While watching tv at our little cottage almost alongside the beach, I find myself engrossed in the Discovery Channel feature. It was about a japanese poet, Ono no Komachi. While I read translated books by japanese writers such as Banana Yoshimoto and Haruki Murakami (who, by the way is one of my favorites), I am yet to explore the realm of ancient japanese poets, featuring takas. Takas are poems with 5 7 5 7 7 syllables per line. Of course, upon translation it is nearly impossible to keep the same number of syllables per line.
When I got home, I did some surfing and realized how truly extraordinary she is, not only is she gifted in prose, she is also quite a character, femme fetale if you may. It is quite hard to imagine considering her time.
Very little is known about this Japanese poetess, and most of it is legendary. She lived around 850 C.E. (b. 834?) during the Heian period. The story about her is that she was a woman of unparallelled beauty in her youth and enjoyed the attention of many suitors. She was, however, haughty and cruel, breaking many hearts. She was punished by living to an old age and dying as a destitute and ugly hag in loneliness. The legend is almost certainly false, but the passionate nature of her loves survives (minus the didactic ending) to this day. In fact, the town of Ogachi in Akita prefecture celebrates an annual Komachi Festival on the second Sunday of June (legend has it that she was born in the village of Ono in Ogachi). There is a shrine dedicated to her.
Could I just make this entry about me and add that my birthday, in some years (like 1988, 1994, 2005), fall on the second Sunday of June?
What especially captivated me was the legend about her supposed lover. It is like the story in the movie Cinema Paradiso.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ono_no_Komachi)
There are legends about Komachi in love. The most famous is a story about her relationship with Fukakusa no Shosho, a high-ranking courtier. Komachi promised that if he visited her continuously for a hundred nights, then she would become his lover. Fukakusa no Shosho visited her every night, but failed once towards the end. Despairing, he fell ill and subsequently died. When Komachi learned of his death she was overcome with sadness.
There was one particular taka I liked, however I failed to both memorize it and find it online. I, however found one, not quite as touching/disturbing, but I should say, as eloquent.
Heart! We will forget him!
You and I-- tonight!
You may forget the warmth he gave--I will forget the light!
When you have done, pray tell me
That I may straight begin!
Haste! lest while you're lagging
There are legends about Komachi in love. The most famous is a story about her relationship with Fukakusa no Shosho, a high-ranking courtier. Komachi promised that if he visited her continuously for a hundred nights, then she would become his lover. Fukakusa no Shosho visited her every night, but failed once towards the end. Despairing, he fell ill and subsequently died. When Komachi learned of his death she was overcome with sadness.
There was one particular taka I liked, however I failed to both memorize it and find it online. I, however found one, not quite as touching/disturbing, but I should say, as eloquent.
Heart! We will forget him!
You and I-- tonight!
You may forget the warmth he gave--I will forget the light!
When you have done, pray tell me
That I may straight begin!
Haste! lest while you're lagging
I remember him!
Here is an interesting site to visit http://www.temcauley.staff.shef.ac.uk/waka0809.shtml, it features some of her work, the translation alongside the original text.
Here is an interesting site to visit http://www.temcauley.staff.shef.ac.uk/waka0809.shtml, it features some of her work, the translation alongside the original text.
More info at http://home.infionline.net/~ddisse/ono.html.
A video lecture on Japanese Poetry at http://www.gresham.ac.uk/event.asp?PageId=39&EventId=483.
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