In posts, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, I discussed tanka which illustrate the concept of aestheticism in that authors express pleasure towards the restoration of authority in the Imperial Palace, especially at the most prosperous period of the Imperial Family both in name and reality. I furthermore discussed tanka by poets who expressed the impressions they had of the beauties of every season under the standard concept of composing aesthetic tanka.
Now, I would like to introduce poems by poets who lived during the period in which emperors lost political power to the Fujiwara family. Among these poets, there were some who composed not only using several techniques of tanka composition but also expressing their real message on top of their literary content. Furthermore, they were famous authors of literary works in those days.
These tanka are all selected from among the eight anthologies: Kokin, 2nd - Gosen, 3rd - Shui, 4th - Goshui, 5th- Kinyo, 6th - Shika, 7th - Senzai and 8th - Shin-Kokin. I have chosen two tanka from the 3rd and 8th anthologies. I have previously provided the background of the 8th of the eight anthologies so I will do so now for the 3rd anthology, Shui.
The 3rd t anthology, Shui (1006), is said to have been compiled by Emperor Kazan himself (the 65th, term 984-986) or Nagayoshi Fujiwara (949-1019?) and Michinari Minamoto (?-1019) during the period of Emperor Ichijyo (the 66th, term 986-1011).
I would also like to explain two poems by the mother of Michitsuna Fujiwara - 053 (937?-995), which appeared in the Shui (1006) anthology, and by Takako Fujiwara (?-996), which appeared in the Shin-Kokin (1205) anthology.
Both poetesses appear in the family trees, which are attached in the following file: 3 family trees Fujiwara 1, Fujiwara 2 and Takanashi.
http://homepage3.nifty.com/PLABOT/Fujiwara2.html.
When you examine them in detail, you can clearly find what positions they have.
The following poems were composed by poets or poetesses who lived during the most prosperous period of the Fujiwara family, which had usurped real political power from the Emperors, throwing other families into a crisis, as you can recognize on viewing the family trees which I show in the following attached file: http://homepage3.nifty.com/PLABOT/Fujiwara2.html.
The Fujiwara family had become prosperous and powerful. Fuhito, the son of Kamatari, the founder of the family, established a policy of marrying their daughters to the Emperors, making the daughters empresses and their fathers the grandfathers of succeeding emperors, giving them control of the throne.
The relatives of the Emperor's wife yielded considerable power because the maternal line had been seen as more important since the mists of time in Japan. Polygamy was common in the aristocratic society of Japan and most children were brought up in the wife's residence, except for princes or princesses of Emperors. But the relatives of the wife exercised strong influence when a prince mounted the throne as Emperor.
The grandfather of each empress was in charge of the emperors until they became adults, and supported each emperor after he became an adult. In this position the grandfathers were able to influence the nobles of the Imperial Court.
The grandfather of each Emperor had the power to appoint anyone to any post, so the head of the Fujiwara family appointed his relatives to important posts in order to extend his influence. He was able to do this on the assumption that his granddaughters would be beautiful and become fascinating ladies who were cultured and educated, therefore attractive as imperial wives.
Most members of the aristocracy employed tutors, such as Murasaki-Shikibu [the famous novelist] or Seisho-Nagon [a famous poet], to teach their daughter to compose poems, to play musical instruments such as the Koto and Biwa, and to learn how to sew.
I would like to present poems by two of these famous ladies. The first is a poem by Takako Fujiwara, who became the wife of Michitaka Fujiwara, the head of the Fujiwara family. The other is by the mother of Michitsuna Fujiwara, who became the second wife of Kaneie Fujiwara, who was the father of Michitaka.
[In the next post (7), I will present three poems by three of these ladies. Two of them were home tutors: the poetess, Seisho-Nagon, and the other by Murasaki-Shikibu. The last poem is by a lady who was the daughter of Murasaki-Shikibu. By the way, the daughter of Takako Teishi, whose tutor was Seisho-Nagon, became the Empress of the 66th Emperor, Ichijyo and the daughter of Michinaga Fujiwara, Shoshi, whose tutor was Murasaki-Shikibu, became the second wife of the 66th Emperor, Ichijyo. I would like to explain what tanka these outstanding ladies composed.
Takako Fujiwara who became the wife of Michitaka Fujiwara, the head of the Fujiwara family was the best of these lady poets. She was able to read works written in Chinese, though most women didn't learn this. As her father, Naritada Takashina (923-998) was the most erudite scholar in those days, she had ample opportunity to learn to read Chinese literature, as well as to compose poems and to play musical instruments.
The Takashina family was not in such a high position, so Michitaka Fijiwara's marriage to Takako was not beneficial in terms of political power. Michitaka seemed to have loved her deeply, but she seemed to have hesitated to receive his love, forever thinking of the tendency in those days.
Wa su re ji no
yu ku su we ma de wa
ka ta ke re ba
kyo wo ka gi ri no
i no chi to mo ga na
I would rather end
my life today to keep long
his words in my heart:
it's impossible to make
his promise sure for ever.
The author expressed the following in this tanka: I received his promise of love forever but I thought that it must be impossible to be sure so I would rather end my life today to keep long it in my heart. She seemed to have composed it as soon as she met him.
As you can find clearly from the family tree, this poetess, the mother of Korechika Fijiwara (?-996) is Takako Fujiwara herself, daughter of Naritada Takashina. She was so beautiful, fascinating and cultured that she had become an official lady of Emperor Enyu (the 64th , term 969-984). And she became the wife of Michitaka Fujiwara who was the head of the Fujiwara family and exercised political power on behalf of each emperor until he became an adult, and supported each emperor afterwards.
The other is a poem by the mother of Michitsuna Fujiwara 053 (937?-995) which appeared in the 3rd anthology, Shui (1006). This poem expresses the same feelings as the poem by Takako—that is, she was not contented with her love for her husband, Kaneie Fujiwara although she was surely one of the three most beautiful ladies, as well as one of the best poetesses in the middle period of Heian and daughter of Tomoyasu Fujiwara, because she was not the first lady of Kaneie Fujiwara. She was only one of his wives and had only one son, Michitsuna. She wrote of her life with Kaneie in her literary work, "Kagero-Nikki" or 'Diary named Kagero.' She composed this tanka to express the loneliness of her life with her husband.
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Na ge ki tsu tsu
hi to ri nu ru yo no
a ku ru ma wa
i ka ni hi sa shi ki
mo no to ka wa shi ru
Do you never know
how long night lasts before
you open the door
for me to wait sleeping and
weeping for you, I wonder?>
She wrote the following in her diary: As my husband didn't visit me for three nights, I had my servants shadow him, and found that he visited a woman who lived in a house which stands along the narrow pavement. Around dawn, after two or three days passed, my husband knocked on the door but I did not let my servant open it and sent him away. I then sent him a letter with this tanka.
Today in Japanese society, most children are forced to study hard for entrance examinations in order to succeed in the real world. While most excellent, beautiful ladies in the distant past were also forced to study hard for their father to get political power.
