The Lament for Prince Peer of the Sun, of The Lament for Prince Kusakabe, is among the earliest poetic works of Kakinomoto no Hitomaro that have survived until modern days. The poem, which is an elegy in form, was originally intended to commemorate the late Japanese crown prince Kusakabe, a successor of the emperor Tenmu. The beginning lines of the poem point to the place of Kusakabe’s temporary burial palace and express the poem’s relation to the mourning period following Kusakabe’s premature death.
The first meaningful section of the poem is a clear allusion to Japanese cosmology and creation myths: the reader learns how earth and heaven were born from chaos and how “thousand myriad gods” were created afterwards. Hitomaro retells the myths about divine ‘power distribution”: as newborn gods assemble to decide on governance of heaven and earth, the major Japanese deity, the goddess of the sun, is appointed to rule in heaven. At the same time, she sends opens countless clouds of heaven and sends Kusakabe’s great father, Tenmu, to rule from the palace of his dynasty located in Asuka.
The first section of the poem provides mythological context and recognizes Tenmu as a heaven-sent governor. The second symbolic part of the poem praises the emperor, celebrates his reign and implies that he ascended to heaven, which means that he died.
The poet narrates that Kusakabe was intended to rule the world beneath heaven becoming an heir of his father, while people anticipated his reign in awe, waiting for it as if it were heavenly water. Hiromaro then wonders what made the prince erect his palace in “a strange place of Mayumi Hill”, for this very place became his burial place.
The section concludes with the statement that, after the prince’s death, his courtiers and subjects were left disoriented and desperate without his royal (and apparently heaven-sent) guidance. Finally, the third part of the elegy expresses grief over the prince’s abandoned palace and his death: the poet states that despite the shining of the “striking red sun” (Hitomaro, 2012), which might mean Empress Jito, the prince’s mother, people are still grieve over departure of the moon, which is evidently the prince himself.
The three parts of the poem are combined to glorify the divine origins of imperial power granted to prince Kusakabe through his father Tenmu and mourn over the prince’s premature death, which left the empire without the heaven-sent governor, Tenmu’s heir (as Kusakabe died shortly after Tenmu’s death even before coming into power properly).
The Lament for Prince Takechi is the second remarkable elegy for the temporary burial period, which was written to commemorate another Tenmu’s son, Takechi. The first part of the poem is dedicated to the epic description of the Jinshin Rebellion and emperor Tenmu’s triumphal victory over “the unsubmissive” (Hitomaro). As it was mentioned in Kusakabe’s elegy, Tenme was sent by gods to establish the great kingdom and rule it in accordance with the gods’ will. Tenmu ruled Japanese lands in “eight directions” and led his mighty troops to subdue and tame the rebellion in order to establish peace in Japan.
Ruling in the northlands, he summoned troops from the eastern lands and led them to vanquish the rebels. The author describes the battle comparing sound of the army drums to thunder. Eventually, with the help of his son Takechi, the minister, the emperor managed to defeat the rebels and terrify them.
With the detailed description of commotion of bowstrings, swords and funnels, the author states that the enemies were covered in complete darkness and driven to perish by the wind research of the temple of the sun goddess (the one who appointed Tenmu to rule in the lament for Kusakabe).
The second part of the poem praises Takechi and his service to Tenmu’s wife Empress Jito: Takechi was the great minister referred to in the poem as “the great lord”. He enjoyed tremendous respect and awe among people who hoped that his reign would last as long as possible.
However, due to his premature death, people surround his palace longing to serve him and have no one to serve anymore. Takechi is entombed in the great palace of Kinoe to rest in peace there. Meanwhile, his palace of Mt. Kagu remains intact even after his death, while people mourn over him with sorrow and owe filling their hearts.
The concluding part of the poem is, again, the part expressing sorrow and grief caused by the loss: people mourn over Takechi regardless of passing months and days – courtiers and their guards are astray and helpless, while Takechi is believed to govern distant celestial kingdoms.
Like in the lament for Kusakabe, the lament for the great minister is comprised by the general epic part addressing his great father, Tenmu, the part praising Takechi himself and the conclusion expressive of sorrow and despair caused by his death. Together, these parts create a solemn and mournful poem which both informs the reader about the event preceding Takechi’s rule (i.e., the Jinshin Rebellion), glorifies his authority as a governor and bemoans his death.
Question: What metaphors does Hitomaro use to describe the governors?
Reference List
Hitomaro, K. (2012). The Lament for Prince Peer of the Sun. In Shirane, H. (Ed.) Traditional Japanese Literature: An Anthology, Beginnings to 1600. Columbia University Press.
Hitomaro, K. (n/a). The Lament for Prince Takechi.
