05. Poems In the Era Without Internet
むくかたや
一足ツゝに
花盛り
- 小林一茶
To the direction you go
As you step forward
Flowers are in full bloom
- Kobayashi Issa
開運なんでも鑑定団という素人が持っているお宝だったらいいなという特異な品を鑑定し、その価値を専門家が解説する番組がある。そこで、小林一茶が直筆で俳句を書いた掛け軸が本物であると鑑定され、これまで世に出ていなかった一大発見と称された。それが、上の句である。
足が向く方に一歩ずつ進むと、目の前に咲き誇る花々が広かっていく
この句は東に帰る人へ贈った詩だそうだ。読んでいくと、作者の目線が足元から豊かに広がる自然へと映っていく。春だったのだろう。それと同時に、咲き誇る花々へ向かって歩みを進める人の姿に対する、作者の希望や成功を願う思いも感じさせる。丁寧に視線を追い、季節を感じさせ、作者の感情も含ませる、短い中に豊かな動きと色合いを感じさせる一句だ。
この句を読みながら、思い出したのが、百人一首に含まれる光孝天皇の歌だった。
最果タヒの「百人一首という感情」という本の中では、「わたしの視線を追うようにして、歌の言葉が紡がれている。・・・『きみ』しか見えていなかった、緑しか見えていなかった、春しか感じていなかった、そんなまっすぐな視線を感じる。」と括られていてその歌の美しさに改めて感動したのを覚えている。そうかまだ雪が降っていたのか、と視線は上へと続き、立ち上がり、摘んだ若菜を袖に忍ばせ、君の元へ帰る、そんな余韻も感じさせる。
どちら歌が書かれた時代には、もちろんネットはないし、ソーシャルメディアもない。目の前にあるのは、大切な人と自然。そのシンプルさの中にある豊かさを教えてくれる。
君がため
春の野に出でて 若菜摘む
わが衣手に 雪は降りつつ
- 光孝天皇
For you
Step into a spring field to pick the young leaves
While snow is falling onto my sleeves
- Emperor Koko
There is a TV program called ‘Kaiun Nandemo Kanteidan (Fortune Appraisal Squad)’ in which experts appraise self-proclaimed unique treasures. Recently, a kakejiku (hanging scroll), claimed to have been written by Kobayashi Issa (1763–1828), a Japanese poet regarded as one of the four haiku masters, was appraised as authentic. Having never before been made public, it became a remarkable discovery.
I was following the path you go, then realized there are flowers spread out in front of the direction you go
The Haiku poem was written for a person returning to eastern Japan. As you read, you realize the poet’s gaze shifts from the ground beneath his feet to a broader view of nature. It was probably spring. t also evokes Issa’s wishes for good fortune and success for the person stepping forward among the flowers in bloom. The poet delicately traces his gaze, captures the essence of the season, and encapsulates his emotion. Though he does not state it directly, you can vividly feel the movement and colors.
This Haiku reminded me of a poem by Emperor Koko (830-887) in Hyakunin Isshu (One hundred people, One poem each).
In her book “Hyakunin Isshu to iu Kanjo” (The Emotions of One Hundred Poets, One Poem Each), the modern poet Saihate Tahi deciphers the poem: “The poet weaves words as if following his gaze… I feel his unwavering gaze, as though he could see only Kimi ‘her’ at one point, and the greenery, then the spring.” She enabled me to capture the essence of the poet and I was truly moved by the beauty of the poem. It also carries an afterglow in the way the gaze continues: as if he looks up after sensing the season, rises to his feet, tucks the leaves he has picked into his sleeves, and returns to where Kimi waits.
Of course, in their era there was no internet or social media. What they shared in common were a beloved person and the natural world. Both poems tells us the richness in the simplest form.
