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The Zen Poems of Ryokan PRINCETON LIBRARY of ASIAN TRANSLATIONS Advisory Committee for Japan: Marius Jansen, Ear! Miner, Janies Morley, Thomas J

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The Zen Poems of Ryokan PRINCETON LIBRARY of ASIAN TRANSLATIONS Advisory Committee for Japan: Marius Jansen, Ear! Miner, Janies Morley, Thomas J Japanese Linked Poetry An Account unih Translations of Rcnga and Haikai Sequences PAUL MINER As the link between the court poetry of the classical period and the haiku poetry of the modern period, the rcnga and haikai which constitute Japanese linked poetry have a position of central im­ portance in Japanese literature. This is the first comprehensive study of this major Japanese verse form in a Western language, and includes the critical principles of linked poetry, its placement in the history of Japanese literature, and an analysis of two renga and four haikai sequences in annotated translation. “The significance of the book as a pioneering work cannot be overemphasized. .. We should be grateful to the author for his lucid presentation of this difficult subject.” — The Journal of Asian Studies Cloth: ISBN 06372-9. Paper: ISBN 01368-3. 376 pages. 1978. The Modern Japanese Prose Poem An Anthology of Six Poets Translated and with an Introduction by DENNIS KEENE “Anyone interested in modern Japanese poetry, and many in­ volved in comparative literature, will want to own this work.” — Montmenta Nipponica Though the prose poem came into existence as a principally French literary genre in the nineteenth century, it occupies a place of considerable importance in twentieth-century Japanese poetry. This selection of poems is the first anthology of this gcurc and, in effect, the first appearance of this kind of poetry in English. Providing a picture of the last fifty years or so of Japanese poetry, the anthology includes poems by Miyoshi Tat- suji and Anzai Fuyue, representing the modernism of the prewar period; Tamura Ryuichi and Yoshioka Minoru, representing the post-war period; and Tanikawa Shuntaro and Inoue Yashushi, representing the present. ISBN 06418-0. 188 pages. 1980. i Order from your bookstore, ot Princeton University Press • Princeton, New Jersey 08540 Yuasa Yuasa uki Yuasa The The Zen Poems of Ryokan f — W : T l | ZendnHRWGnmtinBMt * » * 'wHWfcwi Poeii««Mirniiw * «mmrm RY OF ASIAN TRANSLATIONS PRINCETON LIBRARY OF ASIAN TRANSLATIONS Advisory Committee for Japan: Marius Jansen, Ear! Miner, Janies Morley, Thomas J. Rimer For Other Books in the Series See Page 220 4 The Zen Poems of Ryokan SELECTED AND TRANSLATED WITH AN INTRODUCTION, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, AND NOTES By Nobuyuki Yuasa PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY COPYRIGHT © I9 8 l BY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PUBLISHED BY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY IN THE UNITED KINGDOM: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, GUILDFORD, SURREY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA WILL BE FOUND ON THE LAST PRINTED PAGE OF THIS BOOK PUBLICATION OF THIS BOOK HAS BEEN AIDED BY THE PAUL MELLON FUND OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS THIS BOOK HAS BEEN COMPOSED IN LINOTRON BEMBO CLOTHBOUND EDITIONS OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS BOOKS ABE PAINTED ON ACID-FREE PAPER, AND BINDING MATERIALS ARE CHOSEN FOR STRENGTH AND DURABILITY PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY 4 and A. i CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi INTRODUCTION 3 MAP OF THE RYOKAN COUNTRY 4 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 23 CHINESE POEMS 43 JAPANESE POEMS 107 DEWDROPS ON A LOTUS LEAF 169 EXPLANATORY NOTES 183 GLOSSARY OF PROPER NAMES 189 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 217 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My heartfelt thanks are due to Professors Earl Miner, William H. Mc­ Cullough, and Helen Craig McCullough, without whose assistance the book would have never taken its present form, and to Professor Elizabeth Schultz who kindly read my manuscript and gave me valuable sugges­ tions. The bulk of the translation was done by 1974, and in the process of bringing the book to its final shape 1 have relied rather heavily on the support of my friends. Although I hesitate to mention their names here, I should like to thank them with all my heart. My thanks are due also to the Ryokan Museum at Izumozaki and to Niigata Prefectural Library for permitting me to use the portraits of Ryokan reproduced here, and £0 Mr. Motochika Kimura for allowing me to reproduce samples of Ryokan’s calligraphy from his collection. I am also indebted for the photography to Mr. Masayoshi Nakamata. Last but not least, to Miss R. Miriam Brokaw of Princeton University Press I owe my gratitude for her warm interest in my work and her untiring cooperation. N o b u y u k i Y u a s a Hiroshima 1980 4 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Chinese poem in Ryokan’s handwriting 2 2. Portrait of Ryokan by Miyagawa Rokusai, painted in 1830 24 3. Certificate granted by the priest Kokusen to Ryokan 30 4. Chinese poem by Ryokan (No. 6 in the text) 44 5. Chinese poem by Ryokan (No. 14 in the text) 48 6. Chinese poem by Ryokan (No. 123 in the text) 79 7. Japanese poem by Ryokan (No. 217 in the text) 108 8. Japanese poem by Ryokan (No. 233, 2nd envoy in the text) 113 9. Confucian maxim in Ryokan’s handwriting 182 10. Gogoan, the cottage where Ryokan lived from 1804 to 1816 219 M aps 1. The Ryokan country 4 2. Japan 5 The Zen Poems of Ryokan / ■> ■ \ \» T ■ .... M-i \ 0 P "*T / \ jf,..... V i * - ...A 1. Chinese poem in Ryokan’s handwriting: Han Kai’s anger was softer than the thread of a willow branch, A fi/mti/ji!r< (tni)f jc c/i-zimr punuah tn hlrtct (tone nr iron cates. INTRODUCTION R y o k a n (1758-1831) is a poet-priest of the late Edo period. Among his more famous contemporaries are the haikai poet Kobayashi Issa (1763- 1827), the romance writer Takizawa Bakin (1767-1848), and the historian Rai San’yo (1780-1832). Ryokan lived as a recluse for most of his life, and left some fourteen hundred waka (Japanese poems), four hundred kanshi (Chinese (poems), and a small number of hokku. As a person, he is often regarded as an eccentric who lived outside the pale of this world. This view owes its origin to the testimony of his contemporaries and of early writers who wished to exaggerate his unusualness, and in spite of the efforts of Soma Gyofu (1883-1950) and other scholars who have tried to humanize his image, Ryokan still remains an eccentric in the popular mind. The biographical sketch that follows this introduction is an attempt to correct that view, and to argue that Ryokan’s greatness depends hot so much on his unusualness as on his deep understanding of himself and of the world around him. Ryokan’s position in the literary history of Japan is often regarded as being open to dispute. The Edo period is generally said to be characterized by the rise of the merchant class, which led to the popularity of haikai, kabuki, and prose romances. Ryokan shows little interest in any of these new genres so characteristic of his age. In my opinion, however, we must be cautious not to treat him as a literary anomaly. In the first place, Ryokan is not alone in having attempted to rise above the level of popular culture. A classic example is Matsuo Basho (1644-1694), who succeeded in refining haikai by attempting to correct vulgar words (zokugo o tadasu). In the second place, Ryokan’s indebtedness to popular culture is greater than it seems. He certainly worked within the limits of traditional forms, but by the frequent use of colloquialism and humble images, he infused them with freshness and vigour equal to those found in the most popular writers of his age. This double response to popular culturc is what Rydkan shares with many of the important writers of his time. Finally, his adherence to traditional forms places him in the long line of classical poets, both Japanese and Chinese. Therefore, it is only by evaluating his literary achievements against their background that we can fully appre­ ciate his poetic greatness. The waka of the Edo period is characterized by a tendency to break away from the rigid rules of composition handed down over many gen­ erations by professional teachers. This hardening of the courtly tradition The Ryokan Country Shibata Agano River JA P A N SEA Shniatto /&X\ lgata River/)m k \ Kyoga Saikawa River\ Kakuda railway lines rivers O - mountain areas densely populated areas (cities) • towns and villages Japan JA P A N SEA Noto Nagano A M r. Asama Hida Honshu Edo (Tokyo) • Mt. Fuji S' v Lake Biwa ^ \ / f Kyoto/} • Nagoya ( y HiroshimaTamashima^j^Ajaniw/(o'saka)—^ (j {/ 4 AKoyasan _Waka no Ura Shikoku Dazaifu .TosaJKochi) Kyushu p a c i f i c o c e a n 6 INTRODUCTION took place in the late Heian period, Fujiwara no Teika (1162-1241) resisted this trend. He says in Eiga Taigai that he needed no professional teachers in his study of waka, and that the works of ancient poets alone were a sufficient guide for him; but Kamo no Chomei (1155-1216) reports in Mumyosho of the priest Toren that, after learning the name of an unusual plant from a teacher, he took special pride in his knowledge. In 1275, when the Fujiwara family split into three houses at the death of Fujiwara no Tameic (1198-1275), rivalry between the houses accelerated the proc­ ess of hardening so much that the initiation by a teacher into the mysteries of poetic art, known as Kokin detiju, became a kind of credential for a poet. The poets and critics of the Edo period, however, went against this tendency and upheld sincerity of feeling and expression as a literary value. For example, Kamo no Mabuchi (1697-1769) says in Kaiko that whenever one has an emotion in one’s heart, one voices it spontaneously, producing poetry.
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