[i]

TRANSLITERATED INTO ROMAN WITH INTRODUCTIONS
NOTES AND GLOSSARIES

BY
FREDERICK VICTOR DICKINS, C.B.
FORMER REGISTRAR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

WITH A COMPANION VOLUME OF TRANSLATIONS

反以將之說詳而學博
MENCIUS 也約說

OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS
1906

[ii]

HENRY FROWDE, M.A.
PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
LONDON, EDINBURGH
NEW YORK AND TORONTO

[iii]

TO
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
SIR ERNEST SATOW, G.C.M.G.
MINISTER TO CHINA
FORMERLY MINISTER TO JAPAN

KASANE-GOHI [__A_TAG_PLACEHOLDER_0__] KA MO

[iv]
[v]

The following texts are exact transliterations of the Kana yomi of the Manyôshiu, and of the yomi of the mixed Japanese script of the Taketori Monogatari, the Preface to the Kokinwakashiu, and Takasago, according to the system devised by Sir Ernest Satow and adopted by Professor Chamberlain.

The translations of the texts are provided in a companion volume, which includes detailed explanations and notes.

The following abbreviations are used: (K.) Professor Chamberlain’s translation of the Kojiki; (N.) Dr. Aston’s translation of the Nihongi; (Fl.) Professor Florenz’s partial translation of the Nihongi; (Br.) Captain Brinkley’s Japanese-English Dictionary; (I.) Kotoba no Izumi; (T.A.S.J.) Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan.

The texts included in this volume are:—

1. The nagauta or chôka (long lays) of the Manyôshiu, the earliest of the Japanese anthologies, were compiled around 760 CE, along with their kaheshi uta or hanka (envoys). The text used is from Kamochi Masazumi in his impressive edition, Manyôshiu Kogi, the Ancient Meaning of the Manyôshiu, written in the first half of the nineteenth century but published in 1879.

2. The Taketori Monogatari, Story of the Old Wicker-worker. The text used is that of Tanaka Daishiu, published around 1838.

3. The Preface of Ki no Tsurayuki to his famous Anthology—the second of the old anthologies—known[vi] as Kokinwakashiu—Anthology of Japanese Verse Old and New—written around 922 A.D. The text is that of Kaneko Genshin in his 1903 edition.

4. The utahi of Takasago, possibly the earliest of the medieval miracle plays (Nô), created in the fifteenth century. The text used is from the Yôkyoku Tsûge, edited by Ohowada Kenjiu, and published by the Hakubunkwan in 22 Meiji (1889).

Appended to 1. are some tanka from the Kokinshiu and the Hyakunin Isshiu (1214 CE), and in the volume of translations, there are examples of hokku or the half-stanza, the so-called Japanese epigram, along with their translations.

A careful read, done two or three times, of the short grammar and the following section on the Language of the Manyôshiu found in the Introduction, along with the List of Makura Kotoba, the Glossary, and the companion volume of translations, will cover almost all the challenges of the romanized texts and help the reader to understand the charm of these ancient poems, of which the more unique elements don't quite translate.

[vii]

[viii]

For the need for these changes, I take full responsibility.

In a few of the earlier verses, the lines aren't properly indented. In one or two instances, the category is incorrectly printed as part of the dai—as under Lay 1.

In a few cases, a capital letter is incorrectly used—like Tsuma instead of tsuma.

In the following cases, it’s better to print place names with an initial capital: Kashihara, Ohotsu, Shirokane, Chitose, Kagu, Katsu, Tagi, Kamu, Yuki.

Where eta is found, it should be read as eba.

Some cases of u for a, u for n, u for i, a for o, e for i, or the other way around happen—they're pretty clear. Sometimes words are combined that would be better off separated, like Kata nashi, or the opposite.

[ix]

The pronunciation of Old Japanese is quite straightforward. There are five vowels: a, e, i, o, u, and no diphthongs. The consonants and digraphs include b, ch, d, dz, f, g, h, j, k, m, n, r, s, sh, t, ts, w, y, z, and zh. All syllables are open and consist of

Sixty-four open syllables in total, out of 105 possible ones, which, along with their various combinations, make up the entire language.

The vowels are pronounced like in Italian, with a as the stressed a, and e and o as open sounds. The vowel u is pronounced like the English u in put, never as in rut or lute. The vowels a, e, and o are half-long, while i and u are shorter, with u being the shortest. Each syllable is given value, as mentioned above, with almost no stress (like in French), but the last syllable of a word, especially with u, is always the weakest, and the second-to-last syllable tends to be the strongest.

The consonants are pronounced like in English, h is strongly aspirated but positioned more forward, even between vowels. z sounds like in zany, zh is like the s in pleasure, and f may have come from an original p, along with h and w.

[x]

The plan, based on that of the Oxford Dictionary, would be—

The Chinese and Japanese languages are quite different from Aryan and Semitic languages because they completely lack agreements based on number, person, case, and gender. They also lack relative words and, compared to Aryan languages, have no use of narratio obliqua. Additionally, they have very few morphological moods or tenses. Broadly speaking, Chinese has no inflection at all; its grammar is focused on the correct order and usage of words, paired words (which make up expressions), and the few functional words (what the Chinese call empty words) that act as connecting particles. In contrast, Japanese has minimal inflections in the few adjectives it has, and a more thorough system for verbs; however, most of the verb forms (with a few exceptions) can be broken down into combinations that hardly count as true inflections. Therefore, morphologically, even Japanese lacks mood and tense, though there are elements that approach both, which are quite valuable to the language. This, along with a fair number of particles, gives Japanese a level of structure and flexibility that Chinese lacks. From these points, it's clear that even Japanese has much less expressive power compared to Western languages. The imagery is necessarily very limited and lacks depth. However, I believe it has a wider range and higher quality than Chinese. Still, neither Chinese nor Japanese can compare to the ability of Aryan and Semitic languages to convey human thoughts and feelings, or to describe human creations or the beauty of nature.[xi]

Ὦ δῖος αἰθήρ, &c., thoughts and words are completely incomprehensible to the entire Far East.

Nevertheless, the poetry of the two great Far Eastern languages has its charm, especially the early poetry of Japan. However, that charm relies heavily on suggestiveness rather than clear statements, and on unique form and decoration instead of content, which can only be appreciated by those who can read the texts. The Japanese texts, aside from the effort needed to decipher them, don’t pose any real difficulty once their simple grammar and structure are understood. In their romanized form, along with the brief grammar included here and the other resources provided in this volume and its accompanying translation volume, we hope to make them accessible to English readers who can't spend several years learning the complex scripts that Japan has adopted, more out of necessity than choice, from the Middle Kingdom.

The following overview of Old Japanese grammar is meant to clarify the texts, mainly those from the Manyôshiu and the Taketori.[1] By Old Japanese, I mean the unsinicized language found in the Kojiki and Nihongi (as read japonicé), especially the uta quoted in those works, the norito or rituals, and the previously mentioned texts. There are no texts that show earlier stages of the language, and all etymologies are uncertain, partly because of this and also because the components of Old Japanese are just agglutinations (more or less contracted) of only sixty-four open syllables.

Japanese (by which I mean Old Japanese) has no connection to Chinese, a language made up of separate elements (simple or compound), because in Japanese, agglutination has somewhat turned into inflection or quasi-inflection, and it also has a large number of particles that give it a flexibility not[xii] found in Chinese. I believe that if the development of Japanese hadn't been stopped by Chinese influences around the middle of the first millennium, it could have achieved a much higher status in the hierarchy of human languages.

This agglutinative inflection mainly applies to verbs and, to a lesser extent, to nouns, adjectives, simple forms, or those that have been verbalized. The part of the verb we can call the stem shows a clear vowel inflection in a, e, i, o, or u. The stem in u is the form typically found in both native and foreign dictionaries—in Lemaréchal’s, it's the stem in e or i. Various phrases are added to the stem to create forms that logically represent moods and tenses, as well as negative, causative, and potential-passive ‘voices’.

The stems in e, i, and o are used as commands; koge, row!, mi, look!, ko, come!, often with the addition of the vocative particle yo (or ro)—miyo, koyo. They’re also used as ‘indefinite’ (Chamberlain) forms, with mood and tense determined by the principal verb in the sentence. Before proceeding, it’s important to note that in a regular Japanese sentence, the principal verb is always at the end, the object (if mentioned) is in the middle, and the subject (if mentioned) is at the beginning of the sentence, while words that qualify come before the words they modify. In poetry, however, especially in the Manyôshiu, inversions are common.

All syllables in Japanese are open, and the ending syllables of the stems are the consonants b, f, g, k, m, n, r, s, the combination ts, w, y, and z followed by the vowels a, e, i, o, u (also u without a consonant as in suu, e stem suwe, to place). Before i, ts becomes ch, and before e and a t, before i, s becomes sh and z becomes zh; before every vowel except u, f becomes h. All verbs have the stem in u, most verbs also have the stem in a and i, some have only the stem in e, and some have only the stem in i. There are very few irregular verbs. The following list of verbs and their stems will illustrate the above points:—

The Japanese verb doesn’t have number or person, so the forms that follow are indefinite regarding number and person. The phrases—or more accurately the complements that, along with the stem, make up the phrase—are listed below as suffixed to the stem.

Two moods can be identified. One I refer to as Independent, where the verb stands alone without any connection to another verb; the other is Dependent, where the verb is linked to a verb in the Independent mood.[2] Mr. Chamberlain refers to them as Indicative and Oblique, respectively.

There are three forms or types of tenses in each mood—a present tense that is indefinite in time; a past tense that indicates an action or state completed at or before the present or some specified past time; and a future tense that indicates an action, etc., that may or will be completed at a future (or past-future) time. Each of these tenses in the independent mood has a basic or simpler form and a relative form, which relates to a noun. The simpler form, which is the same as the stem in u, is what you find in dictionaries (in Lemaréchal’s, the stem in a, i, or e is used). The relative form ends in uru (modern iru or eru). For example, toki sugu means time passes; suguru toki,[xiv] tempus quod fugit (some verbs in uru are transitive, like tatsu, meaning to stand, and tatsuru, meaning to make stand or set up). Only those verbs that have e or i stems throughout seem to have this relative form; in verbs with i and a stems, this morphological distinction does not appear.

The Past has four forms, each in pairs (P. predicative, R. relative).

P. ki, R. -shi.

(2) P. tari (te-ari), R. -taru (te-aru).

(3) P. -tariki, R. -tarishi (made up of (2) and (1)).

(4) P. -nu, R. -nuru.

[ki (kuru) = come (compare Ital. vien fatto); shi (suru) = do; te = root of tsu, tsuru, continue; ari is an irregular past form of aru, be; nu is an old verb = be.] In i a verbs, the past tense is formed with P. -eri, R. -eru (see below).

The Future is created by adding mu (or namu) to the stem or naramu (ni [nu] aramu [aru]) to the R. form if applicable.

Schematic Examples.

kogu, row (with oars or paddles).

tomu, stop, and sugu, pass, are conjugated like kogu, except that tomu replaces the i and a of kogu forms with e, and sugu with i.

In the Dependent mood, the forms are created using -ba (the voiced particle ha). Shikaba (origin of shika?), tareba, taraba (te areba, -araba), naba (nu), and naraba (ni araba).

[xv]

Schematic Examples.

Of tomu, sugu, the Dependent Mood is conjugated in a similar way, keeping the e and i vowels. For tomeba, use tomureba instead of tomaba tomeba, for sugiba use sugureba, and for sugaba use sugiba.

The negative voice (there are no negative words = not, no, none). The Present Independent is created by changing the -mu of future into -zu or -zaru (zu aru), P. and -nu, R. So, kogu (kogamu), kogazu, kogazaru, koganu; sugu, sugimu, sugizu, etc.

In the past, -zu becomes zariki, P., and -zarishi, R.; in the future -zaramu or -zhi, P. and R. (kogazaramu, kogazhi).

There is a second future with a sense of obligation illustrated as follows:—kogu (not koga) -mazhiku (indefinite), -mazhi, P., -mazhiki, R., -mazhikariki, P., past future -mazhikarishi, R., past future -mazhikereba, conditional, when as, &c., and -mazhikuba, hypothetical, if, &c.

In the Dependent Mood, we have:—

The Imperatives are:—

Kogazare (kogazu are); kogu nakare (naku are); koguna, kogu koto nakare (don’t do the row thing), na kogi so, yume kogu na (strong command). But na combined with i or e stem is a positive command kogi na, go row!

There is another past form in tsu[4], tsuru as kogitsu, kogitsuru, and a continuous form in tsutsu, kogitsutsu, while rowing.[xvi] There is also a form in -keri, P. and -keru, R. with a dependent -kereba as kogikeru, kogikereba. This keri form seems equivalent to a perfect definite, "have rowed." Its etymology must be ki -ari; for tsu, the stem would be te, which, when added to the stem in i or e, creates forms such as kogite, tomete, which are continuous indefinites almost equivalent to “while,” kogite, yuku, meaning to row to (a place).

The negative form of -te is -de, kogade, or -zu, -zu ni, -zu shite, like kogazu, not-row, kogazu ni, in, or by not-row, kogazu shite, not-row-do, all essentially meaning while not row.

The particles mo, also to mo, and even domo (as in keredomo or ki-ari-to-mo), when added to verb forms, create a concessive meaning, such as "although" or "even though." The particle beku, meaning "must," "can," "will," or "ought," is attached to the u stem. For example, kogubeku means "must row," "ought to row," or "will row." The variations of beku include beshi, P.; beki, R.; bemi, bekariki, P.; -shi, R.; bekereba, bekuba, bekarazu, etc. beku mazhiku is almost equivalent to bekarazu.

Causative verbs (often used as transitive verbs or as honorific forms) are easy to recognize. For example, nageku means to sigh or lament, and nagekasu is its causative form; forms derived from su (suru), meaning to do, include shimuru, seshimuru, and sasuru. Similarly, yaku means to burn, while yakasu and yakashimuru are its causative forms; suru (se) means to do, and sesasuru means to make-do.

Nu (ni) is an ancient verb meaning ‘be.’ Ni + aru = naru, which means become, be at, of, or in. The future form namu is a common auxiliary suffix. Namu can change to namashi when combined with mashi, which means more, forming a suffixed optative particle. Another optative is created by adding the slight interrogative particle ya to the form in -aba, resulting in yukabaya, which means should like to go; sometimes the future form appears as -ramu (aramu?) added to the u-stem, such as aruramu for aramu, and kofuramu for kohamu (kohimu), which means will love. Aru, meaning be, is unique because its polite form is ari, not aru.

The verb miru, to see, retains the mi throughout: miru, miki, mishi, mimu, miba, mitsu (past), mizu, minu, mizhi, mide, &c.; but mireba, miredomo, miru or miheku, &c. Similarly, hi(ru), to dry, i(ru), to shoot, (w)i(ru), to be in or at, ki(ru), to wear, ni(ru), to be like, ni(ru), to boil. See Chamberlain, p. 66. By[xvii] adding u, uru (to get) with or without aru (to be), we form passive and potential verbs. For example, yaku (to burn) + ari + uru = yakaruru, leading to homeraruru (homu, to praise), sugiraruru (sugu, to pass), miraruru (miru, to see). Alternatively, we have miyuru, to see-get = to seem, thus omoyuru, omoheru (from omofu, to think), or omoharuru (see Glossary, omofu, &c.), iheru (ihi-uru) is used, &c. From aru (to be) lengthened to arafu, we get araharu, araharuru, arahaseru, to be manifest or to make manifest.

Other passive-like forms are iyu (i), shot, oyu (oi), grown old, omohoyu (omofu), thought. There’s a form in -aku, like ifu, say, ihaku—even the future has it, kakemu, will utter, kakemaku, and the past omoheraku, the source of which is unknown. It appears to give a noun-like quality to the verb; ihaku, the saying (is); omoheraku, what was thought (is): also a frequentative (rare) in mi, wemi-mi, wemazu mo, smiling and not smiling.

Under koso, you will find the verb forms used with that particle.

Of the verb su suru, meaning do, the main forms are:—

Independent vibe.

Dependent Mood.

Negative Voice.

[xviii]

Of the verb ku kuru, meaning come, the main forms are:—

Independent Vibe.

Subjunctive Mood.

Negative Voice.

The other forms of kuru are easily created from those of suru, swapping out se and su for ko and ku.

There aren’t many true adjectives. They have a kind of positional inflection—a predicative form in -shi, akashi, meaning "be red," a form mainly used with verbs (but also occasionally) in -ku, akaku naru, meaning "become red," and a form in -ki, used mainly with nouns, akaki mono, meaning "red thing." There’s also a form in -mu, -mi, which has a verbal aspect indicating a state or condition.

Adjectives can also be turned into verbs by adding aru, which means "to be," along with many of its forms that have clear contractions.

Lastly, adjectival expressions are created by adding naru, meaning to be or to become, to the adjectival stems yaharaka, yaharaka-naru, which means soft or gentle.

Nouns (and pronouns) don't have gender or case at all, and they only sometimes have a plural suffix like ra, tachi, nodo, or domo.

Pronouns are limited, and—especially the personal pronouns—are not often used; the subject of the verb is usually implied and understood from the context.

Question Words.

Other pronouns are shi, onore, mi, self, onore, and mi, often I myself, or I, ono-ono, every, mina, all. Other pronoun forms, mainly indefinite, are explained in the glossary.

Only the main particles need to be mentioned here. The others are explained in the glossary. The following are particularly important and are primarily used with nouns as postpositions: wa (ha), ga, no, ni, he (e, ye), and wo.

ha (wa, ba) isolates and highlights the noun rather than the verb—chichi haha ha, uwe-samukaramu, father and mother, they will be hungry and cold; kono toki ha, ika ni shitsutsuka, this time then while doing what. This emphasis explains its use after verbs and sentences or clauses—ihazu-ba, not say indeed = should we not say …; Yamato ni ha, it is in Yamato that …; yuki furu yo ha, a night indeed on which snow falls: a wo koso se to ha, it is I indeed whom (you should call) husband.

ga is a possessive particle, wa-ga (warega) ohokimi, my great lord; Wazami ga hara, the plain of Wazami. It can be used before verbs, tori ga naku, the bird cries; or after, nabiku ga gotoku, like bending before. Sometimes it resembles ha kimi ga agari-ki-masamu, my lord, he will embark.

tsu indicates possession, amatsu kami refers to the gods of heaven, and kuni tsu kami means gods of the land. It appears to only come after the names of things.

No (originally nu, be?) is used as a genitive particle, similar to ‘of’. It is broader than ga, which has a specific use; no sometimes nearly equals ha (wa). Mi-torashi no adzusa no[xx] yumi no hazu no oto, the sound of the notch of the bow made from whitewood in his royal possession; Uchi no ohonu, the great moor of Uchi. This particle can connect words other than nouns, such as ari no kotogoto, everything one has, or, there is (ari); miru no goto, like miru (seaweed); ame tsuchi no wakareshi toki, the time of separation of heaven and earth. It’s important to keep in mind that no can connect different parts of a sentence—often far apart—that aren’t just nouns. So, read hito no [mono wo omofu], a man’s thoughts on things (with regret): not [hito no mono] wo omofu, to think of a man’s possessions, etc.[5].

ni (possibly a form of nu, meaning be) = in, to, at, for, with, by, on, near; Yamato ni, in Yamato; toki ni, at the time = when; miya ni amori, descend from heaven to the palace; te ni tori, take in the hand; ashita ni, on the next day; asagari ni tatasu, set out for the morning hunt; tokoro ni yuku, go to a place; also adverbially, yasukaranaku ni, in a not-restful way; aya ni, strangely; kogi-yuku ni, while rowing; tokoshihe ni, forever. Ni sometimes shifts the action of a causative or transitive verb to the noun it follows.

wo, after a noun indicates it as the object of action or, sometimes, as the subject of a state or condition; unasaka wo sugite, passing beyond the bounds of the ocean; miyako wo tohomi, miyako (as for), being distant (Aston); mikado wo sadame, deciding on a site for a palace; kuni wo sadame, conquering the land. In this sense, wo is often omitted, oi mo sezu, old age not happening = never growing old. It may follow a verb as an emphatic particle, or even a noun itself, but in these cases, there is probably an ellipsis of suru (do) omofu, (think), or something similar, or it may follow a particle, to bakari, etc. (Aston). Where it seems to have an adversative force, there is likely an ellipsis of omoheba, omohite, etc. Wo ba = wo ha, and emphasizes the noun specially. Wo sometimes almost equals ni.

he (literally quarter, direction, locality, area in space or [xxi] time) = towards (ni = to). Rare in the texts in this volume, yori (literally approach, or be close to, or stop at), often shortened to yo, yu, means by extension ‘from’—in later language also ‘than’.

ya, yo, is an exclamatory or calling interjection.

to, which is a connective word that means "and," also marks phrases as quotative; toko miya to sadame, establish it as an eternal shrine (or palace), sugimu to omoheba, intending for it to endure. Hikohoshi ha Tanabata tsu me to, Hikohoshi and the Weaving Woman; se to ha norame (see under ha); kamusabu to, in a divinely terrible way; hito wo yahase to … kuni wo osame to … makitamaheba, as he was instructed to subdue the people and bring peace to the land (people subdued that … land pacified that—as he was instructed). The different uses of to can always be understood as that.

Other particles include:—

ya, a bit uncertain and questioning, but also expressive. When used negatively, it conveys an affirmative meaning.

ka, stronger than ya.

ya ka with ha (yaha kaha) imply a certainty.

ka mo, final interjectional expression = isn't it true? i.e. emphatically or admiringly, it is true!

kana (gana, mo gana), the last expression of feeling appropriate to what comes before.

mo, also, too, even; mo … mo, both … and.

so (zo) maybe, sore, this! highlights the previous word.

koso (ko[re], so[re]) this-that (Aston), stronger than so (zo), usually comes before the verb, whether it's stated or implied. There’s a sort of conjugation with koso—

koso koge;

koso kogere;

koso kogishika,—kogitare,—kogitarishika,—koginure,—kogitsure,—kogame,—koginame,—kogurame, &c.

a wo koso se to ha norame—in prose, a wo se to ha koso norame, do call me husband!

namu (nan) is quite similar to koso, but less forceful.

goto = gotoku, like also sometimes kotogotoku, generally, all; goto ni (after the noun), every, each.

[xxii]

dani, even, in any case; sura, even (unexpected); sahe, even (extra).

shi, nomi, bakari, just, only, precisely—in increasing levels of certainty. All of these, especially shi, are often just mildly emphatic expletives.

made, up to; gari, direction of; kara, from; kara (gara) = nagara (naru karada or naru kara), just like (applied to the preceding noun); after verbs, while, although.

kaku, so to mo kaku mo, this way and that way, anyway, somehow.

kashi, if that's the case, then so be it, let it be! (Aston).

mashi (mase, etc.), mahoshiki, verbal endings used to express desire or possibility.

meru, a verbal ending (derived from future in mu, mu or mi aru?), suggests a certain level of probability.

ramu, for aramu, hana chiruramu = hana chiru aramu = hana chiramu, the flowers will wilt.

rashi = ramu, almost; natsu kitarurashi, it seems that summer has arrived (Aston). There is a similar adjectival ending, rashiki, with the same meaning.

Of the syntax of Old Japanese, not much needs to be said. It's simple because it lacks most of the structure found in Western grammar. The word order has already been mentioned, and in prose, it's strict—in poetry, inversions are common. In many ways, it’s the opposite of English order. This, along with placing the verb at the end of the sentence and not expressing the subject, is the main challenge of Japanese, aside from the vocabulary, which often has meanings different from those of their closest equivalents in any Western language. The lack of relative pronouns and a limited number of pronouns adds to the difficulties. Readers need to become familiar through practice with how the more specific ideas of the West are represented in the vaguer and looser language of Old Japan, where the visual aids of later Sinico-Japanese are not present. However, if the true meanings of the words are understood, and the logical subject is kept in mind based on context, as well as observing the relationships between words and phrases in apposition rather than in random or strict syntactical connection, along with recognizing the influence of particles in shaping the sentence into something understandable, and gaining some ability to maintain focus until the main verb—considering its relationship with the subordinate verbs—is reached, there is no major difficulty in understanding the texts, aside from the unavoidable differences in context and references. These texts, particularly the Lays, will have their own unique beauty and charm, which no translation can fully convey.

The opening of the first lay clearly shows the reversed order of the Japanese sentence:—

Read almost directly backwards, we get:—

Ko (maid) tsumasu ([who] plucks) na (salads) ni (on) kono woka (this knoll), mochi (holding) fukushi (truel), yo mo (oh the) fukushi (truel), mochi (holding) mi ko (fair basket), mo yo (oh the) ko (basket).

Maid who picks salads on this hill holding a truth—oh the truth!—holding a lovely basket—oh the basket!…a wo se to norame, me for your husband name!

But even presented almost in Japanese order, the text is quite understandable, and maybe even more enjoyable than in any imitative version:—

In addressing the more challenging texts of the Manyôshiu, the following points should be considered:—

The honorific forms (see below) indicate a (logical) second or third person, or something related to such a person, directly or indirectly.

[xxiv]

The particle wo can often be translated like ni, used as an exclamation, or as if it's followed by some version of omofu. I don’t see it as a quasi-conjunction on its own. It's important to remember the different functions of no.

The frequency of word order inversion should not be overlooked. The makura kotoba can be excluded, along with prefaces, introductions, and similar elements—this way, the core meaning can be accessed, and then the decoration can be added.

It should be noted that very few words in the vocabulary can be accurately translated into a single English word; their connotations are often somewhat different from any English equivalent. The Glossary doesn’t aim for exhaustive definitions; it provides just enough to suggest the translation of the sentence where the word appears. Therefore, since meanings change over time, the definitions provided may differ from those found in foreign dictionaries, all of which are quite imperfect—though they rarely differ from those offered by the excellent native dictionary Kotoba no Izumi.

I found the following comments on the somewhat lengthy, and—to me—not always very clear, observations of Masazumi about the language of the Manyôshiu in his sôron or General Introduction.

Phonetic contractions. These are quite common and mostly involve vowel sounds. Examples include wagimo (my sister) for waga imo; ariso (wild shore) for ara iso; kafuchi (within the rivers) for kaha uchi; amori (descent from heaven) for ame ori; kurenawi (a shade of red) for kure no awi, literally an indigo (i.e. dye) brought from China; konure (tree-top) for ko no ure; ke (come, pass) for ki he—ke nagaku kohishi, long time loved; ke no kono goro ha, a time recently passed; arumi (wild sea) for ara umi; futsuma (stout horse) for futo uma.[xxv] The above are nouns, while others are adjectives or verbs, such as:—

naru (to be in, at, of), ni aru, as in Yamato naru, ihe naru, etc.

nari—ni ari, as oto su nari = oto suru de ari.

naru—no aru, as hana naru toki = hana no aru toki.

sareba—shi areba, as haru sareba.

chifu—to ifu (they call, it’s called).

ku, ki-yu; ke, ki-he; message, message; kakage, kaki age; motage, mote age, &c.

Phonetic Extensions. These are:—

nagaru—nagarafu, nagarahi, flow, flow in large amounts, &c.

yobu—yobafu, yobahi, call, invite, flirt with (girl).

nageku—nagekafu, nagekahi, take a deep breath, express sorrow, &c.

So causative forms are used as honorifics, nagekasu for nageku, and a termination in aku as nagekaku, kakemaku, ihaku, for nageku, kakemu, ifu used as nouns. Ihafu, meaning bless, might be an extension of ifu, which means speak or say.

Of yobahi (yobu extended) a humorous explanation is sometimes given: yo (by night) hahi (creep), visit stealthily by night. Etymology of this kind is extremely easy in Japanese.

Auxiliary Particles (tasuke kotoba):—

Such are shi (emphatic), kami-yo shi omohoyu, ihe shi shinubayu.

wo (emphatic), as in yatsu yo ni wo, tanushiku wo arana(mu), but in phrases like mitsutsu yukamu wo, wo = mono wo.

ya, ame shiru ya, ama tobu ya, kashikoki ya, Afumi no ya, naku ya uguhisu, &c.; but in kimi ya komu, ya is uncertain—questioning. In kakusafubeshi ya, sugi nikerazu ya, ya = ya ha = Lat. num.

nane, a term of address and endearment, should not be confused with nane from imonane, senane, which are terms of relationship.

i added like in sekimori-i, Unahi-wotoki-i can be seen as emphatic or isolative (similar to ha, according to [xxvi] Chamberlain), or etymologically equivalent to the Korean postposition i (Aston).

we, a final exclamation like are ha sabushi we.

ro ka mo, tafutoki ro ka mo, here ro ka mo = isn’t it so! ro, according to Mr. Chamberlain, is a post-position equivalent to te or nite.

mo, mo yo, mo ya, shi mo, ya shi, yo shi, are all interjections, not just placeholders, that emphasize or draw attention to the meaning of the words they accompany.

Honor Words. These include ohomi (exalted, grand), as in ohomi kami, ohomi uta, ohomi ma; mi, as in mikokoro, miko, mi-hakashi, mi-keshi, mi-nemasu (His Godship the God, His Majesty’s song, His Majesty’s horse, my lord’s meaning, my lord the Son (Prince), surrounded by my lord, my lord’s garments, my lord sleeps).

Other words for honor (or praise) are:—

oho (great), futo (stout), toyo (rich), o (for oho) as in obito, omi (court officials); mi, ma, mo, sa, oho also indicate excellence (εὐ), wo might contrast with oho, or it could be a term of closeness, a type of affectionate nickname.

The following honorific verbs should be noted here: Tamafu, tamaheru, tamahari, oboshimesu, kikoshimesu, shiroshimesu, takashiru, owasu, owashimasu, masu, mimakareru; verbs in causative form, -asu, -saseru, -seshimu; verbs in quasi-passive or potential, -uru, -ruru, raruru.

Other complimentary terms are tama (precious), uma (delicious, fine), midzu (brilliant, fine), umashi (uma), kuhashi (lovely). A fascinating range of honorific forms can be seen in the following: mi yomimaseru ohomi uta (where the song is attributed to a mikado), ohomi uta, mi uta, yomitamaheru uta, yomeru uta (when the author is miko, ason, or an official of lower rank).

Among terms of endearment, we can note:—

waga (mine) or wago ohokimi, waga kimi, waga kuni, waga se, wagimo, a oto, ago, na, se na, na se nane, nanimo, imo nane (my great lord, my lord, our land, my husband,[xxvii] my younger sister (wife or mistress), my brother, my child, you, you elder brother, elder brother you, you elder sister, you younger sister, etc.).

Words of excitement, hope, pleading, astonishment, etc.:—

Ana, ana ni (ni is not a particle), ya (= yo!), ka (= ?), kana, gana, mo gana, kamo, mo ga mo, moga, ga mo na, ya mo, shika, sane, ne, kose, kosene, na-so na-yume, ari kosenu ka mo (ari-koso-ne). These are explained in the notes to the text or in the glossary—their meaning is obvious for the most part.

Repetitive or cumulative expressions (kasane kotoba) are common in the Manyôshiu and mostly have a play on meaning or a rhyme in sound. For example, chichi no mi no chichi (father = chichi = maiden-hair tree—the play is on the two chichi and the double meaning of mi, fruit and person). Hahasoba no haha, mother (haha), from the oak (hahaso = Quercus dentata), etc. Shiga no karasaki sakiku araba (here the rhyme is Karasaki (Cape Kara in Shiga) and sakiku araba (if flourish)). Such expressions are explained in the notes or glossary.

Other repetitive expressions are just emphatic or poetic: Tsudohi tsudohi imashite, they (the gods) gather, kamu hafuri hafuri, burying—burying him (a mikado or miko) as a god; ake no sohobune sohobune, a red red-stained red-stained ship, &c.

Sovereign-related terms. Sumeramikoto (Supreme Majesty) appears only in the dai (arguments), not in the uta. The most common term in the latter is Ohokimi (great Lord, grand seigneur), but this term isn't exclusive to the Sovereign. Other terms include sumeragi (sumerogi, suberogi) and sumerami; -gi means prince, and mi means princess (compare Izanagi and Izanami, Inviting Male and Inviting Female (K.)); but see Aston, Shintô. The meaning of sume is unclear; it may be linked to sube (shiru), which means universally known, i.e. to govern the land. Other expressions are kamuro kamu subera or sumera or sumero, with kamu adding the notion of ‘divine’. I believe Ohokimi, ‘chief’, is the oldest; the other forms seem influenced by China. As for ‘ro’, see the previous remarks[xxviii] on the particle ‘ro’. In the Kogi etymology, ro = the re o of are oya in kamu are oya = god-born ancestry.

Mikado means grand gate or palace, and by metonymy it came to represent its lord, just like today miya (grand mansion) refers to an imperial prince. Mikado also means ‘sovereign dominion’ as in toho-mikado, distant palace, meaning wide dominion, sometimes specifically used for the Tsukushi government, Korea, or even China, as on the borders of, but still under, the authority of the Ohokimi of Japan. The following phrases can be noted—mikoto kashikomi, dread majesty, Ohokimi no make (or hiki) no manimani, in obedience to the Ohokimi’s will or appointment.

Mi has several meanings that need to be distinguished. They are (1) an honorific prefix, grand, great; (2) a prefix of praise, εὐ = ma, true, real; (3) self; (4) body, person; (5) a stem of miru; (6) root of midzu; (7) fruit of tree or herb; (8) the numeral three; (9) as a termination se wo hayami, swift the stream; hiromi, broad-like; fukami, deep.

Of the intensive prefixes i, ka, and ta, there hasn't been any explanation so far. They are similar to Greek ζα. Examples include i-yuki, ka-guroki, ta-moto-horu.

For this work, Dr. Aston’s grammar of the written language (third edition) is by far the most useful.

The Lays are entirely written in Chinese characters. However, they are used in some very unique ways, and as they are, the texts are totally unclear to a Chinese speaker or even a Japanese person who hasn’t specifically studied them. In all the editions, except the Riyakuge, the text columns include a kana transliteration—in the Riyakuge, the kana (hira) transliteration is provided separately from the text.

At the time the Anthology was put together—in the middle of the eighth century—neither of the Japanese syllabaries we have today had been created yet. Their development is[xxix] credited to the scholar-priest Kûkai (Kôbô Daishi), a significant figure in the spread of Buddhism, who passed away in 834, nearly a hundred years after the last tanka of the Manyôshiu was completed. As a result, Chinese characters had to be used to transcribe the poems collected in the translations included in the volume. The ideographs were used both phonetically and for their meanings, similar to how they were employed in writing the Kojiki and the poems referenced in that history, as well as in the nearly contemporary but distinct Nihongi.

The ideographs used phonetically were not, however, always used in the same way. The forty-seven sounds of the syllabary—

—were already recognized, and were represented by a sort of alphabet made up of several hundred Chinese ideographs, each pronounced exactly or roughly sinice—that is, japonico-sinice, or based on on or the Chinese sound. Thus, 'a' was represented by two ideographs, 阿 (a in Chinese) and 安 (an in Chinese), while shi was represented by twenty-five characters, like 志 (chih in Chinese), 思 (ssu in Chinese), etc. The other sounds were represented by different numbers of characters. According to this system, ame (heaven or rain) could be written as 安米, tsuchi (soil) as 都知, and so on. A complete list of these Chinese phonetic ideographs is provided in the Sôron (Introductory) volume of the Kogi.

A second way to use the ideographs was to apply them based on their kun (reading, that is, in pure[xxx] Japanese), so utate (extremely) was represented by 得田手, chihahi (for sachihafi, bless) by 千羽日. Sometimes two characters represented one sound, so 嗚呼 for a, 五十 (isozhi) for i, 牛鳴, ushi no naku, ‘moo’ of cow, for mu. Some sounds (ku, ri, ru, ro, wa) are not symbolized this way, meaning japonicé. A curious double character is 石花 for se, another is 羊{蹄} (hitsuzhi no ashi) for shi. A third and very confusing script is shown in 還金 kaherikomu (return), where kaheri is kun and komu (kon) is on, and 知三 shirasamu (shall know), where shira is kun modified grammatically, and samu (san = three) is on representing the inflexion.

Still more confusingly, an ideograph can be used with an on (Chinese) sound that looks like a kun (native) word, and the kun word might be used, not in its straightforward meaning, but somewhat playfully, although more often no wordplay is intended. For example, 兼 with the on reading ken, may be used for the verbal ending kemu, as in 茢兼 (karikemu, will have reaped), where 茢 is used lexicographically as kemu, as explained earlier. So 不有君 does not mean kimi arazu (lord is not) but ari nakuni, meaning there is not. Similar examples are kaherikomu and shirasamu mentioned above. So 難 nan (difficult) for nani, what?; {點} ten for -temu; 徳 toku for toko, and so on.

Or the Japanese reading of a character may be used, but with a meaning different from its actual definition, thus 庭 niha, a court or yard, for the particles ni ha, 玉 tama, jewel or pearl, for tamashii, soul, or even 湯龜 yu-game = water-tortoise for yukame = will go, or the combination 石二 = stone-two, which confused Shitagau so much, and finally turned out to mean made = until, to which may be added the most common of all 鴨 = kamo, a wild duck, used for ka mo, an expression of mixed request and uncertainty.

The devices mentioned above were likely used partly to replace a syllabary and partly for the purpose of[xxxi] abbreviation, as writing out long Japanese words with a Chinese character for each syllable was considered too tedious.

But characters are often used in a punny or humorous way. Thus 二二 = 2 × 2 are used to represent the syllable shi (which means 4 in Japano-Chinese), but here it’s used phonetically to represent the emphatic particle shi or just the syllable shi. So 山上復有山 = mountain 山 upon mountain to represent 出 idzuru, go forth, out, etc., 三伏一向衣 = three-prostrations-one-regard-night, meaning a moonlit night (when one salutes the moon), 八十一 (81) as equivalent to ku ku, nine times nine, part of the word kukumeru (= fukumeru, hold in mouth, imply), and so on. Characters used in ways other than to express their true meaning are called kariji, borrow-characters, meaning characters borrowed to signify some other meaning than their own. Characters used in the traditional manner are called manaji—true characters.

There are also guji, 具字 double characters used, where one would be enough, thus 何物 for 何 nani. This is likely just an embellishment.

Contracted script is pretty common; so we see 山下 for 山下出風 = arashi, a strong wind (rushing down from the mountains).

Lastly, there are abbreviated characters—a complete list of which is provided in the Kogi, along with a few characters specific to the Anthology and shortened phrases like amori for ame ori, Yamato naru for Y. ni aru, haru sareba for haru shi areba, chifu for to ifu (modern tefu = chō of Kyôto), and so on.

The system of scripts mentioned above is called Manyôgaki and is sometimes replicated in modern productions, as seen in a recently published play I have in front of me.

Texts preserved in such scripts were bound to be corrupted or unclear in certain parts. This was not only due to the challenge of reading the ideographs when they were translated into kana, but also because the manuscripts were often in cursive[xxxii] characters, which were easily misread and miswritten by the copyists. The text of the Manyôshiu I have used is entirely from the Kogi, but I have made sure to include notes in the translations that address the various readings mentioned in that work. The best discussion of these seems to be that of Keichiu, which, along with the Kogi, I believe is far superior to the commentary of either Mabuchi or Motowori[6]—the latter in particular seems to lack critical insight.

The following additional remarks on the script are important. According to Amano Nobukage (died 1734), in the Manyô script, the Chinese characters are read japonicé in four ways:—

1. mana, as 心 kokoro (heart, mind, etc.), where single characters are read as actual Japanese words.

2. When combined characters are read accurately, like 春霞 harukasumi (spring mist); 秋風 aki-kaze (autumn wind).

3. Where the combined characters are read completely, but the overall meaning isn't just the sum of the individual meanings, like 垣津{旗} kakitsubata (Iris laevigata)—the characters by themselves mean—kaki (fence), tsu (place), hata (flag).

4. Where combined characters are read together as a whole, as 春鳥 uguhisu (Cettia cantans), meaning spring-bird; 三五夜 mochidzuki (full-moon), meaning three-five-night = fifteenth night of a lunar month, when the moon is full.

To these categories, we should also include humorous combinations, such as 十六 (sixteen) = shi shi (4 × 4), which is used for shishi (flesh); 靑頭鷄 kamo (wild-duck), literally green-head-fowl.

In the Kogi text, the characters are used in the following ways, all of which are fully illustrated with examples in a section of the sōron or General Introduction to the Edition.

[xxxiii]

A. According to the on or Chinese pronunciation (Japano-Chinese).

B. According to the kun (yomi) or Japanese reading.

In addition, the Kogi provides the following categories:—

gikun, combinations not literally translated into Japanese—玄{黄} ametsuchi (heaven and earth), literally dark-blue (for the sky) and yellow-brown (for the earth), 親親 chichi-haha (parents, father and mother), literally love-love. Many of these are given; many wouldn’t hardly suggest the meaning of the combination; sometimes, as when 蓋 futa (lid) is used to express 二 futa (two), a wordplay is involved.

kariji or borrowed characters that have already been shown. But one interesting term can be added,[xxxiv] {喚}犬{追}馬鏡 masokagami (true-pure-mirror), the characters represent call (or bark?)-dog-follow-horse (ma) mirror; call-dog-follow is a funny (?) description of ma, meaning horse, but here used for the homophone ma, true, εὐ, part of ma so, which has the same meaning.

Subjoined is the script of the text of Lay 118 which well exemplifies the unique features of Manyôgaki. The columnar transliteration shows the same transliteration into syllabic kana as found in the usual editions, including the Kogi.

[xxxv]

[xxxvi]

[xxxvii]
[xxxviii]

[1]

Kusagusa no uta. Hatsuse no Asakura no miya ni amenoshita shiroshimeshishi Sumeramikoto no mi-yo.

1 mo yo, an expression that combines admiration and a plea.

6 na, herbs. ko, girl, ko in 1, 2 = basket or bag.

7 norase, honorific-causative command.

8 norasane, encouraging form of honour-causative with the particle ne; it suggests a certain level of respect.

9 A makura kotoba (m. k.) used for yama (Yamato).

12 are = ware; koso wore, emphatic statement of woru, meaning to be, exist, or be present, etc.

13 Almost equivalent to 11 oshinabete = oshi nabikasete, making everyone recognize my power and protection.

16 se = brother, husband, partner.

17 na here and in 8 = name.

vv. 1-6 lead up to ko the first climax; 7-14 to the second climax; 15-17 to the final climax. 1-6 provide a clear example of the reversed word order in the Japanese sentence.

For soramitsu, see List m. k.

[2]

Takechi no Woka no miya ni amenoshita shiroshimeshishi Sumera mikoto no mi yo.

Sumera mikoto no Kagu mountain ni noborimashite kunimi shitamaheru toki mi yomimaseru ohomi uta.

6 The logical subject is, I the Mikado.

11 so is, perhaps, more often written zo.

For Akitsushima, see List m.k.

Sumeramikoto no Uchi no nu mi kari shitamaheru toki Nakachi Himemiko no Hashihito no Muraji Oyu wo shite tatematsurase tamafu uta.

6 i, a prefix whose value is unclear.

9 nari here means sound, twang.

12 tatasurashi = tatsuramu.

2 Uchi may = utsutsu, or possibly ude, arm.

For yasumishishi, mi torashi no, adzusa no yumi, and tamakiharu see List of m. k. Remember that the m. k. are just epithets, or expressions that act like epithets. So, 7, 8 and 15, 16 are just double m. k. of nari; in fact, nari hazu no is almost another m. k. of oto.

4 fumasuramu = fumamu.

Sanuki no kuni Aya no kohori ni idemaseru toki Ikusa no Ohokimi no yama wo mite yomitamaheru uta.

In the dai, the no following Ohokimi is pronounced as yomi … uta. In 3 and 22, ni is more of a verbal form (nu) than a postposition.

8 uranage = uchi ni nageki, deeply and inwardly mourning.

10 kake (kakuru) a verb with a broad meaning, basically, to hang on or over, to suspend, to put to, forth or on, [kotoba wo] kake, to utter, as seen here.

18 kaherahinureba = kaherinureba.

19 masurawo is said to be ma-ara shi-wo, right-bold-man, or more accurately (and grammatically), masa (or masu)-ara-wo, which has the same meaning.

22 shi is an emphasis particle.

23 omohi-yaru, to send away thoughts, to let go of (unpleasant) thoughts; omohi, used commonly throughout the Lays, means to think, to think fondly or sadly about, etc.

3 nuru yo ochizu, without missing a single night of sleep.

5 kakete = kokoro ni kakete, meaning to keep in mind. shinubu is about love, longing, or regret. omohi is a broader term, while shinubu is more specific. shitahi refers to affection, kofuru, kohi, etc., represent love between men and women. However, these meanings aren’t always strictly followed.

Nakachi no Ohoye no [Afumi no miya ni shiroshimeshishi Sumera mikoto] Mitsu yama no mi uta.

In the dai … meshishi is the past participle form of mesu. It’s important to differentiate between this shi and a terminal shi like narurashi (6), koshi (4).

1 Read Kaguyama ha Unebi wo yeshi to (te) Miminashi to ahi arisohi.

4 Observe the past form in ki.

6 narurashi = naramu, almost.

7 inishi-he = period when people passed away, meaning ancient.

10 A three-syllable line.

11 supply mono nari.

1 A mistake in the script, it should be Kaguyama.

4 mi, got it.

[5]

Afumi no Ohotsu no miya ni amenoshita shiroshimeshishi Sumera mikoto no mi yo.

Sumera mikoto uchi no ohomahetsu kimi Fujihara no Asomi ni mikotonori shite haru yama no hana no iro aki yama no momichi no nihohi wo arasohashimetamafu toki Nukata no Ohokimi no uta mochite kotowaritamaheru sono uta.

4 ki-nakinu, done singing, the past in nu.

6, 7 Read as if hana mo sake yama mo shigedo.

10 toramu to mo mizu.

12 ko = ki, tree.

13 momitsu, momi, is crimson.

16 nageku, naga-iki, sigh, with pleasure or pain.

17 fun, enjoyable.

18 are, ware.

For fuyukomori see List m.k.

Nukata no Ohokimi no Afumi no kuni ni kudaritamaheru toki yomitamaheru uta.

6 kakuru, to be concealed.

10 yukamu [mono] wo [omohite].

15 kakusubeshi.

For umasake and awoniyoshi see List m. k.

[6]

Asuka no Kiyomihara no miya ni amenoshita shiroshimeshishi Sumera mikoto no mi-yo.

Sumera mikoto no mi-yomimaseru ohomi uta.

1 mi = ma, true, excellent, almost Greek εὐ-.

13 Read michi wo with kuru.

Fujihara no miya ni amenoshita shiroshimeshishi Sumera mikoto no mi-yo.

Afumi no aretaru miyako wo yuku Kakinomoto no Asomi Hitomaro ga yomeru uta.

See volume of translations.

The m. k. apply to the words that follow them, but (1) to Une[bi], (19) to aha of Afumi.

For tamatasuki, tsuganokino, soramitsu, awoniyoshi, amazakaru, ihabashiru, sasanami, kasumitatsu, momoshiki see List m.k.

2 Note the jingle Karasaki | sakiku.

Yoshinu no miya ni idemaseru toki Hitomaro ga yomeru uta (futatsu) kaheshi uta (hitotsu).

3 kikoshiwosu; wosu means to eat; kikoshi is an honorific, causative form of kiku, meaning to hear, feel, taste, judge, etc.; the whole phrase equals kikoshimesu, which means to be supreme over or govern. The concept likely reflects the idea of the chief having total control over all the tribe's wealth, originally intended for his own sustenance and that of his gesyth.

5 shi mo, a pair of strong particles. Shi probably originally meant this or that, or this or that self (or it could be the root of suru, to do or act); mo means merely, also, or too. Shi mo is almost the same as naho.

6 saha, abundant. The homonym saha also means a marshy valley-bottom, in Japano-Chinese taku. Hence, by a rebus-like use of the Chinese character taku combined with san mountain (yama), it became takusan, a common word for a lot, many.

11 For hana-chiru.

19 kihohi = kisohi (gihohi).

26 taki or tagi = waterfall, fast-moving water, describing the area of the miyako.

27 ka mo, an elliptical expression, omofu being understood, almost = mo gana.

For yasumishishi, mikokorowo, momoshikino see List m. k.

3 you = we.

4 kamu sabi sesu, sabi is seen in the Kogi as a contraction of shika-buri. It's more likely that sabi is related to sabu (shiki) and samushi.

8 takashiri …, to enforce strong governance.

13 yamatsumi, compare watatsumi (yama-wata-tsu [ka] mi), mountain gods. I prefer this to Dr. Florenz’s origin explanation (F. I. 39).

16 kazashi = kami-sashi, to put in, or wear in, the hair.

24 to establish a cormorant stream, meaning to supply cormorants and their handlers.

5 desesu = idasu, i.e. limit the cargo.

The m. k. (11) applies more to yama.

For yasumishishi and tatanadzuku, see List m. k.

Karu no miko no Aki no nu ni yadorimaseru toki Hitomaro ga yomeru uta.

1, 2, 3 are an introduction to hi no miko.

12 Supply yukuni after wo.

14 shimoto, brush, shrubs.

14, 22 oshinabe = oshinabikasu, push-bend-down. shinu = shinaheru, gives it a stronger meaning; shinu, shinubu, shinaheru, shinahi, shinadaru are all etymologically and logically related.

19 mi = beautiful.

21 A tall, bushy grass, likely an Arundo or Miscanthus.

22 shita ni oshi-fuse-nabikasu sama, shinu connected with shinahe, shinubu.

25 omohoshite.

The m. k. (9) applies to Hatsuse no yama.

For yasumishishi, takahikaru, komorikuno, makitatsu, sakatorino, kagirohino, kusamakura see List m. k.

Fujihara no miya tsukuri ni tateru tami no yomeru uta.

8 meshi, mishi (see).

8, 10 Supply omote after to.

10 Equivalent to shiroshimesu = here, to give a high command for.

12 omohosu nabe; nabe has the force of tsurete (together with).

12, 13, 14 should be read together.

14 are = areba.

25 so = sore (tsumade).

26 Or sawagu.

31 aga = tami.

34 The meaning becomes clear by moving to verse 40 and treating the verses in between as a side note.

47 narashi, I take = naramu, nearly.

The m. k. (5) applies to Fuji[hara], (17) to Ta[nakami], (43) to i[kada]; i = 50.

For yasumishishi, takahikaru, arataheno, ihabashiru, koromodeno, makisaku, mononofuno, tamamonasu, momotarazu see List m. k.

Fujihara no miya no mi-wi no uta.

4 hi no miko is Queen-Regnant Jito, the focus of all the actions leading up to tamaheba (v. 12).

15 hi no tate must mean the East, and hi no yoko (21), literally the noon-sun direction, must refer to the West.

27 sotomo, obstruct, shady, or north side.

33 kagetomo, light or south face. The exact distribution of the meaning of these terms, however, is still not completely clear; hinotate, hi no yoke, sotomo, kagetomo.

37, 39 I interpret the ya as an interjection.

39 ame-shiru, divine rule.

40 I see the no as linking 37-40 with midzu in 41. The text is challenging, and the Kogi seems to avoid the main issues.

3 are-tsugu = arahare-tsugu, be present, meaning to follow one after another.

For yasumishishi, takahikaru, arataheno, ameshiruya see List m. k.

[Nara no miya ni amenoshita shiroshimeshishi Sumera mikoto no mi-yo.]

[Aru hon] Fujihara no miyako yori Nara no miya ni utsurimaseru toki no uta.

32 kimi is the friend who moved to the new capital.

5 omofu.

For komorikuno, tamahokono, awoniyoshi see List m.k.

Shitashimi uta. Asuka no Kiyomihara no miya ni amenoshita shiroshimeshishi Sumera mikoto no mi-yo.

Hitomaro is separated from Ihami no kuni and sings two songs as he turns away.

1 my, ocean, sea.

2 mi, neighborhood, area.

5 kata, land dry at low tide.

21 with the motion of the waves.

28 yaso, meaning 80 = many, all.

35 Read with nayete.

39 nabike, has critical meaning.

3 ko is tree.

5 mitsuramu = will have seen?

2 mi-yama = great hills. saya ni, softly.

5 Read before 4. The m. k. (35) applies to nayete.

For isanatori, tamamonasu, tsuyushimono, natsukusano see List m. k.

1 overgrown with ivy.

3 to utter words unclearly. There is a wordplay here, Kara being the name of a region in Korea. During this time in Japanese history, there were many Korean immigrants. See Aston’s Nihongi.

5 ikuri = black mud at the bottom of the sea or pool. (K. 285, LXXIV, N. 269, where it is translated ‘rocks’.)

6 fukamiru = deep-sea miru (a type of seaweed).

A word fancy on fukamiru and fukamete.

15 Saying goodbye is like pulling ivy off a rock.

16, 17 A mix of heart and liver to show thoughts and emotions.

27 The m. k. tsumagomoru (wife-secluding) can't be translated when it comes to the similar-sounding ya (house) of Yakami.

31 Must be read in parentheses.

The m. k. (1) is applied to Iha[mi], of (33) to hi.

For tsunusahafu, kotosaheku, tamamonasu, fukamiruno, kimomukafu, ohobuneno, amatsutafu, shikitaheno see List m. k.

[16]

Afumi no Ohotsu no miya ni amenoshita shiroshimeshishi Sumera mikoto no mi-yo.

Sumera mikoto kamiagarimasu, at that time, the people can read one song.

No m. k. available.

1 shi is the typical emphatic or slightly illative form-word. Utsusemi, utsusomi = utsutsu or wotsutsu mi.

2 taheneba, taheru, able to, capable of, &c.

4 For asa, mawi can be read.

13 Notice the power of tsuru, suggesting that the vision is still partly there, not forgotten.

12 kiso = kisu = yesterday.

For utsusemi see List m.k.

Sumera mikoto no oho-araki no toki no uta yotsu [sono uchi] Ohokisaki no mi-uta hitotsu.

12 wife = husband.

1-5 are introductory, 6-10 are motivational, 11-13 provide the reason, with 13 being the peak.

For isanatori and wakakusano, see List m. k.

[17]

Yamashina no mi-sasagi yori agareru toki Nukata no Ohokimi yomitamaheru uta hitotsu.

2 wago = waga.

3 ya = yo.

4 Read this line in connection with 13, 14, 15.

For yasumishishi and momoshiki see List m. k.

Asuka no Kiyomihara no miya ni amenoshita shiroshimeshishi Sumera mikoto no mi-yo.

Sumera Mikoto no kamiagari masu toki Ohokisaki no yomimaseru mi-uta hitotsu.

There are breaks after each of the forms in rashi and mashi.

4 meshi = mishi, hon. caus.

1-12 serve as an introduction to 13 and beyond.

For yasumishishi and arataheno, see List m. k.

[18]

Fujihara no miya ni amenoshita shiroshimeshishi Sumera mikoto no mi-yo.

Hinami no miko no mikoto no araki no miya no toki Hitomaro ga yomeru uta hitotsu.

5 yaho, 800, i.e. countless.

9 agachi = wakachi (tsu).

18 kihami, meaning kagiri, extent.

46 yomo, the four quarters, in or from every quarter.

53 tsuremonaki, alone, unsupervised.

57 mi araka appears to refer to a new royal palace here.

60 mi koto, royal words or commands. tohasazu; tohasu = tofu, converse, speak with.

62 maneku = a lot.

Line 23 refers to Ninigi no mikoto, line 30 to Temmu tennô, 37 ohokimi is Hinami no miko (see XIX, notes).

For hisakata, amakumono, takahikaru, ohobuneno, amatsumidzu see List m. k.

[Kahashima no miko no araki no miya no toki] Hitomaro ga Hatsusebe no hime miko to [Osakabe no miko] tatematsureru uta hitotsu.

6 furafu = furu.

9 = nabiku.

10 wife, borrowing for husband.

11 nikihada = nikoyaka, skin becomes youthful.

16 aruramu = areru, to waste, ruin.

19 kedashiku = if.

For tobutorino, tamamonasu, tatanadzuku, tsurugitachi, nubatamano, tamatareno, kusamakura see List m.k.

Takechi no miko no mikoto no Kinohe no araki no miya no toki Hitomaro ga yomeru uta hitotsu.

1 kakemaku = kakemu (koto), about to speak.

5 ihamaku = ihemu (koto), about to speak.

8 amatsu mikado, heavenly palace, tomb or burial chapel or mound of Temmu at Ohouchi (N. II. 387).

14 ohokimi = Temmu.

16 sotomo, the outer or back face, meaning north (Mino).

19 komatsurugi is m.k. of Wa(zami).

22 amori, ama ori, come down from heaven.

27 The m. k. applies to A(dzuma).

35 The miko is Takechi.

36 maki = makase, to charge with.

37 ohomi mi, amazing self.

42 Pause at the end of this line.

59 under the force of the wind.

60 Another break.

62 yumi no hadzu.

66 ka = wind.

69 Another break.

73 Pause.

84 Read this line after 86.