Heartfelt Waka of Saigyō

Saigyō
(public domain image)

Preface

As we were thinking about kototama, we came across the chapters on Saigyō in the book, Words to Live By, by Nakano Kōji, 2018, translated by Julia Winters Carpenter. For a fuller discussion of Saigyō the monk and his works, we refer you to this book.

Saigyō , 1118-1190

The monk Saigyō  lived during the turbulent times of the Genpei War between the Genji and the Heike, and the Kamakura shogunate was established. He is beloved for the honest feelings expressed in his waka, waka that reflect the kototama of Wosite and Yamato Kotoba.

Saigyō  was born Satō Norikiyo (佐藤 義清) in a samurai family; the Satō clan originated from the Northern Fujiwara, whose founder was Fujiwara no Fusasaki. The very first Fujiwara was Fujiwara no Kamatari, 614-669, of the Nakatomi clan, who received the Fujiwara name from Emperor Tenji. The Nakatomi were descended from the Mononobe of the Wosite period, who were in turn descended from Kasuga no Kami, of the Amanokoyane lineage. Saigyō was actually related to Fujiwara no Hidehira who ruled Mutsu Province and who sheltered Minamoto no Yoshitsune from his warlord brother Yoritomo during the Genpei War.

Cherry blossoms and heart

Saigyō was entranced by sakura, cherry blossoms, which are referred to as hana in waka. Here is one of his cherry blossom waka.

Yoshinoyama

kozue no hana o

mishi hi yori

kokoro wa mi ni mo

sowazu nariniki

Since the day I saw

cherry blossoms in treetops 

on Mt. Yoshino,

my heart is no longer 

here inside me.

Saigyō wrote a lot about his heart.

ukareizuru

kokoro wa mi ni mo

kanawaneba

ika nari totemo

ika ni ka wa semu

My heart, I find,

wanders off in ecstasy

quite out of myself;

I neither know where this may lead

nor what to do about it.

Let us explain the word mi which has been translated as “I” or “me”. According to Mr. Nakano, mi refers “to the whole person without the division into body and heart/mind that is typical in the west.” Saigyō often wrote about mi and kokoro, heart/mind or simply heart. 

iza kokoro

hana o tazunu to

iinashite

Yoshino no oku e

fukaku irinamu

Come away, my heart!

I’m going to search for blossoms,

I will say,

then be off to Yoshino

to enter mountain depths.

Don’t you just love the first line, iza kokoro, Come away, my heart!

Michinoku

If you are a lover of Bashō’s haiku, you know about his journey to Michinoku, following the footsteps of Saigyō. Saigyō wrote this at the Shirakawa border gatehouse.

Shirakawa no

sekiya o tsuki no

moru kage wa

hito no kokoro o 

tomuru narikeri

At Shirakawa

filtering into

the old gatehouse

moonlight beams arrest

the human heart.

Saigyō in his old age made another arduous journey to Michinoku. On the way, he saw the smoke of Mt. Fuji.

kaze ni nabiku

Fuji no kemuri no

sora ni kiete

yukue mo shiranu

waga moi kana

Trailing on the wind,

smoke from Mt. Fuji

fades into the sky,

drifting toward an unknown end

just like my own thoughts.

When the blossoms fall…

Saigyō wrote several waka about dying when the blossoms fall.

morotomo ni

ware o mo gushite

chirine hana

ukiyo o itou

kokoro aru mi zo

Blossoms,

when you scatter,

take me with you too!

My heart is oh so weary

of this cruel world.

Saigyō died on the sixteenth day of the second month, as the cherry blossoms fell.

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