Page:Anthology of Japanese Literature.pdf/196

SHINKOKINSHŪ

 

The “Shinkokinshū,” or “New Collection of Ancient and Modern Poems,” was the eighth of the anthologies of Japanese poetry compiled by Imperial order. It was completed in 1205 by a committee headed by the celebrated Fujiwara no Teia (1162–1241), the leading figure in the world of letters of his day. The Emperor Gotoba,^[1] who ordered the compilation, took an active interest in the “Shinkokinshū” and worked on it while in exile on the island of Oki.

The “Shinkokinshū” is often considered to be the greatest Japanese collection after the “Man’yōshū.” It is known particularly for the craftsmanship displayed by its poets, although this same quality has been denounced by some critics as “artificiality.” The attempt of its poets was to fill the elegantly wrought framework of their verses with content as poignant and moving as possible. With such poets as Saigyō (1118–1190) new heights in Japanese poetry were thereby reached. Needless to say, however, the technical perfection of the “Shinkokinshū” poems is largely lost in translation.

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Murasame no Tsuyu mo mada hinu Maki no ha ni Kiri tachinoboru Aki no yūgure

The hanging raindrops Have not dried from the needles Of the fir forest Before the evening mist Of autumn rises.

The Priest Jakuren (died 1202)

TRANSLATED BY KENNETH REXROTH

1. See page 242.