古典短歌講座
Classical Tanka composition in English
宿谷睦夫
Mutsuo Shukuya


第六章 (〜歌の主題 4〜)[中級講座I]
第2節:如月の歌「霞中花」(かすみのなかのはな)
[VI]Themes for tanka composition (4)(Intermediate course I)
(2) Tanka in February (2003)平成15年(3/3-4/1)
“The cherry blossoms seen through the haze”


[VI]Themes for tanka composition (4)
(Intermediate course I)
(2) Tanka in February (2003)平成15年(3/3-4/1)
“The cherry blossoms seen through the haze”

 In this chapter, I will try to discuss how tanka should be composed in Kisaragi[February](3/3-4/1). The most suitable theme on which to compose tanka is Sakura(cherry blossom). As I mentioned before, the haze is a phenomenon that comes over the mountains and fields from the beginning to the middle of spring when the cherry blossoms are abloom.
 I suggested that you compose tanka on the theme, "The moon which shines around evening in spring" last year. This moon, of course, shines dimly, as the air becomes moist, that is, because of the haze. So, this time, I hope you can compose tanka on the theme, “The cherry blossoms seen through the haze”.
 For your tanka composition I will show you the following tanka, which are composed by Otomo no Yakamochi(718?-785) in Shin-Kokin, Fujiwara no Okikaze(?-891-?) and Arihara no Motokata(?-?), who is grandson of Narihira(825-880), and myself on this theme.
 In the tanka by Yakamochi, the word, "everybody" stands for all people, both coming and going in the Japanese version. He also uses the technique Kakekotoba, using a word which has two different meaning: a word, "Tatsu" means both "the haze (hangs) and a part of the name of Mt. Tatsuta, which is located at Misato-town in Ikoma-county of Nara-prefecture.
 In another tanka by Okikaze, he seems to have been inspired to compose it after viewing a Yamato-e painting depicting the colorful haze. In those days, most aristocrats around the palace seldom went out from their places of residence although they had many opotunities to compose tanka about outside landscapes. So, a lot of Yamato-e paintings were drawn and many gardens were made so that they could do so within their residences.
 In another tanka by Motokata, he showed that the haze does not screen the existence of the cherry blossoms, as Oshikochi no Mitsune(?-900-?) showed that the darkness in the evening does not screen that of the plum-blossoms through the tanka below. Anyway all of the authors, who composed these examples, try to express how precious the cherry blossoms as well as the plum blosssoms are to them:

In the spring evening/ the darkness seems so heartless
because it makes it/ possible to smell their scent
while their blooms cannot be seen.
                by Oshikochi no Mitsune

ゆかん人来ん人しのへ春霞たつたの山の初櫻花
The cherry blossoms,/ which come out first on the Mount,
Tatsuta, over/ which the deep haze hangs, surely
everybody remembers. by Otomo no Yakamochi

春霞色の千種に見えつるはたなひく山の花の影かも
The cherry blossoms/ covered with haze on mountains
must be at their best:/ they seem so wondrously dyed
as if reflecting the clouds. by Fujiwara no Okikaze

霞立つ春の山辺は遠けれと吹きくる風は花の香そする
Nothing can be seen/ from the mountains, over which
the deep spring haze hang,/
but the wind from them brings me
the scent of cherry blossoms. by Arihara no Motokata
朝霞立てとも風の運ひくる吉野の山に匂ふ花の香
Even though the haze/ hangs over in the morning
upon the mountain,/ Yoshino, the wind brings me
the scent of cherry blossoms. by Mutsuo Shukuya

第六章 (〜歌の主題 4〜)[中級講座I]
第2節:如月の歌「霞中花」(かすみのなかのはな)

今回は如月の歌を詠んで戴く。如月といえば、まず櫻が主題となる。櫻は如月の後半になって咲き始める。また、前述の如く、霞はまだ野山から消えない。歌題として初級講座で「待花」「名所花」「春夕月」を詠んで戴いたが、中級講座の最初である今年は「霞中花」を詠んで戴く。
 「霞中花」を歌題に、新古今和歌集の中から大伴家持の歌、古今和歌集の中から藤原興風と在原元方の歌、そして私の歌を例歌としてみた。
 大伴家持の歌は、「これから、ここを去っていく人も、ここに来る人も、皆、思い慕いなさいよ。春霞の立っている立田山の初咲きの櫻の花を」という意味の歌で、「春霞たつ」の「たつ」と「立田山」の「立」を掛けた掛詞の修辞法が用いられている。また、立田山は奈良県生駒郡三郷町にある山である。
 藤原興風の歌は「春霞の色があのように種々様々に見えるのは、それが棚引いている山に乱れ咲いた花の様々な色が、霞に影を落としているのだろうか」という意味の歌で、大和絵などに描かれた霞の色の濃淡を見て、そこからヒントを得て詠んだものといわれている。当時、宮中を中心とした上流階級の貴族はあまり外に出て、景色を十分に見ている余裕がなかったようである。しかし、折に触れて歌を詠まなければならない機会は多かったようだ。そこで、歌の素材となる大和絵が盛んに描かれ、庭園が造園されていった。
在原元方の歌は「霞が立ちこめている春の山辺は遠くにあって、中に何があるかわからない。しかし、そこから吹いて来る風には、なんとなく花の香が含まれている」という意味の歌である。闇夜に梅の花の存在は隠せないことを詠んだ「春の夜の闇はあやなし梅の花色こそ見えね香やは隠るゝ」という凡河内躬恒の歌があるが、この歌も、例えが霞から夜の闇、櫻から梅に変わっているが、その闇に隠れて梅の花の姿は見えないけれども、闇は香りまでは隠せないで、美しく匂っていることを詠んでいる。私の歌は「朝霞が立って吉野の山に咲く桜を見ることは出来ないが、山から吹いてくる風が花の香りを運んでくれている」という意味の歌である。いずれも、櫻の花に対する愛着の深いことを詠んだ歌である。

Plaza-Plaza Tanka Cornerプラザ歌壇入選者
@山本綾子A宿谷政枝BベリンダCブルース・ワイマン

見渡せば霞たなびく春の野辺色は見えねど花の香そする 
All over the fields,/ which I look across today,
the cherry blossoms/ must be abloom at their best
although hidden by the haze. by Ayako Yamamoto

山辺の風や薫りぬ春霞櫻の花の姿包めと
The breeze fluttering/
from the mountain brings me scents
of cherry blossoms,/ even though the thick haze keeps
me from seeing this fine sight. by Masae Shukuya

Through the thick white haze/ we can ever so faintly
make out the petals/ of the fragrantly scented
beautiful Cherry Blossoms. by Belinda Albert
(いと深く霞山辺に棚引けと櫻の花の香やはかくるゝ)

Already opened,/ the first blossoms I have seen
this year surprised me/ on my way work, as they
do at this time every year. by Bruce Wyman
(霞立つ春には愛てし櫻花今朝も小道に香り漂ふ)
 
 

古典短歌講座(第1版)
Classical Tanka composition in English (1)


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