The Hundred Poets, Part II
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Number: 21 Poet:
Sosei-hôshi (The Monk Sosei, 素性法師) Scene:
Sosei-hôshi seated on mat addressing his page with a rocky mountain in the
background Robinson:
S19.21 The poem translates: Just because she said, “In a moment I will come,” I’ve awaited her Until the moon of daybreak, In the long month, has appeared. |
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Number: 22 Poet:
Bunya (Fumiya) no Yasuhide (文屋康秀) Scene:
Bunya no Yasuhide with a page and attendant under a willow tree with an umbrella
seller’s stock being scattered by the wind Robinson:
S19.22 The poem translates: It is by its breath That autumn’s leaves of trees and grass Are wasted and driven. So they call this mountain wind The wild one, the destroyer. |
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Number: 23 Poet: Ôe
no Chisato (大江千里) Scene: Two
bearers on the road with an empty palanquin and a full moon with halo above Robinson:
S19.23 The poem translates: As I view the moon, Many things come into my mind, And my thoughts are sad; Yet
it’s not for me alone, That the autumn time has come. |
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Number: 24 Poet:
Kanke (管家) also known as Sugawara no Michizane Scene:
Kanke leading a procession of courtiers and attendants escorting a white
horse to a Shinto shrine on a hill Robinson:
S19.24 The poem translates: At the present time, Since I could bring no offering, See Here are brocades of red leaves, As a tribute to the gods. |
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Number: 32 Poet:
Harumichi no Tsuraki (春道列樹) Scene: Female
pilgrim walking with her little maid.
A waterfall is seen beyond the mist Robinson:
S19.32 The poem translates: In a mountain stream There is a wattled barrier Built by the busy wind. Yet it’s only maple leaves, Powerless to flow away. |
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Number: 33 Poet: Ki
no Tomonori (紀友則) Scene: Ki
no Tomonori with a page and attendant watching falling cherry blossoms with
the sea in the background Robinson:
S19.33 The poem translates: In the peaceful light Of the ever-shining sun In the days of spring, Why do the cherry’s new-blown blooms Scatter like restless thoughts? |
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Number: 34 Poet:
Fujiwara no Okikaze (藤原興風) Scene:
Fujiwara no Okikaze walking along shore on rainy night by the ancient pine
tree of Takasago Robinson:
S19.34 The poem translates: Who is still alive When I have grown so old That I can call my friends? Even Takasago’s pines No longer offer comfort. |
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Number: 38 Poet: Lady
Ukon (右近) Scene: The
poetess carrying a wide-brimmed black hat with a wooded hill beyond the mist Robinson:
S19.38 The poem translates: Though he forsook me, For myself I do not care: He made a promise, And his life, who is forsworn, Oh how pitiful that is. |
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Number: 40 Poet: Taira
no Kanemori (平兼盛) Scene:
Taira no Kanemori dining with a priest inside a palace Robinson:
S19.40 The poem translates: Though I would hide it, In my face it still appears– My fond, secret love. And now he questions me: “Is something bothering you?” |
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Number: 42 Poet:
Kiyowara no Motosuke (清原元輔) Scene:
Kiyowara no Motosuke with his lady on a cliff pointing out over the sea Robinson:
S19.42 The poem translates: Our sleeves were wet with tears As pledges that our love– Will last until Over Sue’s Mount of Pines Ocean waves are breaking. |
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Number: 43 Poet: Gonchûnagon
Atsutada (Fujiwara no Atsutada) Scene:
Gonchûnagon Atsutada standing by a screen receiving a message from a page Robinson:
S19.43 The poem translates: I have met my love. When I compare this present With feelings of the past, My passion is now as if I have never loved before. |
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Number: 44 Poet: Chûnagon
Asatada (Fujiwara no Asatada, 中納言朝忠) Scene: Chûnagon
Asatada kneeling on the veranda of a palace while painting his teeth black Robinson:
S19.44 The poem translates: If it should happen That we never met again, I would not complain; And I doubt that she or I Would feel that we were left alone. Image courtesy of Marie de
Strycker |
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Number: 48 Poet:
Minamoto no Shigeyuki (源重之) Scene:
Minamoto no Shigeyuki standing on a rocky
promontory watching the raging waves below with Robinson:
S19.48 The poem translates: Like a driven wave, Dashed by fierce winds on a rock, So am I: alone And crushed upon the shore, Remembering what has been. |
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Number: 49 Poet:
Ônakatomi no Yoshinobu Ason (大中臣宣朝臣) Scene: Three
palace guards sitting around a fire at night Robinson:
S19.49 The poem translates: Like the guard’s fires Kept at the imperial gateway– Burning through the night, Dull in ashes through the day– Is the love aglow in me? |
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This is a later and less
labor intensive edition of the above print |
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No image available |
Number: 50 Poet:
Fujiwara no Yoshitaka Scene:
Fujiwara no Yoshitaka seated in reverie in a palace with his hand on his
forehead Robinson:
S19.50 The poem translates: For your precious sake, Once my eager life itself Was not dear to me. But now it is my heart’s desire It may long, long years endure. |
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Number: 53 Poet: The
mother of Udaishô Michitsuna (右大将道綱の母) Scene: The
poetess looking out from her window as a noble gentleman-caller comes to her
gate Robinson:
S19.53 The poem translates: Lying all alone, Through the hours of the night, Till the daylight comes: Can you realize at all The emptiness of that night? |
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Number: 56 Poet: Lady
Izumi-shikibu (和泉式部) Scene: The
poetess and her maid walking in the rain past an enormous pine tree Robinson:
S19.56 The poem translates: Soon my life will close. When I am beyond this world And have forgotten it, Let me remember only this: One final meeting with you. |
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Number: 57 Poet:
Dainagon Kintô (Fujiwara no Kintô, 大納言公任) Scene:
Dainagon Kintô with a page and five attendants viewing a waterfall with an
overhanging pine tree Robinson:
S19.57 NOTE:
Although this print is clearly numbered 57 in the left margin, Dainagon Kintô
is usually assigned number 55. The poem translates: Though the waterfall Ceased its flowing long ago, And its sound is stilled, Yet, in name it ever flows, And in fame may yet be heard. |
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Number: 60 Poet: Lady
Koshikibu-no-naishi (小式部内侍) Scene: The
Shuten-dôji on a terrace by the wooded mountainside of Ôyeyama Robinson:
S19.60 NOTE: The Shuten-dôji
was a red-skinned demon eventually killed by Raikô The poem translates: By Oe Mountain The road to Ikuno Is far away, And neither have I beheld Nor crossed its bridge of heaven. Image courtesy of Marie de
Strycker |
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Number: 61 Poet: Lady
Ise-no-ôsuke (or Ise-no-tayû, 伊勢大輔) Scene: A
priest and his attendant waylaid under a blossoming cherry tree by three yamabushi (ascetic warrior-priests) Robinson:
S19.61 The poem translates: Eight-fold cherry flowers That at Nara–ancient seat Of our state–have bloomed, In our nine-fold palace court Shed their sweet perfume today. |
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This alternate state of the
above design has slightly different colors.
(Note the yellow in the large cartouche.) Both states were printed from the same
woodblocks. |
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Number: 62 Poet: Lady
Sagami (相模) Scene: The
poetess on her veranda in the evening looking out over a river in the mist Robinson:
S19.62 NOTE:
Although this print is numbered 62, Lady Sagami is usually assigned number
65. The poem translates: Even when your hate Makes me stain my sleeves with tears In cold misery, Worse than hate and misery Is the loss of my good name. Image courtesy of Marie de
Strycker |
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Number: 63 Poet:
Sakyô-no-daibu Michimasa (左京大夫道雅) also known as Fujiwara no Michimasa Scene: Two
court ladies examining a scroll on a veranda with blossoming cherry trees
behind Robinson:
S19.63 The poem translates: Is there any way Except by a messenger To send these words to you? If I could, I’d come to you To say goodbye forever. |
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Number: 64 Poet:
Gonchûnagon Sadayori (権中納言定頼) also known as Fujiwara no Sadayori Scene: A
peasant operating a fish trap on the Robinson:
S19.64 The poem translates: In the early dawn When the mists on Slowly lift and clear, From the shallows to the deep, The stakes of fishing nets appear. |
“Robinson” refers to listing in Kuniyoshi: The Warrior-Prints by Basil William Robinson (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, 1982) and its privately published supplement.
