How Many Moon Poems in Hyakunin Issyu?
There are 12 out of 100!
Moon is a mystery to me. Most of the time when the moon is shining in the sky, I’m asleep. With the convenience of electricity, I no longer have to depend on the moonlight to study or read at night.
So whenever I read poems written by ancient people, I’m awed by their close attention to the moon. Before the sky was invaded by artificial brightness, the moon must have been much more intimate in people’s lives.
Hyakunin Isshu (百人一首）is a classical Japanese anthology of one hundred waka poems by one hundred poets compiled by Fujiwara no Teika (藤原定家 1162–1241). The selection ranges from as old as the one written by Emperor Tenji (626–672) to Teika’s contemporary.
I’m not a competitive player of Hyakunin Isshu card game, but I can still recite some of the poems.
Here is a list of 12 poems in Hyakunin Isshu that read about the moon. The English translation is according to William N. Porter which is published in 1909.
Since I only memorized them in Japanese, it’s a great opportunity to refamiliarize these poems in English translation. Here you go!
7/100 阿倍仲麻呂 — Abe no Nakamaro
天の原ふりさけ見れば春日なる 三笠の山に出でし月かも
WHILE gazing up into the sky,
My thoughts have wandered far;
Methinks I See the rising…
