Pathway to Japanese Literature

Rural Maiden

You were the rural
Maiden
Cutting morning grass with horse
She went cutting
The mountain lesser cuckoo
The mountain lesser cuckoo sang in the mountains
The horse too pricked up its ears
And listened.

The mountain lesser cuckoo—
a migratory bird—
crosses that mountain.
Where does it go?

Mud Wasp

Preparing to cut grass,

he sharpened his sickle,

when a mud wasp flew in.

The mud wasp.

While watching the insect,

he cut his finger with the blade.

He showed the injured finger.

The wasp fled.

Window

She gazed at the mountains,

The mountain does not speak.

She gazed at the sky,
The sky too does not speak.
That's right, truly.
How aggravating!
Come sing at the window,
Mountain lesser cuckoo,
Let me hear word,
Won't you tell me something?
That's right, truly.
How aggravating!

Sensuijima

(Sensuijima is located off Tomo in Hiroshima Prefecture)

It's all just this fleeting world anyway.

O Sensuijima

kayotekoyonara

Though they do visit,

Human hearts and clock hands

Tick by tick, they shift and change

Pond snails.

Someone was looking at the rice fields.

Crows,

striking pond snails,

were playing.

Poor things.

The pond snails of the rice fields

peck-peck-pecking

were struck.

With luggage in one hand

How I long—

Abandoning this land,

Where will I go?

That person...
Where are they going?
I don’t know—

With luggage in one hand,
Carrying an umbrella,
Maybe I should go too.
Abandoning this land,
With luggage in one hand,

With that person

Imatate Kouta

(Mount Sanri was situated within the plains of Imadate District, Fukui Prefecture.
It was said to have a circumference of three ri.
At the mountain's base were over a dozen farming villages.)

From Mount Sanri (Yanre)

Playing the flute while

Sutchiyan, Sutchiyan

Sutchiyan, Chiyan, To

The kite takes its nap (Yanre)

Comes calling

Sutchiyan, Sutchiyan

Sutchiyan, Chiyan, To

Playing the flute in the mountains (Yanre)

With the kite

Sutchiyan, Sutchiyan

Sutchiyan, Chiyan, To

In the mountains, a nap is taken (Yanre)

Want to try

Sutchiyan, Sutchiyan

Sutchiyan, Chiyan, To

In the mountains with the kite (Yanre)

Taking naps with

Sutchiyan, Sutchiyan

Sutchiyan, Chiyan, To

Precious potatoes (Yanre)

We dreamt of

Sutchiyan, Sutchiyan

Sutchiyan, Chiyan, To

Song of Seki in Mino

(This song was written as a local folk song of Seki Town, Mino Province, and was also known by another name, "Mino no Sekketsu.")

Even if you call it Seki, there's no checkpoint

You make excuses and won't come

Are you coming or not? Just say it!

Depending on how you phrase it—Boom-boom

If you say come, I'll go without sleeping—

There's the checkpoint of fearful eyes watching

Saying something about demons dwelling there—

If you try to deceive me with that hand—Boom-boom!

If you fear prying eyes—come under cover of night

Seki too has plenty of dark nights

Even when night falls dark, there's not a single response.

If it comes to this, we'll charge ahead—Boom-boom!

Dirt-Tossing Song

Work! Work!

Work this earth

When the pond's made

We'll keep goldfish swimming

Heave-ho, heave-ho now!

Fine figures we'll be

We gazed.

"That's right! That's right!"

Work this earth!

When we build the mountain,

we'll plant cherry trees!

Heave-ho, heave-ho now!

Spring blooms its flowers!

We gazed.

"Still more! Still more!"

Work this earth!

In the pond—goldfish!

On the mountain—cherry blossoms!

Heave-ho, heave-ho now!

As for me these days

They tossed dirt.

Spinning-Weaving Song

This morning too the sparrows

When they start their chatter—

Even if the thread breaks

I don't know

If the thread's uneven

It does snap

Even if it breaks

I don't know

Again the sparrows

When they start their chatter—

If the thread breaks

Splice it then

If you splice it and it breaks

Don't go crying

Even if you cry

I don't know

Silk Robe Hem

The silk robe hem—
it illuminates its surroundings—
illuminated at its edge—
is illuminated.

The field's illuminator—

Tendou-sama alone

To illuminate the fields

Illuminating for

Today too He illuminates

In the field—

Tendou-san and I

Just the two of us.

Okayama One-Mouth Song

(This one-mouth song is dedicated to my old friend Okada Bugin Koji of Mikawa Province, Okazaki.)

“Hey there Okayama!”
“Young lady,”
“Won’t you go with us?”
“With sickle in hand”
“To that mountain’s shade—”
“To mow,”
“With grass for a pillow,”
“Hey-ho, hey-ho!”
“The grass withers,”
“Hey-ho, hey-ho!”
“If the thorns stop you,”
“What will you do?”
“Oh, Okayama’s”
“Young lady,”
“At that time, thorns and—”
“Hey-ho, hey-ho!”

Ōbako Kobako

(Ōbako and Kobako lie at the southern foot of Hokkaido's Daisetsuzan—
the upper reaches of Sōunkyō gorge, famed for its torrent-carved beauty,
a celebrated habitat of kajika frogs.)

Ōbako and Kobako's

Even kajika frog spawn

Withers against stone

Gets swept through rapids

Such is this fleeting world!

Resign yourselves

To things without neighborly spirit

Love's but a narrow path.

Ginza's Moon

The moon shining over Ginza
Illuminates the countryside too—
To bear the name 'moon'
There cannot be two.

I felt unsettled.

O Fifteenth Night,

Was it my eyes' failing?

In Ginza I saw—

Through hemp leaves

As if carved—

The round moon

Triangular.
Mountain Lesser Cuckoo.
In the tea plantation,

Tea-picking song

In the span of this endless day

Sister,

In the rapeseed flower field

Lullaby

Night passes swiftly

Oh, Mother,

The mountain lesser cuckoo

Sings on and on.

Drizzle—

The misty rain falls,

Soaking tea trees.

A dove among the leaves

Cries out at what it sees.

This lingering drizzle

Over tea fields

Patters drip-drop-drip

As it keeps falling.

Travel Folk Songs: Chapter Four

Fuji's White Snow

Continued Fair Weather

Days when swallows come

No intervals between

――Fuji Five Lakes Tour――

×

In the mountain, mist rises.

Mist becomes clouds.

Clouds gather thickly—

Becomes rain.

×

The width of an obi

Neither here nor there

Yoshida Kamijuku

Fine place

――At Fuji Yoshida Entrance――

×

We want to become cedars

At Ontake's cedars
Ontake Three Deities
At guardian cedars

――At Kōshū Ontake――

Over mountains, over mountains
Over mountains, over mountains
Out of longing to meet,
the midnight stars
as they emerge
Over mountains, over mountains
You come to meet me
At dawn? Must you return?
Though it must not be
These rendezvous too, truly—
How short!
Over mountains, over mountains

You come to meet me

Work! Work!

Work! Work!

Work diligently!

Even stray dogs
We don't sleep late
Even chickens—
Still rise earlier!
If one idled through the day,
Let the next world bear witness—
The Heavenly Way Deity
Will mete punishment
For daytime slumber
Only fine young ladies
Farmers sleeping through daylight
Cannot make their living.

Heavenly Way Deity of the sky...
Since there's no one else here...
Should one glimpse the Heavenly Way Deity...

Whoa! Flabbergasted!

Does the Heavenly Way Deity claim— (Ho ho ho, hey!)

The Venerable Great Buddha of Nara

Takes an afternoon nap

The Gongen deity of Kishū Kumano

Even the Venerable Gongen— (Ho ho ho, hey!)

Whoa! Flabbergasted!

Takes an afternoon nap

Even the Venerable Buddha—

As for sweet hydrangea tea— (Ho ho ho, hey!)

Taking a nap—

If you call it lies—

To the Heavenly Way Deity of the sky

Moxibustion burns (Ho ho ho, hey!)

Inaba Ondo

(Gifu's Inaba Shrine was renowned as the guardian deity of the five grains.
This ondō [composed by Fujii] had been created as a ritual dance song praying for abundant harvests of the five grains.)

I

Lord Inaba of Gifu

Guardianship of the Five Grains
May the five grains ripen!
May the world be tranquil

II

When the five grains ripen

May the farmers thrive!

Rain—drench us!

Enduring days—shine bright!

III

The village's earthly bliss
The five grains are vital
Set the five grains waving
Let every ear bow with grain

IV

Rain falls half-heartedly—

Sun—come forth and shine!

If the drought persists—

Rain clouds—arise!

V

This year the world is bountiful,
Atop the roof ridge,
Lord Inaba of Gifu

Lord Inaba protects this village.

Pink
Riverside pinks
Well-adorned pinks
Wearing light pink—Hey!
Tomorrow it will rain
Light pink—never shed
Riverside pinks—Hey!
Stone Lord Jizo
Stone Lord Jizo
I went to see—
Who gave it to you?
He nearly drooled—
Though it cannot speak,
With a look so human-like,
Lord Jizo—
Lord Jizo remains youthful-spirited.

Tobacco

Become a perfect ring.

Tobacco smoke

Even now—

Come properly now!

Oh, the dreariness!

In the hibachi—

Of burned matches'

Balance scale

When next it comes

Tobacco smoke

Onto faces—patta-patta

We'll blow it out.

The Passing Demon's Song

Love is a passing demon,

It must not be allowed through.

Shall we let it through?

The passing demon—

Because it's a passing demon—

We could let it pass—

If perhaps upon me—

Should the demon strike—

Then let it be so—

The fear of prying eyes—
We evade those prying eyes—
Shall we let it through—

Evading prying eyes

At the key of life

In a flash, the demon took hold—

The body perishes.

Incident

To till the field—

Out to the field— (No!)

Was someone kicked by a horse?

Was someone trampled by a cow?

They weren't supposed to discard—

Even the work sash discarded— (No!)

Without saying a word—

They came crying

Whose horse was it

I don't know,

If I had been watching

waving its tail or something

They gazed at the field.

They stood.

Sandy plain.

Awaiting the moonlit night of the sandy plain.

O sandy plain.

When the sandy plain becomes a moonlit night,

To the sandy plain,

Does someone come seeking?

O maiden,

Sandy plain, become moonlit night!

O sandy plain.

Rainy season sky
The sky—a rainy season sky
O evening moon
The moon too—a rainy season sky
Rainy season rains fall

The moon is an evening moon
O evening star
The star too—a rainy season sky
Rainy season rains fall
Clear—a rainy season sky
The rainy season that won't clear!
The moon and the stars
Clear and emerge!

Dried Paddy Field

The fields dry, the fields dry

The rice paddies dried up

The snipe comes crying

The field dried up

The field dried up completely—

Dries up in one night

Before the snipe arrives

The field dried up

The snipe is a field bird

The snipe yearns for the fields

The snipe in the dried paddy field

sorrowfully

Little islet's shade

(Shell-gathering Girl and Fisherman)

Shell-gathering Girl
“Since you told me to come,”

Crossing over the sand dune,
With my hem dragging tiny sands,
Dragging along.

Fisherman

“You came all this way”

Crossing over the sand hill

With my hem dragging small sand

dragging along

Shell-gathering Girl

“You told me to wait,”

Dragging the hem along,

“Well, I did come after all—”

Shore’s shade.

Fisherman

“Well said,
Little shore's shade,'tis.
Shore and little shore, oh
Shore's shade,'tis.”

Cotton Beating Song

On the hill's hackberry tree

Kudzu sprouts

The bullfinch calls out

At the back door of the sake shop.

Thrum-thrum, beat the cotton

On the field's brambles
The drowsy sun shines.

Peering through the back door
Is it Misoji-sama?
When I think of you
Five minutes pass without beating cotton.
Thrum-thrum, beat the cotton
On the field's brambles
The drowsy sun shone.

Small pebbles on the beach
Though we beat them countless times
Just to catch a glimpse of the fluff,
We poked our eyes with bamboo
Thrum-thrum, beat the cotton
On the field's brambles
The drowsy sun shone.

Mountain Crossing Song

I'm sixteen too

Seventy-eight—

Of the same wholesaler's

“On the highway—
How embarrassing!
Well, my lord…
‘Like a flower,’
you were praised—
my lord’s figure
the highway’s
that old robe”

Flowers, oh!

Fluttering flurries, oh—

How rare—
Sleet upon my hat
Came falling down
The mountain in passing showers.

“Well, my lord…”

The dried miscanthus ears
The dried miscanthus ears stirred.
This morning too in the rice plains'
In the rice field
Three ducks
Three ducks were quacking.

On the Sajiki Stand (A Short Song)

Swirling-patterned Yui's faint affection
The tormenting form lingers on,

Let us sing a song with tears
On the wooden stand, dejectedly
Blooming flowers in the tormenting form
Let us sing with downcast eyes.

Blooming on the shore of grebes' floating nests,
The faintly white algae flowers—
Let us sing of fleeting love.

Fifteenth Night

(Leaning against the gate, singing)

The moon on the fifteenth night—

Perfectly round.

Blossom-ringed moon,

Cover yourself and sleep,

Please sleep.

Wild geese—

A small boxwood comb's

Teeth clatter oh,

What I saw last night

Was a dream, oh!

The small boxwood comb's
Teeth fell out
In hot tears

Trickling down,
Why in this world—
Eyes grow clouded.
Smartweed flowers bloom,
hometown's
formation crossing clouds,
wild geese.
On the gate door,
Fifteenth Night's
moon beams down oh!
Boxwood comb,
flowers on smartweed spikes,
white blossom.
The forest clearing's bonfire—
flames burn crimson.

The rice was harvested.

Of my hometown,

at the weir, a mountain cuckoo calls.

The rice fields lie parched.

Wild geese—distant—

cry through clouds.

Autumn’s September

nights stretch endless.

On the door of the gate

fifteenth night’s
the moon glistens bright
what does it shine upon.

Kasaoka Ditty

(Kasaoka is a small town in Okayama Prefecture facing the Seto Inland Sea.)

Here is Kasaoka
Shall we borrow a hat?
Since rain comes falling
Lend us the hat
Though there's no hat to lend
"Lend it! Lend it!"
"Well now, is that so?"
"Shall we borrow from Tomo?"
"Sensuijima—"
"Can this be borrowed?"
"This island—"
"Well now, is that so?"

Hayato Sprout-Cutting Song

(Hayato sprout-cutting is one of Moji's famous local annual traditions.)

Moji's famous specialty—Hayato sprout-cutting
The more you cut, the more sprouts grow
Cut not, they won't grow
Leave them be
Leave them be then, Hayato sprout-cutting
Cut them not, they won't grow—leaves won't sprout
Grow not, they won't be cut
We'll head back
Did you come to cut or come to gaze?
Return home just gazing without cutting?
When they've grown—that's the time
We come to cut

Spring Sparrows

Crying and playing—
Is it the sparrows—
Their voices sweeten the air.
Chirping voices
Lost in play
The sparrows
In the thicket's shade
Chirping voices
In the thicket's shade
The sparrows
Lost in play
Chirping voices
Back alley path
Back alley path
Do come through

On a rainy night

Holding an umbrella
The umbrella's drops and
Small shore waves
In jumbled disarray—
Meaningless
A pheasant calls
The hushabye song
A lullaby

In the hushabye ditty
So they say—
In the mountains, a pheasant calls
A young pheasant calls
Counting tree leaves
A pheasant calls
Counting tree fruits
A pheasant calls
Counting tree leaves
The day darkened.
The evening star of dusk
Only one.

Counting tree fruits
The night broke.
The dawn's morning star too
Shone alone.

In the lullaby's verse
A pheasant called -
Chignon

Was she kicked by a horse?
That sister
Her chignon hung two shaku long
Sagged heavily down.

Or trampled by an ox perhaps
That sister's chignon

Trampled by an ox—
Sagged heavily.
Where was she trampled?
That elder sister—
In the back field—
In the very middle—
Dusk flowers—
The gardenia flowers'
Whiteness!
Gardenia flowers bloomed—
White flowers—
Gardenia flowers—
White flowers—
Morning glory flowers'
Blueness!
Morning glory flowers bloomed—
Blue flowers—
Morning glory flowers are—
Blue flowers—
Spring-announcing bird...

On the plum's slender branch
The spring-announcing bird
Hark, hark—
Came and perched
Hark, hark—
The spring-announcing bird
On the plum's slender branch
The words it uttered:
"The wind bites cold
Even plum blossoms
Would bloom and not bloom
Would not bloom."

Thousand paper cranes
Even a thousand paper cranes—
If but one should stray—
Nine hundred ninety-nine
Become strays

Even O Moon—
In some lonesome corner—
The missing corner—

True darkness—
Become a stray crane
Crying and clamoring ceaselessly
When even O Moon wanes,
Grows gaunt
Weeping willow
Weeping willow—
Become a ghost
Transform into a ghost
Go on and become one already!

At the weeping willow
O Moon has come out!
Slender and pure white
O Moon
Slender O Moon
O Crescent Moon
Comes out briskly,
Slips away.
Moon's Lantern
The sky grows dark
O Moon
In the sky a lantern

Light it
Even O Crescent Moon
At the mountain's edge

Darkness descends—in distress,
Come out and light it,
O Sky grows dark,
O Moon,
Tonight a lantern—
Light it,
Carefree dragonfly

Forgetting my home,
Carefree dragonfly—Oh!
From that town to this town
Flits about
From that town to this town
Carefree dragonfly—Oh!
With no purpose at all,
Flits about

Mirror

When I looked in the mirror,

Mother,

My forehead appeared.

My forehead vanished.

Mother,

Thinning hair

Fulling block

Will they come tonight?

Outside the wall's base,
Lost in thought, they struck away.
The sound of the fulling block,
The dark wall base,
That space beyond.

Birds in the rice fields—
The birds in the rice fields—
They are long-legged birds.
The long-legged birds—
What birds are these?
If it were a heron bird
Its legs should be long.
If it were a snipe bird
Its legs should be long.

The birds in the rice fields—
It is a long-necked bird.
The long-necked bird—
What birds are these?
If it were a heron bird
Its neck should be long.
If it were a snipe bird,
Its neck should be long.

Mr. Black Cat—
The dream troubles me—
O Moon—

The yellow moon's
On the night it rises—
Even Mr. Black Cat

Come,
Dimly, softly,
Come forth,
O triangular moon.
If yellow,

Triangular moon
Come forth

Even Mr. Black Cat
If only you'd come
Night upon night, the distant night
We waited through the night
Fuji's white snow
Fuji's white snow
The fair weather continued
We gazed intently
Shall we gaze?
The one singing in the thicket—
Is it a bush warbler?
The lengthening days of spring.
Singing in the thicket
Fuji's white snow
When will it melt?
We gazed intently
Shall we gaze?
Spring Snow
Sparrow, alight!
Alight on bamboo leaves

Bamboo droops limply

The sparrow alights.

Fall, pile up!

Spring snow / Light snow flurries
Light snow, pile up now!
Pile up on bamboo leaves
Bamboo droops limply
Light snow accumulates
The snow is light snow

Spring snow / Light snow flurries
Sparrow, alight!

Alight on bamboo leaves
Light snow, fall swiftly
The sparrow alights.