Kanji Press - About the Senjūshō

Yoskiko Dykstra

Yoshiko Kurata Dykstra, born in Nishinomiya near Nara and Kyoto, received her Ph.D from UCLA and taught for eight years as a lecturer at UC Berkeley. From 1978 until the spring of 2006 she taught at Kansaigaidai University in Osaka. In the fall of 2006 she was a Numata professor at University of Hawaii, Manoa. Her translations include Miraculous Tales of the Lotus Sutra from Ancient Japan, The Konjaku Tales, and The Clan Records.

from the Illustrated Tales of Regent Hideyoshi

In the Beginning 1-1-1 How Hideyoshi Was Born 1-1-2 How Hideyoshi Met Koroku 1-1-3 How Koroku Tested Hideyoshi 1-1-4 How Hideyoshi Met Matsushita Yukitsuna

from the Senjūshō

5:3 About Naiki Yasutane 5:4 Sojō Yōen 5:5 Kakuson and the Monk With a Poem About Rattles 5:6 The Lady of the Middle Counselor 5:10 A Man of Ōmi Lost His Son and Left Secular Life 5:11 About a Nun of Eguchi 9:8 Courtesan of Eguchi 9:10 A Reunion at the Hasedera Temple

from the works of Ryunosuke Akutagawa

The Christ of Nanking Ogin Oshino

from the Chirizuka Monogatari

1:1 How a Poem of Lord Jōtokuin Shaded the Burning Sun 2:6 Selfless Lord Amako Tsunehisa 3:4 About the Legends of Mount Ômine 4:1 About Extraordinary Tales of Master Kobo, Salt, Chikami, Reed and Other Things 4:4 Witty Tales of Japan and India 5:4 Lord Hosokawa's Secret Plot 5:9 Lord Moronao's Amorous Affairs 6:5 Priest Myosen and Masashige

The Senjūshō

The Senjūshō, Collection of Selected Tales, attributed to Saigyō (1118-1190), a poet-monk, includes 121 tales of the men and women who renounced secular life to attain deliverance. The protagonists include the aristocrats, samurai warriors, priests, monks, noble women, wives, nuns and courtesans. The author’s analysis and comments following each anecdotal tale often sound sentimental and didactic, but tersely reflect his conflicts between his art (Way of the Poetry) and his life, as well as between his religious aspirations and his secular wishes and desires.

For the Kanji Press website I have selected some tales about men and women who succeeded in abandoning secular delusions by practicing the Way of Zen. The tale Courtesan of Eguchi is my favorite one.

Lastly, I greatly appreciate Professor George Tanabe, a Professor Emeritus of the Depart ment of Religion of University of Hawaii, Manoa, and former Editor Michael Cooper of the Monumenta Nipponica, who proofread and gave many valuable suggestions to my translations.

Yoshiko Dykstra