Episode 41

A long time ago, there were two sisters. One had a poor husband with low social status. The other had a rich husband with high status.

The sister with the poor husband washed his jacket at the end of December. She tried to fix it by herself. She worked very hard, but she was not used to such work. When she tried to sew the shoulder, she tore it by mistake.

She didn’t know what to do. She cried and cried and cried.

The rich man heard about this. He felt very sorry for her. He found a beautiful green jacket and gave it to her.

When he gave it to her, he said:

紫の色濃き時はめもはるに　　
　　　野なる草木ぞわかれざりける
"When the purple color is deep,
even from far away,
you cannot tell it from the green plants in the fields.
My dear wife and you are just the same."

This poem is based on a famous old poem from Musashino:

“Because of one purple flower,
I feel love for all the grass in Musashino.”

 

Episode 42

A long time ago, a man started seeing a woman.
He knew she liked many men, but he still wanted to be with her.
He didn’t hate her at all.
He visited her many times.
But he still felt unsure.
Even so, he couldn’t stop himself from going.

They had a close relationship, so he couldn’t stay away.
One time, he couldn’t visit her for two or three days.
Then he sent her this poem:

出でて来しあとだに未だかはらじを
　　　誰が通ひ路と今はなるらむ
"The path I walked from your home
still holds my footprints.
But now,
whose path is it instead?"

The man wrote this poem because he felt jealous.
He was worried that she might be seeing someone else.

 

Episode 43

 

A long time ago, there was a prince named Prince Kaya.
He loved a woman very much. He cared for her deeply.

But one day, another man started to like the same woman.
Prince Kaya thought he was the only one who loved her.
But the other man found out and sent her a letter.

He also drew a picture of a hototogisu (a Japanese cuckoo that sings in summer).
Then he wrote this poem:

　ほととぎす汝が鳴く里のあまたあれば
　　　なほ疎まれぬ思ふものから
"Hototogisu,
you sing in many villages.
I love you,
but it makes me feel sad.
You go to too many places."

He meant:
"You are like a hototogisu that sings for many people.
I still love you, but I feel hurt and don't like it anymore."

The woman wanted to make him feel better.
So she answered with her own poem:

名のみ立つしでの田長は今朝ぞ鳴く
　　　庵あまた疎まれぬれば
"The hototogisu is crying this morning.
Its name sounds like ‘death,’
and people think that’s unlucky.
I sang in too many places,
and now you don’t like me."

It was the fifth month of the year—May.

Then the man wrote back with another poem:

庵多きしでの田長はなほ頼む
　　　わが住む里に声し絶えずは
“Even if you are a hototogisu
Even if you have many homes
I believe in you
As long as you continue to sing here, in my village.”

 

Episode 44

A long time ago, a man was about to leave for a job in the countryside.
He had been chosen as a local governor.
His friends made a farewell party for him.

The host’s wife was there.
She wasn’t a stranger to the guest, so she was kind.
She offered him a drink and planned to give him a woman’s outfit as a gift.

When the host saw this, he wrote a poem.
He tied the poem to the sash (obi) of the outfit.

The poem said:

出でてゆく君がためにと脱ぎつれば
　　我さへもなくなりぬべきかな
"I took off this skirt
just for you, my dear friend.
By giving it to you,
maybe my own troubles
will leave me too."

What does this poem mean?

In old Japan, the word for a woman's skirt ("mo") sounds like the word for "mourning" or "sadness" ("mo" as in "mo-fuku").
So the man made a pun. He was saying:

“I took off this skirt for you.
But maybe I'm also taking off my sadness.
Maybe giving this to you will bring me peace too.”

It’s a funny and clever poem.

Episode 45

A long time ago, there was a man.
A young woman, the daughter of a kind family, loved him very much.
She was shy and couldn’t tell him how she felt.

She kept her feelings inside.
Because of that, she became sick.
When she was about to die, she finally said, “I loved him.”

Her parents were very sad.
They told the man about her feelings.
He rushed to her house.
But by the time he got there, she had already died.

The man was heartbroken.
He stayed inside and didn’t talk to anyone.

It was the end of June, during the hottest time of year.
In the evening, he played music.
Later that night, a cool wind started to blow.
He saw fireflies flying high into the sky.
He lay down and watched them.
Then he made a poem.

行く蛍雲の上までいぬべくは
　　　秋風吹くと雁に告げこせ
"Fireflies,
if you can fly
above the clouds,
tell the wild geese
that autumn winds are already blowing here."

Then he made another poem.

暮れがたき夏の日ぐらしながむれば
　　　そのことゝなくものぞ悲しき
"This long summer day
never seems to end.
I sit and stare outside.
I don’t even know
why I feel so sad."

 

Episode 46

A long time ago, there was a man.
He had a very loyal friend.
They were always together and never apart, even for a short time.

However, one day, his friend had to move far away.
They said goodbye with great sadness.

Some time later, his friend sent him a letter.

“So much time has passed,
and I still haven’t seen you.
I wonder if you have forgotten me.
I feel very lonely.
People often forget others
when they don’t meet for a while.”

The man read the letter and sent back a poem.

目離るともおもほえなくに忘らる、
時しなければ面影にたつ
"Even if I don’t see you,
it doesn’t feel like we are apart.
I never have time to forget you.
Your face always appears
clearly in my mind."

Episode 47

A long time ago, a man deeply wanted to meet a woman.
He kept trying to see her.

But the woman had heard he was not faithful.
She thought he was a playboy.
So she wrote him a cold poem:

大幣おおぬさと名にこそ立てれ流れても　
　　終に寄る瀬はありといふものを
"You are like a sacred wand
used in many rituals.
You go to so many women.
Even if I like you,
I can’t trust you anymore."

The man wrote back with a reply:

大幣の引く手あまたになりぬれば
　　　思へどこそ頼まざりけれ
"Yes, many people
have pulled on that sacred wand.
That’s true.
But I still think of you.
I just didn’t know if I could rely on you."

 

Explanation 

“Ōnusa” is a sacred ritual tool used by Shinto priests during purification ceremonies.

 

Episode 48

A long time ago, there was a man.
He was planning a farewell party.
He waited for someone to come,
but that person never showed up.

So the man wrote this poem:

今ぞ知る苦しきものと人待たむ
　　　　里をば離れず訪ふべかりけり
"Now I finally know
how painful it is
to wait for someone.
I should have kept visiting
the village where they live."

Explanation 

This playboy finally realized the pain of the women who were waiting for him.
He understood that he should have visited them more often.

Episode 49

A long time ago, there was a man.
He looked at his younger sister.
She was very beautiful.
He stared at her and said this poem:

うら若み寝よげに見ゆる若草を
　　 　人の結ばむことをしぞ思ふ
"You are so young and fresh,
like soft new grass.
I worry that
some other man
will come and take you."

The girl gave him a reply:

初草のなどめづらしき言の葉ぞ
　　　　　うらなくものを思ひけるかな
"Why do you say
such strange and surprising things?
I thought of you
only as my brother,
with a pure and honest heart."

 

Episode 50

A long time ago, there was a man.
A woman was angry with him,
but he got angry at her instead.

He said this poem:

鳥の子を十づゝ十は重ぬとも
　　思はぬ人を思ふものかは
"Even if you stack
ten by ten
bird eggs together,
I still can't love someone
I don’t truly care for."

The woman replied with her own poem:

朝露は消え残りてもありぬべし
　　誰かこの世を頼みはつべき
"Morning dew may
sometimes stay a little longer,
but love,
which is even more fragile,
can never be trusted."

Then the man said:

吹く風に去年の桜は散らずとも
　　あな頼みがた人の心は
"Even if the wind
did not blow away
last year’s cherry blossoms,
I still could not trust
a woman’s heart."

The woman answered again:

行く水に数書くよりもはかなきは
　　　思はぬ人を思ふなりけり
"Loving someone
who doesn’t love you
is even more foolish
than trying to write numbers
on flowing water."

Then the man said one more poem:

行く水と過ぐるよわひと散る花と
　　いづれ待ててふことを聞くらむ
"Flowing water,
passing years,
falling blossoms—
which of them
ever waits for anyone?"

 

Explanation 

This is a poetry battle between two unfaithful lovers.
They are comparing whose heart is more unreliable.

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All the illustrations are from illustAC. I have a paid membership and follow their rules, so there are no copyright problems.
The writing is my own English translation of a Japanese story from the 10th century.
Please do not copy or use it.