Romantic Poetry Forum: Winter, February 2023

English translation of the prose

AI-assisted English translation of the prose; quoted poems remain in Japanese. The Japanese original remains authoritative.

AI-assisted English translation. The Japanese original remains authoritative.

Originally published: 2023-02-25

This material was published on the Japanese website. Dates and notices in the text reflect the original publication.

This is a prose translation. The nine tanka, their signatures and quoted wording remain in Japanese.

Romantic Poetry Forum: Winter, February 2023

February 25, 2023
Record and commentary: 河内裕二, Japan Romanticism Society

February has the alternative Japanese name kisaragi, but reading the characters 如月 that way is a stretch. In fact, the characters derive from the Chinese alternative name for the second month, 如月, read jogetsu in Japanese, and their origin differs from that of the Japanese word. So where does kisaragi come from? There are several theories. 『日本国語大辞典』 lists many: putting on additional layers of clothing because of the cold, 衣更着; the season when warmth increases, 気更来; and spring, which arrived at New Year, becoming more springlike, 来更来. 『広辞苑』 gives the meaning 生更ぎ, the renewal of plants, and says that interpreting it as putting on more layers of clothing is mistaken. Looking at several dictionaries, the 衣更着 theory appears to be regarded as the leading one.

The meeting was held on February 25 from 1:30 p.m. at the Miura Working Citizens' Center. Those present were the following seven people and 河内裕二: 三宅尚道, president of the Miura Tanka Society; 嘉山光枝, 嶋田弘子, 清水和子 and 羽床員子; and 濱野成秋, president of the Japan Romanticism Society, and 岩間滿美子. 加藤由良子 of the Miura Tanka Society also submitted poems.

　　久しぶり肩をたたかれ誰だっけ
　　　　　マスクはずして友は笑いし　光枝

The author is 嘉山光枝. During the coronavirus pandemic, when everyone wore masks, others may have had similar experiences. If one sees someone frequently, the eyes alone are enough. But after a long absence, as in the poem, one may not know who it is, or worry that the person is not who one thinks. The voice is an important clue, but a mask can make it difficult to hear clearly. This poem brings to mind a somehow cheerful scene, including the friend's smile.

　　福はうち海南様へと御神酒　升
　　　　　用意し夫の帰り待ちおり　由良子

A poem by 加藤由良子, absent today. The phrase 「福はうち」 suggests Setsubun. 「海南様」 means 海南神社 in Misaki, a historic shrine founded in 982. A deity of food is also enshrined there, and the grounds include a kitchen-knife mound and a hall for dedicating knives. It may be a special place for 加藤, who ran a traditional restaurant in Misaki. Apparently the custom is to bring the offered sacred sake home and drink it from a wooden measure. She probably composed this while recalling Setsubun spent with her late husband.

　　黄泉の日はけふかあすかで春となり
　　　　　娘の慶事でしばし沙汰止み　成秋

The author is President 濱野成秋. He was sickly as a child, and his parents worried that he might die as soon as the next day. Even now, he says, he constantly thinks about whether he will die today or tomorrow, which depresses him. Recently, however, something joyful happened to his daughter, and he felt that surely even God would not take his life at a time like this. Asked what had happened, he said that she had been accepted into graduate school. For the president, a scholar himself, her entering the path of learning must be a special joy.

　　青天に昨日も明日も手離して
　　　　　力を抜いて今を味わう　弘子

A poem by 嶋田弘子. It suggests a detached wisdom about life, counseling those who worry over this and that. Attachment to the past or future brings torment through regret and anxiety. 嶋田 practices a meditation called 軟酥の法 and experiences a feeling of releasing what is within her, of letting everything go. The poem says 「力を抜いて」: relaxing the body, she says, brings great ease and lets her feel only that she is alive here and now. The choice of a clear blue sky in the opening is excellent too.

　　何気ないバッグに明るいスカーフを
　　　　　結わえて明日はどこへ行こうか　員子

The author is 羽床員子. The poem conveys a positive spirit. Like its scarf, it brightens the reader's mood. Today too she chose a scarf to suit the atmosphere of the meeting. Repetition of the character 「明」 visually bathes the whole poem in brightness.

　　きさらぎの草木に見ゆる我が夢の
　　　　　その根の内に春を待つらむ　滿美子

The author is 岩間滿美子. 「きさらぎの草木」 probably means plants withered in winter. They look dead, but their roots are actually alive, waiting for spring to send out new shoots and leaves. I read this as a declaration of determination to cling to life, likening her feelings to plants. Everything depends on being alive. Accept good and bad alike, and keep living. It probably expresses the present view of life and death of 岩間, who suffered a serious illness in the past.

　　学生の作る映画の切なさに
　　　　　心ともなく涙こぼれつ　裕二

My own work. There was a presentation of students' graduation projects at my workplace. Among them was a film about friendship between female students. It was still rough, and its story could be called a familiar melodrama. Even so, its direct and wholehearted youthful feelings came through and moved me. Whether friendship or love, human relationships are what create emotion. I felt reminded of something so obvious that it is easily forgotten.

　　車椅子に引かれる妻のあと追いし
　　　　　夫の杖の音廊下に響く　和子

The author is 清水和子. She composed this from a scene she actually saw in the home where she lives. Different people will have different thoughts on seeing such a couple, but sadness pervades the scene in any case. Though both husband and wife are alive, one can only imagine 「夫の杖の音」 echoing mournfully in the corridor. Growing old brings decline. No one can ignore that fact. Aging is an issue of the utmost importance for everyone. No one reading this, for example, would think it describes a young couple who had been in an accident.

　　午後六時家猫ソラは目を合わす
　　　　　「何か忘れてないか」と迫る　尚道

The author is 三宅尚道. His pet cat wants food. That alone becomes a splendid poem. I take my hat off to 三宅's expressive ability.

At a poetry meeting, poems are first presented with their authors' names concealed. Having read many of a person's poems before, one can often guess whose work it is. Sometimes, however, that expectation is overturned and one is surprised: this person writes poems like this too? Discovering new aspects of each poet and the richness of their expression is one of the pleasures of a meeting. There were several such poems this time. It was an enjoyable gathering from which we learned much.