Reiwa Edition Ogura Hyakunin Isshu Prototype 5/5
A prototype of the Hyakunin Isshu that even children of the Reiwa era can read, final installment, 81-100. I want to convey even a little of the charm of the Hyakunin Isshu to modern children.
81 Listening to the cuckoo's voice in the night sky, all I see is the dawn moon.
When I gaze at the direction from which the cuckoo sang, only the dawn moon remains. - Gotokudaiji Sadaijin
Listening to the voice of a cuckoo under the dawn moon.
82 Even though I endure this world where it is painful to live after a broken heart, tears still flow.
Though I am weary of love and still have my life, it is my tears that cannot endure this misery. - Doin Hoshi
Troubled by love, it is unbearable.
83 When I abandoned the world and entered the deep mountains, I heard the sad cry of a deer.
In this world, there is no path to follow, yet even in the deep mountains I have entered, I hear the deer crying. - Kotaigogudayu Toshinari
Deer are said to make various sounds, but the male's territorial call seems to be a 'hyoon hyoon'.
84 If I live long enough, the magic of time will make even this painful world seem nostalgic.
If I live on, I may look back on these days with longing; the world I once saw as painful is now dear to me. - Fujiwara no Kiyosuke Ason
Even the painful times of the past are now remembered with nostalgia. That is why even now...
85 As the night deepens, I worry, and in the darkness, the night seems to last forever.
When I spend the whole night worrying, the dawn does not come, and even the gaps in the bedroom doors seem cold. - Shun'e Hoshi
I am waiting all night for him to come.
86 Is it the moon floating in the sky that makes me lament? I think of that person and tears flow.
Does the moon make me lament and feel this way? My tears seem to blame it, but they are my own. - Saigyo Hoshi
It is not the moon's fault, but when I look at the moon, tears flow.
87 In the forest where the dew of the passing rain still lingers, mist rises on an autumn evening.
The dew on the village rain has not yet dried, and mist rises over the leaves of the cedar trees in the autumn twilight. - Jakuren Hoshi
A forest in the mist after a sudden shower.
88 - Memories of a one-night love affair continue, like the reeds cut at Naniwa Bay.
Because of that one night of sleeping on cut reeds at Naniwa Bay, must I continue to pine for you, exhausting myself? - Kaka-mon-in no Betto
The phrase 'reeds of' serves as a preface to introduce 'a one-night sleep' (a joint of cut reeds & a temporary night's lodging on a journey).
89 - My soul, just fade away; if I continue to live, I fear my strength to hide this love will weaken.
Oh, thread of my life, if you must break, then break; for if I continue to live, I fear my ability to keep this hidden will fail. - Princess Shikishi
When the 'thread of life' that connects the body and soul breaks, life ends.
90 - I want to show you; my tears flow even more than the wet sleeves of the fishermen at Oshima.
I wish to show you; even the sleeves of the divers at Oshima, though they are wet, do not change their color. - Inpu-mon-in no Tayu
My tears are tears of blood, changing even the color of my clothes.
91 - A cricket chirps on a night when frost falls; I listen to its voice, all alone.
On a coarse mat on a frosty night where the cricket chirps, must I sleep alone, spreading out my robe? - Former Prime Minister and Regent of Gokyogoku
'Kirigirisu' refers to what we now call a cricket. The sound of autumn insects.
92 - My sleeves are soaked with tears, and without a moment to dry, they continue to be soaked with memories.
My sleeves are like the rocks in the offing, unseen at low tide; though no one knows, they never have a moment to dry. - Nijo-in no Sanuki
The rocks in the offing are always wet, and my tears never cease.
93 - May the world remain unchanged, the waves washing in, and the sight of the fishermen forever.
If only the world could remain as it is; the towrope of the fisherman's small boat rowing along the shore is so dear. - Minister of the Right of Kamakura
The world is impermanent and ever-changing. Yet, I wish for this scenery to endure.
94 |Yoshinoyama (Mount Yoshino) autumn wind blows |night (yo) also |deepens (fukete) hometown cold |clothes (koromo) beating sound
In the autumn wind on Mount Yoshino, the night |deepens (fukete), the hometown is cold, and the sound of beating |clothes (koromo) echoes. Sangi Masatsune
There is a sound of tapping, tap, tap, tap, to soften the cloth.
95 In this painful world, I, a humble monk, pray for peace at Mount Hiei.
Unworthy as I am, I cover the people of this painful world; on the mountain where I stand, the sleeves of my ink-dyed robe. Former Daisojo Jien
Praying for world peace as a monk at Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei.
96 In the garden where the storm invites the flowers, they scatter like falling snow; I, too, grow old.
It is not snow in the garden where the storm invites the flowers, but my own body that is scattering away. Nyudo Zen-Dajo-Daijin
It plays on the image of cherry blossoms 'falling' like snow and 'my body scattering' (growing old).
97 Oh, you who do not come, at the twilight of Matsuho, my body burns like the salt being scorched.
For you who do not come, at the evening calm of Matsuho Bay, I burn like the salt being scorched. Gon-Chunagon Teika
A wordplay between 'Matsuho' and 'matsu' (to wait). 'Moshio' is salt made by burning seaweed.
98 The wind rustles the Nara oak leaves, and the 'misogi' ritual signals the arrival of summer.
The twilight at the Nara River where the wind rustles; the purification ritual is the sign of summer. Jusanmi Ietaka
A wordplay between 'Nara' and 'nara no ki' (oak tree). 'Misogi' is a summer Shinto ritual.
99 Because this life is both dear and hateful, various thoughts make me feel empty.
People are dear, and people are hateful; because I think of this world as meaningless, I am a person who thinks of many things. Emperor Gotoba
In a life that is both dear and hateful, various thoughts run through my mind.
100 Remembering the old eaves of the past, the old grass makes me long for the past.
Even in the 'shinobu' (hare's-foot fern) on the old eaves of the palace, the past remains more than enough. Emperor Juntoku
"Momoshiki" refers to the imperial court or the Imperial Palace. I long for the prosperity of the past.
Hyakunin Isshu Karuta Introductory Poem
The flowers blooming at Naniwazu, having been dormant through winter, are now blooming as if it were spring. - Dr. Wani
I created this prototype because I want people to not only memorize the Hyakunin Isshu for class or enjoy it as a card game, but also to read the poems aloud as meaningful verses.
I am sure even better versions can be made, so I would like you all to try creating your own. It is also interesting to have children create them. They will likely have many ideas different from those of adults. That is how tradition is passed on.
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