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English
Audio: NHK Creative Library
Read by LibriVox volunteer Larry Wilson.
Audio courtesy of LibriVox (Public Domain).
従二位家隆
風そよぐ
ならの小川の
夕暮は
みそぎぞ夏の
しるしなりける
みそきそな
つのしるし
なりける
かぜそ
- Poem 98
- 風そよぐ
ならの小川の
夕暮は
みそぎぞ夏の しるしなりける
Author: Junior Second Rank Ietaka (1158–1237)
Source: Shin Chokusen Wakashū, Summer
- English Verse Translation
- The twilight dim, the gentle breeze By Nara's little stream, The splash of worshippers who
wash Before the shrine, all seem A perfect summer's dream.
— William N. Porter, 1909
- Modern Translation
- The breeze rustles through the leaves of the sacred oak trees by the river at dusk. The purification rite is the only sign that summer is here.
- Commentary
- The headnote in the Shin Chokusen Wakashū reads, "for a folding screen presented at the entry into court of a consort, in Kangi 1 (1229)." This poem was composed to accompany one of the paintings on a folding screen given as part of the bridal furnishings when Kujō Shunshi entered the court as consort to Emperor Go-Horikawa — a "screen poem" paired with a painting of the Minazuki Purification Rite.
- About the Poet
- Junior Second Rank Ietaka, known formally as Fujiwara no Ietaka, studied waka under Fujiwara no Shunzei (Poem 83), and stood alongside Fujiwara no Teika (Poem 97) as one of the leading poets of his day. He was chosen, by order of Retired Emperor Go-Toba (Poem 99), as one of the compilers of the Shin Kokin Wakashū. Even after Go-Toba was defeated in the Jōkyū War and exiled to Oki, Ietaka remained unwaveringly loyal, continuing to support the retired emperor through an exchange of letters.
- Junior Second Rank Ietaka'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)
In the rustling leaves of the oak,
I feel autumn arriving this evening.
In the purification rite that marks summer's end,
I savor the quiet beauty of the changing season.
- 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).