Chirizuka Monogatari
Tales From the Dust Mound (1689)
The Chirizuka Monogatari is a collection of sixty-five stories in six chapters mainly related to historically celebrated figures, including emperors, priests, warriors, and shugendô ascetics. According to the brief preface, the unidentified compiler gathered notable tales of the past with some illustrations (thirty-two in total) to educate young people. Here I have translated some tales with the illustrations which appear in the Chirizuka Monogatari, presently owned by Tokyo Daigaku Shiryo Hensanjo.
Six Translations From the Chirizuka Monogatari
1:1 How a Poem of Lord Jōtokuin Shaded the Burning Sun 2:6 Selfless Lord Amako Tsunehisa 4:1 About Extraordinary Tales of Master Kobo, Salt, Chikami, Reed, and Other Things 5:4 Lord Hosokawa's Secret Plot 5:9 Lord Moronao's Amorous Affairs 6:5 Priest Myosen and Masashige
1:1 How a Poem of Lord Jōtokuin Shaded the Burning Sun
translated by Yoshiko Dykstra
One day Old Asukai told the following story.
Lord Jotokuin Yoshihisa1 was a very talented and elegant man. He was devoted to waka poems even when he was engaged in military exercises. When his close friends, ranking officials, and court nobles visited him, he talked only about poems instead of conversing with them.
1 Jotokuin Naidaijin Yoshihisa, 1465-1489, the ninth Ashikaga Shogun, died at the age of twenty-five.
A certain grand councilor, an expert in poetry, used to coach Lord Yoshihisa on the form and essence of poetry. But later when the lord reached the age of twenty, the councilor in turn asked him about the taste and aesthetics of poems. People often said how regrettable it was that Lord Yoshihisa, a fine shogun, passed away before he reached middle age.
While camping at Omi for some time, Lord Yoshihisa went on a trip to the lakeside. Several experts in various artistic fields accompanied him in many beautifully decorated boats loaded with rare feasts. While gazing at the lake, the lord noticed two children amusing themselves aboard a small boat.
"Who are those children?" he asked.
"They are from Umegahara, Plum Field," replied an attendant.
The lord spontaneously composed a [Chinese-style] poem:
The lake front naturally looks different from the forest,
"Children are rowing a boat seeking plum blossoms."
The lord thus composed the first two lines of his poem, but could not finish the rest, and returned to the camp.
That night, he dreamed of a man who composed the latter half of the poem and completed a shichigon-zekku [seven-characters in four lines] Chinese-style poem. The pleased lord woke up and had an attendant write down the poem. But his people later forgot all about the second half of the poem, and so all was regrettably lost.
When enemies attacked near the capital, Lord Yoshihisa quickly left for the front line,2 and he and his fifty thousand soldiers marched under the burning sun. Soon his soldiers were covered with sweat and felt exhausted, and their horses fell to the ground in the unbearable heat. Everyone was most confused and bewildered. The lord was then at the foot of Mount Kagami [mirror] and composed a waka poem:
Kyo bakari
Kumore Omi no
Kagami yama
Tabi no Yatsure no
Kage no miyuru ni
Only for today,
Mount Mirror of Omi,
Please give us shade,
Since I see the shadow of fatigue
On my marching army.
2 In this battle Shogun Yoshihisa led his army to attack Rokkaku Takayori of Ômi Province in the ninth month of 1487. The campaign dragged on and Yoshihisa, who had abused his body by heavy drinking, could not endure the inconvenience of camp life. Finally he fell, could not rise, and died in the camp at the age of twenty-five in the third month of 1489.
While they were resting in the shade of some trees, the sky suddenly became cloudy and a cool breeze began to blow. The soldiers felt refreshed as if in an autumn evening and were instantly revived. This was a wonderful event which should be remembered by later generations.
It was truly remarkable that the power of a poem alleviated the sufferings of thousands of soldiers. Even Heaven was moved and responded to Lord Yoshihisa's profound poetic talent.
~~~ The End ~~~
©2007 by Yoshiko Dykstra