was painted a man seated beneath the
falling cherry blossoms and watching them flutter down. ]

[Footnote 155: The "Herb of Forgetfulness" answers in the poetical
diction of the Japanese to the classical waters Lethe. ]

[Footnote 156: It is the young poet Ki-no-Tomonori who is mourned in
this stanza. ]

[Footnote 157: The Milky Way. ]

[Footnote 158: This stanza is remarkable for being (so far as the
present writer is aware) the only instance in Japanese literature of
that direct impersonation of an abstract idea which is so very
strongly marked a characteristic of Western thoughts and modes of
expression. ]

[Footnote 159: Composed on the occasion of a feast at the palace.