Hyakunin Isshu #60

    The road that goes past
Ôe Mountain and Ikuno
    is far, so I have
neither word from, nor stepped on,
Ama-no-Hashidate.

—23/27 April 2010

Original by Koshikibu no Naishi, daughter of Izumi Skikibu (#56) and like her another lady-in-waiting for Empress Shôshi: Koshikibu means "child of Skikibu," and Naishi is a title for ladies-in-waiting. Shortly before a poetry competition that young Koshikibu entered, Sadayori (#64) taunted her with needing to write for help from her famous mother, who was in Tango Province (now northern Kyoto Prefecture) with her husband, the governor; this is Koshikibu's supposedly extemporaneous response. Ôe, Ikuno, and Ama-no-Hashidate ("Bridge to Heaven") are all landmarks in Tango, listed in geographic order along the road, plus there's two pivot words: fumi = letter / step on and ikuno = place / iku = to go. Impressive improvisation. Me, I barely manage a zeugmistic pivot on an auxiliary verb.


ôeyama
ikuno no michi no
tôkereba
mada fumi mo mizu
ama-no-hashidate

---L.