Natural Beauty
The 101 tanka poems among Kokin-wakashu
Introduction
Here are the 101 tanka poems that I tried to select from among all the poems in Kokin-wakashu. The tanka poem consists of 31 syllables, though, I gave a tiny space between every Japanese word with the Roman alphabet in order to indicate the way to read. Also, I freely interpreted these tanka poems in both English and Japanese.
Kokin-wakashu is one of the most famous classical literary works in Japan, which was released in the early Heian period. The word of “kokin” means both old days and today. A wakashu is almost defined as a classical tanka collection. It was the first time that the Emperor ordered scholars to publish the most excellent tanka collection which should represent the Japanese literature. At that time, it was the reign of Emperor Daigo. The main editor was KI no Tsurayuki.
Tsurayuki was a supreme scholar. And he was one of the Japanese representative tanka poets,too. Then, he assembled about 1100 tanka poems from among contemporary people's works and the others written by that time. It's supposed that his editorial policies were to move the weather without substantial power, to have lovers make up for their lost time, to ease tension of all the painful soldiers, and to turn evil spirits into loving angels. According to his view, not only human being but also frogs, birds, and all the living creature are included in poets. So, I guess that he expected people in the future to feel happy with these various tanka poem spirits.
For years, I have been planning to show modern people that his editorial themes were love and global peace. To balance my free expression with the objective knowledge, I asked Mr. Motonori Sato to help. Mr. Sato is a high school teacher and my literary mate. Responding for it, he is writing an explanatory essay in Japanese following my selection in this literary magazine called Gekkyu. His part is analysis. Actually, he says that no work to support any war could be seen in Kokin-wakashu.
Furthermore, in Japan, the waka often has been available to common people for a fortune-telling. You can use these tanka numbers from 1 through 101 to draw your secret lucky feelings, if you like. When you do that, the god of the poetry will bless you!
Now, over a millennium, I hope these poems will impress you as the awareness of the natural beauty all lives have.
December 31, 2016
Yasuko Tatsumi
A Japanese modern tanka poet
The 101 tanka poems among Kokin-wakashu
Introduction
Here are the 101 tanka poems that I tried to select from among all the poems in Kokin-wakashu. The tanka poem consists of 31 syllables, though, I gave a tiny space between every Japanese word with the Roman alphabet in order to indicate the way to read. Also, I freely interpreted these tanka poems in both English and Japanese.
Kokin-wakashu is one of the most famous classical literary works in Japan, which was released in the early Heian period. The word of “kokin” means both old days and today. A wakashu is almost defined as a classical tanka collection. It was the first time that the Emperor ordered scholars to publish the most excellent tanka collection which should represent the Japanese literature. At that time, it was the reign of Emperor Daigo. The main editor was KI no Tsurayuki.
Tsurayuki was a supreme scholar. And he was one of the Japanese representative tanka poets,too. Then, he assembled about 1100 tanka poems from among contemporary people's works and the others written by that time. It's supposed that his editorial policies were to move the weather without substantial power, to have lovers make up for their lost time, to ease tension of all the painful soldiers, and to turn evil spirits into loving angels. According to his view, not only human being but also frogs, birds, and all the living creature are included in poets. So, I guess that he expected people in the future to feel happy with these various tanka poem spirits.
For years, I have been planning to show modern people that his editorial themes were love and global peace. To balance my free expression with the objective knowledge, I asked Mr. Motonori Sato to help. Mr. Sato is a high school teacher and my literary mate. Responding for it, he is writing an explanatory essay in Japanese following my selection in this literary magazine called Gekkyu. His part is analysis. Actually, he says that no work to support any war could be seen in Kokin-wakashu.
Furthermore, in Japan, the waka often has been available to common people for a fortune-telling. You can use these tanka numbers from 1 through 101 to draw your secret lucky feelings, if you like. When you do that, the god of the poetry will bless you!
Now, over a millennium, I hope these poems will impress you as the awareness of the natural beauty all lives have.
December 31, 2016
Yasuko Tatsumi
A Japanese modern tanka poet
