288
Nihongi.
river to Yamashiro. At this time there was a mulberry branch floating down the stream. The Emperor looked at the mulberry branch, and made a song, saying:—
On the next day the Imperial cortège arrived at the Palace of Tsutsuki. The Empress was sent for, but she refused to appear before the Emperor. Then the Emperor made a song, saying:—
| Like the radishes[3] dug up With the wooden hoes Of the women of Yamashiro (Peak upon peak), | |
| Purely, purely, | |
| Clamorously, clamorously, | |
| Because thou hast spoken I have come hither Like the flourishing trees Which I look over at. | |
- ↑ Mulberry is ura-kuha. In modern Japanese kuha alone means mulberry. Ura also means heart, and as koha means hard, there seems an allusion to the Empress's hard-heartedness.
The Emperor compares his condition to that of the mulberry branch drifting down the stream, and finding no rest anywhere. The metre is irregular. - ↑ Iha means rock. It has here a makura-kotoba prefixed to it, viz. tsuno-sahafu, creeper-clad, which is inappropriate to Iha, when taken as the Empress's name, though suitable to it in its original meaning.
- ↑ Radishes are at this day a staple food of the Japanese. When freshly washed they look very white and clean. The first four lines are a mere introduction to saha-saha, i.e. purely, and the author immediately goes on to exchange this meaning for another meaning of the same word, viz., clamorously, by a play of words common in Japanese poetry. The only bond of connection between the first and second halves of the poem is this double sense of saha-saha. "The flourishing trees" represent the Emperor's brilliant suite. The interpretation of this poem is more or less conjectural. Compare Ch. K., p. 279.
