WRITTEN BY THE MAN WHO HAD
ALREADY BECOME A FAMOUS POET, THE COMPILER OF
THE FIRST IMPERIAL ANTHOLOGY OF NATIVE POETRY
(SEE THE LECTURE NOTES FOR THE KOKINSHU OF 905 A.D.),
AND NOW GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE OF TOSA ON THE ISLAND OF
SHIKOKU,
THE WORK IS AN EXPERIMENT IN CASTING A NEW WRITING STYLE, THAT
IS,
OF THE FICTIONAL DIARY.
IN TSURAYUKI'S DAY, ONLY MEN WROTE DIARIES,
AND THEY WROTE THEM IN THE CHINESE LANGUAGE AND GENERALLY ABOUT
THEIR
AFFAIRS OF STATE OR THE IMPERIAL COURT, NOT ABOUT THEIR PERSONAL
LIVES.
TSURAYUKI, IN THE GUISE OF A WOMAN, HIS WIFE, WRITES ABOUT THEIR
RETURN
TO THE CAPITAL AT HEIAN-KYO (MODERN KYOTO) FROM HIS POSTING AS
GOVERNOR
TO THE PROVINCE OF TOSA. TOSA, EVEN AT THE TIME OF THE TOSA
DIARY,
WAS A PLACE KNOWN FOR MARVELOUS FISH AND SEAFOOD AND NOT MUCH
ELSE.
THE AREA IS STILL LARGELY UNDEVELOPED. THEY SET OUT FROM TOSA IN
THE TWELFTH MONTH OF 934 A.D. AND RETURNED TO THEIR FORMER HOME
IN
THE CAPITAL 55 DAYS LATER, IN THE SECOND MONTH OF 935 A.D.
THOUGH THE JOURNEY WAS LARGELY ONE OF EXPECTATION OF A JOYOUS
RETURN
TO THEIR FORMER LIVES IN A BUSY CITY, AT THE SAME TIME, THEY HAD
LEFT
BEHIND IN TOSA PERHAPS THE MOST PRECIOUS TREASURE OF THEIR LIVES,
THEIR DAUGHTER. FOR REASONS UNSPECIFIED IN THE DIARY, THE YOUNG
GIRL
HAD DIED. THUS,THOUGH THE JOURNEY HOME WAS A HAPPY OCCASION FOR
MOST,
IT ALSO WAS INFUSED WITH AN ABIDING SENSE OF ABANDONMENT AND
LOSS.
WHAT BETTER WAY, TSURAYUKI MUST HAVE THOUGHT,TO REPRESENT THE
SENSE OF
EMOTIONAL LOSS THEY HAD BOTH EXPERIENCED,
THAN TO GIVE A FEMININE VOICE TO IT, MAKE IT SEEM MORE REAL
THROUGH
THE EYES OF A MOTHER. HOW RIGHT HE WAS!
AN EXPERIMENT IN GENDER DISGUISED FICTION WAS THUS BEGUN IN
WHICH,
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN JAPANESE HISTORY, A MAN ATTEMPTS TO WRITE
IN THE VOICE OF A WOMAN. THE TOSA DAIRY IS THE FIRST FICTIONAL
DIARY
OF MANY IN JAPANESE TRADITIONAL LITERATURE.
MAIN POINTS:
1. BECAUSE A MAN IS ATTEMPTING TO WRITE A DIARY IN THE GUISE OF A
WOMAN,
HIS WIFE IN THIS CASE, THE TEXT IS FICTIONALIZED AND RECREATED
THROUGH
THE MEDIUM OF GENDER DISGUISE. BECAUSE NOT EVERY EVENT ALONG THE
WAY OF
THE JOURNEY BACK TO KYOTO IS NOTED, THE TEXT IS ALSO
FICTIONALIZED,
THAT IS, HIGHLY SELECTED AND REFINED INTO A LITERARY TEXT AFTER
THE RETURN
TO KYOTO. THIS LITERARY TRANSVESTISM, AS A FICTION, IS THE ORIGIN
OF THE ART OF FICTION IN JAPAN.
2. THE LITERARY QUALITY OF THE DIARY IS ENHANCED BY THE ADDITION
OF A
LARGE NUMBER OF POEMS (WAKA和歌),QUITE NATURAL CONSIDERING THE
AUTHOR'S
BACKGROUND AND SENSITIVITY. ADDITIONALLY, TSURAYUKI MAKES AN
ATTEMPT TO
INCLUDE POEMS FROM ALL SORTS OF WRITERS, INCLUDING CHILDREN, SOME
OF WHOM
AND WHICH ARE NAIVE, SIMPLE, EVEN BORING.
3. THE PROSE SECTIONS ARE NOT JUST FACTUAL, BUT EXHIBIT AN EYE
TOWARD
CRITICISM. JUDGEMENTS ARE MADE OF THE SITUATIONS AT HAND.
FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE SIXTH DAY OF THE OFFICIAL LEAVE TAKING, THE
WIFE GROWS
APPARENTLY ANXIOUS TO LEAVE BECAUSE OF THE BADLY WROUGHT
CEREMONIAL VERSES
BEING MADE IN THEIR HONOUR. SHE REMARKS:
"There were more poems, by others, but apparently none of
them was
particularly well constructed." (Keene 84)
4. WE ARE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE THOUGHTS THE WIFE HAS ABOUT
THE LOSS
OF HER DAUGHTER, ABOUT HOW SHE FINDS WAYS TO REALIZE HER GRIEF,
TO SYMBOLIZE IT INTERNALLY,AND FINALLY, ON REACHING HER HOME IN
KYOTO,
TO INFUSE NATURAL OBJECTS IN HER GARDEN WITH THE MEMORIES,
THUS MAKING THE TRANSFER OF EMOTION TO OBJECT WHICH SHALL REMAIN
FOREVER.
THEME:
THE JOURNEY BACK TO A SOURCE OF JOY (GOING HOME), AND
THE JOURNEY WITHIN TO THE SOURCES OF SADNESS (DEATH AND LOSS)
I CALL THESE: 1. THE FUDO風土THEME OF EMPATHY WITH THE NATURAL
SURROUNDINGS,
PLACES ALONG THE JOURNEY IN THIS CASE, AND 2. THE NINJO人情THEME OF THE
SYMBOLOGY OF SENTIMENT.
LITERARINESS:
A POETIC IMPULSE, ALREADY HIGHLY DEVELOPED IN THE POETIC
TRADITIONS OF
THE MANYOSHU AND EARLIER WORKS, IMBEDS ITSELF IN A PROSE CONTEXT.
A NEW GENRE IS BORN. UNLIKE MOST OTHER ASIAN AND WESTERN LITERARY
TRADITIONS,POETRY REMAINS THE DOMINANT LITERARY GENRE AND FINDS
ITS
CONTINUING IMPORTANCE WITHIN A PROSE CONTEXT SUCH AS THIS DIARY,
AS WELL AS ON ITS OWN IN ANTHOLOGIES.
THE TALE OF GENJI (C. 1000 A.D.)TAKES THE IDEA OF THE PRIMACY OF
POETRY
IN THE CONTEXT OF PROSE TO ITS HIGHEST PEAK OF LITERARY QUALITY.
SAMPLE SECTIONS:
THEME I: FUDO OR TOPOI
ON THE NINTH DAY OF THE FIRST MONTH, THE BOAT TAKES LEAVE OF THE
SHORE AND MAKES FOR THE OPEN SEA. A POEM FOLLOWS WHICH CONTAINS
WORDS WITH DOUBLE MEANINGS,
(KAKEKOTOBA掛け言葉)WHICH RELATE THE SEA TO EMOTIONAL
SECURITY:
"No courier have we, and though with heavy hearts
We leave-perhaps they'll never know we grieved." (Keene 85) 思ひやる、心は海を、渡れども、ふみ
し なければ、知らず や あるらむ。 (Lit. Hearts put out to sea,
but not our affection for the shore.
For if there are no letters (fumi) or steps upon the land (fumi),
what is known? On what can we depend?）
IMMEDIATELY THE SHIP PASSES
THE PINE-COVERED BEACHES OF
A PLACE CALLED UTA.
PINE(MATSU) ALSO MEANS 'TO WAIT,' WHILE UTA MEANS 'POEM.'
THE RESULT?
A POEM FROM THE SHIP ON THE PINES OF UTA:
"As far as the eye can see, on each pine top there rests a
crane...."
(Keene 85) 見渡せば、松のうれごとに、住む鶴は、千代のどちとぞ、思ふべらなる。
（Lit. Look all around and
one cannot help thinking that
the cranes living on the top of each pine will be our friends
for a thousand ages.
The poem brings the eternality of the landscape as a protective
talisman to the poet aboard the ship. It is a wish for auspicious
passage, a formal poem,not one of emotional intensity. KLR）
THEME II: NINJO OR SENTIMENT
MOST OF THE FOLLOWING POEMS CONTAIN VARIATIONS ON THE WORD FOR
'PAIN'
(KANASHIMI, KANASHIKI, KANASHIKARIKERI, KANSHISA).
THE FIRST INDICATION OF THE PROBLEM THE DAUGHTER'S DEATH HAS
CAUSED
TO THE MOTHER OCCURS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE JOURNEY WHILE THE
LAST
PREPARATIONS ARE BEING MADE TO LEAVE. BOTH POEMS BELOW INDICATE
THAT
EVEN THINKING ABOUT THE CHILD IS PAINFUL, AND THAT THERE IS NO
ONE
TO WHOM THE MOTHER MAY TURN TO ASK OF HER WHEREABOUTS:
"Kyoto bound, our thoughts are heavy yet
With grief for one who never shall return." (Keene 84) 都へと、思ふをものの、悲しきは、帰らない人は、あればなりけり。
（Note: The pain(悲しきkanashiki) is internalized as a sadness
of which there can be no thinking.）
"Forgetful,
"Wherever is that child?" I cry
--And, oh, the sadness of the truth!" (Keene 84) あるものと、忘れつつなほ、亡き人を、いづらと問うぞ、悲しかりける。
（Note: Here, though the
fact that she who was once alive is now gone
is gradually fading from conscious memory, it is painful process
(悲しかりけるkanashikarikeru)
thinking that all one would have to do
to see her again would be to ask someone where she was.
The substantive of the first poem is replaced by the thought
in motion of the second poem. KLR）
AS THE NEW YEAR COMES SOON
AFTER, THE MOTHER BEGINS TO NOTE IN A POEM
THAT SHE IS BEGINNING TO COME TO GRIPS WITH THE PROBLEM OF HER
GRIEF.
SHE IS MISSING HER CHILD NOW,ACTIVELY THINKING ABOUT THE LOSS,
EVEN IF STILL NOT SURE OF HOW TO HANDLE IT:
世の中に、思ひやれども、子を恋ふる、思ひにまさる、思ひなきかな。
“As I think back on the
good points of my life,
No fond thought compares
To thinking about missing a child." (KLR)
IN THE SECOND MONTH, THE SHIP IS UNABLE TO MOVE BECAUSE OF
INCLEMENT WEATHER
AND THE MOTHER STOPS TO GATHER SOME SHELLS FROM THE BEACH.
THE FORGETTING SHELLS OF THE POEMS REFERS TO THE WORD 'WASUREGAI'
OF WHICH THE WORD'K(G)AI' MEANS BOTH SHELLS AND 'BENEFIT.'
THE TWO POEMS WHICH FOLLOW INDICATE THAT ONCE UNSETTLED THOUGHTS
(GRIEF)
ARE BEING TRANSMUTED TO OBJECTS. THE SHELLS ARE METONYMS FOR THE
MOTHER'S WISH TO FORGET:
"Wash your shells to my ship, o waves!
I'll gather forgetting shells for one I loved." (Keene 89) よする波、
うちもよせなむ、わが恋ふる、人忘れ（貝、甲斐）、降りて
拾わむ。
and
"I'll gather no forgetting-shells, but jewels,
Mementos of the jewel-like one I loved." (Keene 89) 忘れがひ、拾いしもせじ、白玉を、恋ふるをだにも、形見と思はむ。 (Note: It seems from the text
that follows that the first poem
belongs to the mother, the second to the father. The second is
mere hyperbole while the first continues the process of
metaphoric
transfer the mother has been undergoing.)
ELSEWHERE IN THE DIARY, JUST AFTER THE REST OF THE SURVIVING
CHILDREN
HAVE DISEMBARKED,THE MOTHER HAS THIS MOMENT OF REVELATION:
なかりしも、ありつつ帰る、人の子を、ありしもなくて、来るが悲しさ。 Nakari shimo, aritsutsu
kaheru, hito no ko wo, arishimo nakute,
kuru ga kanashisa.
Though I have none, Those who have children have returned.
The very fact of the return is pain incarnate for one
who is without. KLR. (see Miner 87)
(Note: The painful process has now been transmuted to a
substantive 'pain'(kanashisa) which is much easier for the mother
to deal with than thoughts.)
IN THE LAST MOMENTS OF THE DIARY, THE MOTHER SEES SEEDLING PINES
(KOMATSU)
GROWING AROUND THE RUINED POND IN THE GARDEN OF THEIR FORMER
HOME.
TO THE PINES SHE COMMITS HER GRIEF AND LOSS. 'KOMATSU' ALSO MEANS
'WAITING FOR A CHILD':
"When one, whose home is here, has not returned,
How sad to see these new young pines!" (Keene 91), also
(Miner 91). 生まれしも、帰らぬものを、我が宿に、小松を有るを、見るが悲しさ。
（Note: The process of
seeing becomes a substantive pain
which the mother can now devolve onto the young pines.）
"The one I knew-if only
she had been an ageless pine!
What need then of these grievous farewells?" (Keene 91) みし人の、松の千歳に、みましかば、遠く悲しき、別れせましや。 (Note: This is the last poem
at the end of the Diary. The mother,
having succeeded to place her daughter in the context of a
thousand year old pine, as an eternal metonym for her daughter,
has no need to consider or reconsider the pain she has felt.
The process of overcoming is complete.)
All quotations above quoted
in English translation from Keene, Donald
ed.
Earl Miner.
Japanese Poetic Diaries. (Berkeley:Univ. of California Press,
1976