More and More "Haifu Yanagidaru" Volume 4 (Part 2): Edo Commoners Who Loved Literature and Used Letters

This concludes the introduction to Volume 4 of "Haifu Yanagidaru." Volume 4 ends here in Part 2.
Senryu poems convey the lives and thoughts of Edo commoners. This is not the end of senryu; there are still many more senryu works from the Edo period.

268 A place Kintoki might go: Rashomon Gate I remembered, I remembered
In the Heian period, Watanabe no Tsuna, one of the four guardians of Minamoto no Raiko (actually Yorimitsu), defeated a demon that appeared at Rashomon Gate. However, the one truly suited for demon-slaying is Kintoki, another of the four guardians. Sakata Kintoki is Kintaro. The story that he was raised by a mountain witch (demon) on Mt. Ashigara had spread during the Edo period. Many ukiyo-e prints depicting the mountain witch and Kintaro were also created. For Edo commoners, when they thought of "demons," they thought of Minamoto no Raiko and his four guardians who defeated Shuten-doji, and among them, Kintaro.

631 The boss, a man who even wore light yellow He worked, he worked
The boss once wore clothes as light as pale yellow. While 'mizu-asagi' is a pale yellow, here it refers to 'asagi-iro' (pale blue-green). Even though it is the same 'asagi-iro,' the kanji characters are different. However, they didn't strictly distinguish between the kanji as we do today, so 'asagi-iro' was sometimes written as 'light yellow' (asagi-iro with yellow kanji).
Pale blue was the color of prison uniforms at the time.

637 The blind man, as expected, runs toward the one who drew his sword It unraveled, it unraveled
A samurai suddenly drew his sword, causing the people around him to flee, but the blind man ran toward the samurai. This is a discriminatory poem teasing the blind man by saying "as expected," but blind people were a normal part of society. They worked just like everyone else. It cannot be dismissed with the single word "discrimination." Many blind men worked not only as masseurs but also in the financial industry. They lived normally among everyone else. How often do we see people with white canes in our daily lives now?

294 Failed double suicide, the Tokaido road, let it be known instantly How weak, how weak
If a couple attempts a double suicide but fails to die and both survive (a failed double suicide), they are exposed at Nihonbashi for three days. They are made into a spectacle. That is the punishment.
Since Nihonbashi is the starting point of the Tokaido, the news spreads instantly throughout the Tokaido by travelers and express messengers.

610 On the fourth day, passing through Nihonbashi as a beggar How embarrassing, how embarrassing
Attempted double suicide and the crime of a monk having sexual relations with a woman are punished by being exposed at Nihonbashi for three days. Afterward, they might be demoted to the status of a beggar. Since it is the fourth day, it means they have become beggars. However, the Jodo Shinshu sect allowed monks to marry.
The theme is "embarrassing things." For people in the past, being embarrassed was also a form of punishment. Senryu favored the kind of speculation that says, "Because of this, wouldn't that happen?"

295 A woman's poetry, more hateful than songs Interesting, interesting
Poetry refers to Chinese poetry. Songs refer to waka. Chinese poetry was naturally written in kanji (true names), and waka was written in kana. There was a belief that men used kanji and women used kana. Therefore, a woman who could read kanji (Chinese poetry) was considered "hateful." Male chauvinism.
Since the Heian period of Murasaki Shikibu and Sei Shonagon, Japanese literature developed using kana. Edo commoners also learned kana at temple schools. Both men and women among the commoners used kana. Because they understood kana, books were widely read.

305 Show a letter from a man I don't like to my mother It piled up, it piled up
I show a letter (love letter) from a man I don't like to my mother. "Show a letter from a man I don't like to my mother". I wouldn't show a letter from someone truly important, though.

315 The matchmaker couple, they are good at laughing Interesting, interesting
Matchmakers are, as expected, good at forced smiles. If they weren't, they couldn't do their job as matchmakers.

336 The young maid's makeup, taking time with pimples She kept them, she kept them
It takes time for a young maid to apply her makeup. It's because of the pimples. Even in the Edo period, young people were troubled by pimples.

394 When mother scolds, the daughter says at first She hides, she hides
The naive daughter would say at the beginning, "Mother will scold me. Please stop," to the person she meets "in secret." What happens when she gets used to it? It says "at first," and asks you to imagine what comes after.

445 While getting a divorce letter, three years older She receives it, she receives it
A 'sarijo' is a divorce letter. A husband could immediately write and hand over a 'mikudarihan' (= divorce letter), but a wife could not. What would a wife do if she wanted a divorce? She would run to a divorce temple (refuge temple) located in various places, and after three years, she could get a divorce. In the case of a woman, divorce takes three years. It says she aged three years. Even so, there was a system in place to allow for divorce.

653 Being wooed, the daughter talks to the cat Please, please, please, please
There was such a cute time, wasn't there? She is too shy to talk to the person, so she talks to the cat. It's fine if it's a young girl. An older person talking to a dog or cat in public is, well, a bit concerning.
Wow, ending the final episode in a discriminatory way.