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Japanese
English
Audio: NHK Creative Library
Read by LibriVox volunteer Larry Wilson.
Audio courtesy of LibriVox (Public Domain).
儀同三司母
忘れじの
ゆく末までは
かたければ
今日を限りの
命ともがな
けふをかき
りのいのち
ともかな
わすれ
- Poem 54
- 忘れじの
ゆく末までは
かたければ
今日を限りの 命ともがな
Author: Mother of the Honorary Grand Minister (dates unknown–996)
Source: Shin Kokin Wakashū, Love
- English Verse Translation
- How difficult it is for men Not to forget the past! I fear my husband's love for me Is
disappearing fast; This day must be my last.
— William N. Porter, 1909
- Modern Translation
- The promise that you would never forget me — that is too much to ask forever. I only wish my life would end today, while the vow still holds.
- Commentary
- This poem was composed around the time her husband, Fujiwara no Michitaka, first began courting her. It expresses the very height of happiness.
- About the Poet
- The Mother of the Honorary Grand Minister, Takashina no Kishi, was a noblewoman gifted with exceptional talent for Chinese poetry. She married the court noble Fujiwara no Michitaka, and had a son, Korechika, and a daughter, Teishi (who later became consort of Emperor Ichijō). But everything changed when her husband died at forty-three. Her sons Korechika and Takaie caused an incident by shooting arrows at the Retired Emperor Kazan, and were demoted and exiled; Teishi took Buddhist vows and became a nun. As her family was swept up in a spiral of decline, Kishi spent her remaining years anxious for their welfare, until her own death.
- Mother of the Honorary Grand Minister's Chart of the Heart
-
A chart and a modern-language reflection of the poet's inner feelings.
The Poet's Feelings (A Personal Interpretation)
I want to hold onto the promise
"I'll never forget you" until my last breath.Rather than watch your heart change,
let it end today, just like this.
- Poem Illustration
-
This image is based on an illustration from William N. Porter's A Hundred Verses from Old Japan, his 1909 English translation of the Hyakunin Isshu published in England, colorized and reworked using Adobe Firefly (generative AI).