Poems on Passing the Ruined Capital of Ōmi
The sections of the poem are as follows: it consists of a long chōka, and there are two envoys following it. In the first longer part, chōka, Hitomaro mentions the ruler who has chosen to move the capital from the location “under heavens” (Shirane, 2012) to a “wild place” (Shirane, 2012), and wonders how the ruler could have made such a decision. The author also describes the present desolation of the former capital, as its ruins stand in the spring sun. The contrast between the observed ruins, the broken, demolished city, and the past majesty of the capital Ōmi as is known from stories, is striking. In the second part of the poem there are two envoys, both describe the Kara Cape in Shiga, the deserted and ruined Ōmi capital, waiting for their citizens to return, in vain.
Hitomaro’s metaphoric descriptions of the old kings as ruling gods and the Asuka land as a location under heaven may symbolize Emperor Tenchi’s abandoning the ancient tradition, and the following devastation and desolation of Ōmi – a punishment.
The Yoshino Praise Poems
Its sections are two verses, or chōkas, each of them followed by an envoy. This poem tells about the wise ruler for all, a woman respected and loved by all subjects of the state and gods (both gods of mountains and rivers). The first verse depicts the beloved ruler, Empress Jito, as a human who builds “the pillars of her palace” (Shirane, 2012) in beautiful location of Yoshino River (supposedly the metaphor for government structure and society). The Empress arrives there, following the call of her heart, and all her loyal courtiers serve her with devotion. The second chōka, however, shows the same image of a ruler now described as a goddess that appears in a beautiful, blessed Valley of Yoshino River, and is served by gods of mountains and the river. Perhaps, both verses show Empress Jito as a wise and beloved ruler, supported, respected and served by both people and gods. The envoys after both chōkas are conclusions upon everything exposed in the previous chōkas. In the first envoy the river is said to flow “unceasingly” (Shirane, 2012), a metaphor for the eternal rule and the boundless power of the Empress. There is a kind of an acknowledgement in the second, of Jito’s power since “both mountain and river come to serve” (Shirane, 2012).
Again, this is a public piece since it is devoted to description of the life of the Empress’ court (in both direct, as in the first verse, and metaphoric way, as in the second one), and Hitomaro as one of Jito’s courtiers, must be expected to create such poems.
The Aki Fields Poems
The sections of it are as such: the poem divides into two major parts. There is the long chōka telling about Prince Karu rushing through the woods, taking the “paths” and “mountain roads” (Shirane, 2012), “pushing aside bamboo and pampas grass” (Shirane, 2012). The second part consists of four small verses also describing the details of the hunting process; and these verses are full of symbolic meaning. In the first verse, there is a question to consider – whether a traveler is capable of sleeping when memories of the past are around. In addition, the verses tell how the hunting continues in the morning – the rising sun (the new Prince) starts his own cycle (of ruling), similar to the moon, which now has gone (the father and previous generations of rulers, the ancestors).
While this poem seems to be the beautiful and poetic description of nature where the young Prince Karu finds himself recollecting his father, it is also a public piece telling about the transition of power, and the importance and the role ancestors play in their descendants’ life. Now and then, the Prince leaves the capital of his ancestry for the fields, for the rich and admirable nature. He goes hunting, same as his father, and recollecting past times. ‘Past’ is a symbol here, and it embodies memories of Prince Karu’s father; while the entire hunting activity as being adopted by the son, may symbolize the transitory nature of power – from ancestors to their succession.
While discussing these three poetic works there is a number of questions to ask, and themes to consider.
What role does the nature play in all three Kakinomoto no Hitomaro’s poems under discussion?
What is the historic connection in the context between the three discussed works?
What role does the ‘Divine’ play in works of Hitomaro?
Why does Hitomaro write about the capital of Ōmi with such sadness, in such an appealing way, if he is one of the courtiers of Empress Jito, the wife of Emperor Tenmu who has ruined Ōmi in the Jinshin War?
What does “The Past” symbolize in the two poems – in Poems on Passing the Ruined Capital of Ōmi and in The Aki Fields Poems?
References:
Shirane, H. (2012). Traditional Japanese literature: An anthology, beginnings to 1600. New York: Columbia University Press.
