KKS 29

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Text

[題しらず]

[Topic unknown]

[よみ人しらず]

[Poet unknown]

をちこちのたづきも知らぬ山中におぼつかなくも呼子鳥よぶことりかな

ochikochi no tazuki mo shira-nu yamanaka ni obotsukanaku mo yobukodori kana

Here or there With no way of knowing In the mountains Quite unclear, calling, The yoboku bird!

Notes

yobuko bird

There is a kakekotoba (pivot word) on obotsukanaku mo yobu (calling unclearly) and yobukodori (yobuko bird). There has never been certainty on what exactly this bird is. Katagiri analyzes the usage from the Man'yōshū and concludes that it is associated with spring, and thus once referred to a specific bird (rather than just any bird that is calling). But he believes that even by the Man'yōshū era the exact reference may have been lost, and it was simply used (as it is here) to play on yobu ("call") or yobu ko ("call a child"). On the other hand, Takeoka sides with the majority on identifying it with a cuckoo, despite the seasonal mismatch. Other older theories (particularly those associated with kokin denjū "three birds" theories) included warbler, other kinds of cuckoos, and even a monkey. There were also associated legends involving mothers calling for their children.

Other sources:

• Kokin waka rokujō | Sanjū rokunin sen

Analysis

The "birds" theme continues from the previous poem, although there are no actual spring images except for the "yobuko" bird. The vague translation above is meant to express the great uncertainty in what this poem means: almost every part of the poem is disputed in one way or another. Where is the poet? Where is the bird? What does obotsukanaku (unclear) mean exactly, and what does it apply to? Who is the bird crying for?

To sum up, the basic disagreements are:

1. Whether the poet lives in the mountains or is traveling
2. Whether the poet is pretending the bird is calling for him, or for a mate/child
3. Whether obotsukanaku refers to the location of the bird or the reason the bird is crying.

Here are some overall readings in rough chronological order:

• Early Nijō-school poets such as Tameie accepted a tradition that ascribed this poem to Sarumaru (see below) and said that he composed this poem on his way to Tanba when he heard the yobukodori singing at Nakayama.
• The poet has gone into seclusion in the mountains and cannot get any tidings, and hearing the yobukodori cry makes the poet uneasy (obotsukanaku). (Sōgi)
• The bird crying for its child is obotsukanaku。(Engoki)
• The bird could be crying for me, or someone else, but if I try to seek it I won't be able to find it (Keichū)
• Because the trees are so deep I cannot find the bird that’s crying. (Seigi)
• The person does not know where to go -- should he use the bird as a guide? (Takanao (Shinshaku), Miura(1943))
• Why is the bird crying for me when I'm in these unknown mountains? (Kaneko(1927))
• The bird is calling for its mate; how sad. (Kubota(1937))
• I don't know where the bird is crying from. (Takeoka)
• The bird is flying overhead. (Katagiri)

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