椎Japanese Chinquapin (Shii)
家にあれば笥に盛る飯を草枕旅にしあれば椎の葉に盛る
家にいる時には器に盛るご飯を、旅にあるので椎の葉に盛る、というだけの意味ですが、詠まれた背景とともに有名な和歌です。
作者の有間皇子は、政争に巻き込まれた悲運の皇子です。蘇我赤兄から天皇と皇太子の失政を聞いて天皇打倒の意を漏らし、捕えられて紀温泉に護送され、尋問を受けて殺されました。この事件には不審な点があり、有間皇子は陥れられたとも伝えられます。
この和歌は、有間皇子が尋問を受けるために旅をしている時の和歌とされています。
この歌は『万葉集』の中にありますが、この歌の隣には、
岩代の浜松が枝を引き結びま幸くあらばまたかへり見む
岩代の浜松の枝を引き結んで、幸いに無事であったならまた返って見よう
という和歌があり、死を意識しての旅路での歌と考えられます。当時有間皇子は19歳、『万葉集』の中でも悲劇的な人物です。
“At home, rice is served in a bowl.
Now that I am traveling,
it is served instead
on the leaves of the shii tree.”
At first glance, this poem simply describes eating rice on the leaves of a Japanese chinquapin tree instead of from a bowl while traveling. However, it is one of the best-known poems in the Manyoshu because of the tragic circumstances in which it was composed.
The author, Prince Arima, was a young prince whose life ended in political tragedy. After Soga no Akae told him that the emperor and crown prince were governing poorly, Prince Arima expressed sympathy for overthrowing the government. He was arrested, escorted to Ki Onsen for interrogation, and eventually executed. Historians have long pointed out suspicious aspects of the case, and some believe he was framed.
This poem is believed to have been composed while Prince Arima was being taken to his interrogation.
The poem appears in the Manyoshu. Immediately beside it is another of his poems:
“I tie together the branches
of the pine trees at Iwashiro Beach.
If fortune is with me,
I shall return one day
and see them again.”
This poem suggests that Prince Arima was already aware that he might never return alive. He was only nineteen years old at the time, making him one of the most tragic figures remembered in the Manyoshu.
浜木綿（ハマユウ）Hamayu (Beach Spider Lily)
み熊野の浦の浜木綿百重なす心は思へど直に逢はぬかも
柿本人麻呂
熊野の浦の浜木綿が重なっているように、百度も心に思うけれど、直接逢うことができない。
恋心を、浜木綿のたくさんの葉に例えています。
“Like the many layered leaves
of the hamayu growing
along the shores of Kumano,
my thoughts of you are countless,
yet I cannot see you in person.”
— Kakinomoto no Hitomaro
In this poem, Kakinomoto no Hitomaro compares his deep longing to the many overlapping leaves of the hamayu (beach spider lily). Just as the plant’s leaves grow in layer upon layer, his thoughts of the one he loves are endless. Yet despite these constant feelings, he is unable to meet that person face to face.
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