English translation of the prose
AI-assisted English translation of the prose; quoted poems remain in Japanese. The Japanese original remains authoritative.
Japan Romanticism Poetry Circle — Spring, March
March 16, 2024
Record and commentary: 河内裕二, Japan Romanticism Academia
On websites introducing commemorative dates under headings such as “What Day Is Today?”, March 16 is listed as National Park Designation Anniversary Day. This is because Japan's first national parks were designated on March 16, 1934, at three locations: the Seto Inland Sea, Unzen, and Kirishima. Many more places have since been designated, and there are now thirty-four nationwide. National parks are managed by the national government; there are also quasi-national parks managed by the prefectures, fifty-eight of which are currently designated. The world's first national park was Yellowstone in America, in 1872. It is good that precious natural environments are protected as national parks. The reverse implication, however, is that they would not be protected otherwise, and that thought makes one sad. I hope that the natural environment of Miura, where we hold our meetings, will remain forever too.
The meeting was held at the Miura Workers' Civic Center from 1:30 a.m. on March 16. Those attending were the seven members 三宅尚道, president of the Miura Tanka Society; 加藤由良子, 嘉山光枝, 嶋田弘子, 清水和子, 羽床員子; and Seishu Hamano, president of Japan Romanticism Academia, together with 河内裕二.
Translator's note: the source gives the time as 午前一時半, 1:30 a.m.; it has not been silently changed.
申告を済ませ厳寒を戻りくれば
河津桜のほころびており 由良子
The author is 加藤由良子. Returning through the cold after filing her tax return, she saw Kawazu cherry blossoms near her home. The poem captures that moment on the day of filing. Until then, her mind had been so full of the return that she had not noticed the flowers. Once it was done, she finally had enough mental space to look around and become aware of them. Even those who file every year somehow feel tense at the time, and relieved once it is finished. Anyone who has filed a return will sympathize.
空高くピーヒョロロと鳴くトビ数羽
旋回しては急降下する 光枝
The author is 嘉山光枝. Many kites fly around Miura. One does not notice their size when they are high in the sky, but when they descend and come close, it is startling. I do not see kites in everyday life and did not know that their cry was represented as 「ピーヒョロロ」. Near her home they often dive sharply. There are wild squirrels and rabbits in the area, so perhaps the birds descend to hunt them, she said. The poem conveys their dynamic movement.
幼き日孫の好物は「鮭の皮」
思いてつつく朝食の膳 和子
A poem by 清水和子. Choosing salmon skin as a subject is highly distinctive. People's liking for fish skin varies, but everyone has probably experienced finding something unexpectedly delicious despite its unattractive appearance. We often describe tasty fish as rich in fat. Since fat lies beneath the skin, the skin can become a favorite for fish lovers. 清水 said that when her grandchild was at elementary school and was asked what food they liked, the answer was “salmon skin.” As the latter part says, even now she remembers that grandchild whenever she eats salmon at breakfast. Her warm feelings come through.
健康維持肉にサプリに運動や
いい塩梅は難げなりしや 弘子
The author is 嶋田弘子. Everyone understands that health matters most. But how can it be maintained? Just as many are susceptible to the word “limited,” they are susceptible to “health.” Products and various methods promising to maintain or improve health fill the marketplace. Everyone wants to know the right answer; the poem deliberately draws on that psychology to create sympathy. Its skill lies in attracting readers and conveying the author's point—that getting the balance right is difficult in anything—by tying it to health. It is the same strategy used to sell products.
郵便の配達バイクは電動で
静かに来たり三月の朝 尚道
A poem by 三宅尚道. For a long time, the motorcycle associated with postal and newspaper deliveries was the Cub. Not only its shape but also its sound became familiar. As the poem says, electric motorcycles have recently begun replacing it. Their form may be similar, but the sound is disappearing. For some people, the motorcycle arriving at almost the same time every day acts like a bell announcing the hour. Notice that by writing about the quiet motorcycle, this poem is actually speaking about the old familiar one.
浪漫の初夏とはなりぬ燕子花
昔の人にわが身袖振る 成秋
A work by President Seishu Hamano. A poem ending with 「袖振る」 calls to mind a poem by Princess Nukata. Here the sleeve is waved toward people of the past, rather than the keeper of the fields. Purple irises bloom. The poem gives the sense that the past has leapt across a long stretch of time and come alive in the present. Mention of kakitsubata, the iris, also turns our thoughts to Ariwara no Narihira's poem weaving in the syllables of that word.
学生が糸で描いた肖像画
線に込めしは祖父母への愛 裕二
My own work. I wrote about a piece presented at the graduation exhibition by a student at the school where I teach. At first glance it looks like a colored-pencil portrait, but close up, each fine line proves to be a taut thread. Six colors of thread are layered to create subtle shades. I had never seen a work using such a technique. The threads are stretched one by one with the finished effect in mind. It is easy to imagine the staggering time and effort required, but what makes it moving is that the subjects are her grandparents. The artist is an international student from China who was raised by her grandparents and loves them dearly. She stretches each thread while thinking of them. Not only in this threaded work but in all her work, her grandparents are her models. I wanted to convey her love in a poem.
カラフルなランドセル増え性別に
こだわらぬ世の身近となりぬ 員子
The author is 羽床員子. When I was in elementary school, school satchels came only in red and black. By tacit agreement, boys had black and girls had red. Recently we certainly see other colors more often. According to an Asahi Shimbun Digital article, the range expanded after Aeon introduced twenty-four colors in 2001; the current trend is supposedly “genderless.” It is as the poem says. Yet from my everyday impression of elementary pupils in the street, boys carry cool colors such as black and blue, while girls have warm colors such as red and pink. The variations have increased, but somehow things do not seem very different from before. 嘉山's grandson wore pink clothes and the like when he was small, following his parents' preferences, but as he grew older he would wear only blue or black. Social conventions do not change easily, and their influence is considerable.
This meeting made it very clear that poems spanning a breadth of time acquire weight and stability. Professor Hamano's is an example. Conversely, works that cut out a single instant in the present leave a vivid impression. 嘉山's work creates its sense of speed in this way.
Perhaps composing with the span of time in mind will yield poems with a new impression. Until now, I had composed without much thought about time, only noticing it when I came to explain a completed poem. Tanka must express themselves in thirty-one units of writing. To make a good poem, every possible device is needed.
Original wording, author credits, notes and source materials are preserved there.