Ise no Tayū 伊勢大輔 (also written as Ise no Taifu, also read as Ise no Ōsuke; ?−1062?) was a mid-Heian period (平安時代 Heian jidai; 794−1192) poetess of Ōnakatomi 大中臣 family. She belonged to a long line of poets, where her grandfather Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu 大中臣能宣 (921−991; Hyakunin Isshu 49) was one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber (梨壺の五人 Nashitsubo no gonin), who compiled the second imperial anthology Gosenshū 後撰集 (Later Collection; 953); her father Ōnakatomi no Sukechika 大中臣輔親 (954−1038), too, was a poet worthy of imperial anthologies, and her own daughters with Takashina no Narinobu1 高階成順 (?−1040) − ladies known as Mother of Prince Yasusuke (康資王母 Yasusuke Ō no haha), Mother of Minamoto no Kanetoshi (源兼俊母 Minamoto no Kanetoshi no haha), and Chikuzen Wet Nurse (筑前乳母 Chikuzen menoto) − were all poets with compositions in imperial collections.
The Ōnakatomi family, of which Ise no Tayū was a daughter of, specialised in Shintō 神道 rituals and men of the family long served in the Department of Shintō (神祗官 Jingikan) and as the Head Priest of Ise Shrine (伊勢神宮祭主 Ise Jingū saishu). In the early years of 11th century Ise no Tayū’s father Sukechika held the positions of the Head Priest of Ise as well as the Provisional Senior Assistant in the Department of Shintō (神祗権大副 Jingi gon tayū), and his daughter’s sobriquet most likely derives from these positions he held just before she entered the imperial court.
Ise no Tayū entered the imperial court in either the 4th (1007) or the 5th (1008) year of Kankō 寛弘 era (1004−1012), as a lady-in-waiting of Fujiwara no Michinaga’s 藤原道長 (966–1027) daughter Fujiwara no Shōshi [Akiko] 藤原彰子 (later known as Jōtōmon-in 上東門院, 988–1074). She served alongside other accomplished ladies, such as Murasaki Shikibu 紫式部 (973?–1014?; Hyakunin Isshu 57), Izumi Shikibu 和泉式部 (dates uncertain; Hyakunin Isshu 56), and Akazome Emon 赤染衛門 (dates uncertain; Hyakunin Isshu 59) just to name a few, and remained by her Empress’s side for many years. Sometime after entering the imperial palace, Ise no Tayū married Takashina no Narinobu and had her children, but she nevertheless maintained a presence in the imperial palace and participated in numerous poetry contests. Throughout the years was present at
・Jōtōmon-in Shōshi no kikuawase 上東門院彰子菊合 (Chrysanthemum Contest of Jōtōmon-in Shōshi) of 1032;
・Kokiden nyōgo Seishi utaawase 弘徽殿女御生子歌合 (Poetry Contest of Kokiden Junior Consort Seishi2) of 1041;
・Dairi utaawase 内裏歌合 (Poetry Contest at the Inner Palace) of 1049;
・Yūshi naishinnō utaawase 祐子内親王家歌合 (Poetry Contest of Imperial Princess Yūshi3) of 1050;
・Kōgōgū shunjū utaawase 皇后宮春秋歌合 (Empress’s4 Spring and Autumn Poetry Match) of 1056, where her daughter, Mother of Prince Yasusuke, who belonged to the sponsoring Empress’s retinue, was also one of the participants.
Ise no Tayū participated in these and many more events, and in her later years she was often joined by at least one her talented daughters, therefore becoming a sort of embodiment of a successful lady-in-waiting, whose daughters were also able to follow her path.
In her late years, Ise no Tayū seems to have also undertaken the duties of tutoring the young Imperial Prince Sadahito (貞仁親王 Sadahito shinnō), who would eventually become Emperor Shirakawa (白河天皇 Shirakawa tennō; 1053−1129, reigned 1073−1087), but after 1060 mentions of the poetess cease, so she is presumed to have passed away around then.
Ise no Tayū’s poems are collected in her personal collection, Ise no Tayū Shū 伊勢大輔集 (also read as Ise no Ōsuke Shū; Collected Poems of Ise no Tayū). Fifty one of her poems are also included in imperial collections and like her father Sukechika, she is also one of Fujiwara no Norikane’s 藤原範兼 (1107−1165) Late Classical Thirty−Six Poetic Immortals (中古三十六歌仙 Chūko sanjūrokkasen).
Eight-fold cherries
Ise no Tayū’s poem in the Hyakunin Isshu comes from the first book (Spring) of the sixth imperial anthology Shikashū 詞花集 (Collection of Verbal Flowers; 1151), where it is preceded by a headnote:
During the reign of the Retired Emperor Ichijō, a person from Nara presented eight-fold cherries. On that occasion, she [Ise no Tayū] was in attendance, so when ordered to accept the flowers and compose a poem, she responded:
From the ancient
capital of Nara
eight-fold cherries, −
today, inside the nine-fold palace
bloom in the most beautiful of colours!
Here a more detailed headnote from Ise no Tayū Shū can provide more background information. It states:
When the Retired Empress Consort [Jōtōmon-in Shōshi] was still called Empress Consort and was present in the Imperial Palace, a bishop from Nara arrived carrying eight-fold cherry blossoms. Murasaki Shikibu deferred, saying “The newcomer shall be the one accepting this year,” and the Buddhist Novice [Michinaga], who happened to hear, said this was not something merely accepted, therefore [I composed]...
The poem was composed when Ise no Tayū was still a newcomer in the imperial court, and the situation was akin to an entrance examination, which would determine her worth among Shōshi’s many ladies-in-waiting. But perhaps nobody else could have responded in a way as masterful as Ise no Tayū from the Ōnakatomi line of poets did.
At first glance, her composition is elegant yet simple (translated below line-by-line), but at the second look, the original composition is one of multi-layered complexity.
inishihe no | Of the old |
Nara no miyako no | capital of Nara |
yahezakura | eight-fold cherries |
kefu kokonohe ni | today, in the nine-fold palace |
nihohinuru kana | bloom in beautiful colour! |
What first stands out are the numbers in eight-fold cherries (yaezakura) and nine-fold palace (kokonoe). They come in the right order and both refer to layers, but the layers have very different meanings. The yaezakura, eight-layered cherry, is a type of cherry with full, double-flowered blossoms. This variety grew in Nara (capital during the Nara period [奈良時代 Nara jidai; 710−784]) but was uncommon in Heian-kyō 京都 (capital at the time of composition, modern-day Kyōto 京都). Meanwhile kokonoe literally means “nine layers” but it refers to the imperial palace, because in ancient China the imperial castle is said to have had nine layers of gates.
At the same time, kokonoe is a kakekotoba 掛詞 or a “pivot word”, which carries an additional meaning of “in this vicinity” (ここの辺 koko no e, more accurately transcribed as koko no he) and contrasts with the old Nara capital, which is far away. In much the same way, the old “ancient times” (inishie, or inishihe) contrast with the present of “today” (kyō, or kefu), which open the upper half (上の句 kami no ku) and the lower half (下の句 shimo no ku) of the poem respectively.
What is more, if it only seemed that the author was counting “eight, nine”, then the reader has already missed the beginning. In reality, she counted “seven, eight, nine”, as na in Nara can be taken to mean seven. And this na of Nara, together with e of yae and kokonoe (or more precisely he of yahe and kokonohe, note the transcription in line-by-line translation) point to repetitions of sounds from n and h lines (na, ni, nu, ne, no; ha, hi, fu, he, ho), which give the poem a soft yet distinct rhythm.
The poem has ten syllables from the n line (na, ni, nu, ne, no):
inishihe no / Nara no miyako no / yahezakura / kefu kokonohe ni / nihohinuru kana
And six syllables from the h line (ha, hi, fu, he, ho; which in classical Japanese may well have sounded closer to fa, fi, fu, fe, fo, although the pronunciation is not entirely clear):
inishihe no / Nara no miyako no / yahezakura / kefu kokonohe ni / nihohinuru kana
Poetry lives in its original language and Ise no Tayū’s poem is an epitome of this. While it may seem simple at first glance, the original poem carries a distinct rhythm and relies on wordplay, none of which can be translated, but makes the poem masterful in its original setting. But Ise no Tayū did not compose for translation − her audience was primarily the people around her, who, it is said, appreciated her efforts greatly, and so did the later generations, who deemed the composition worthy of anthologising.
Notes
* As far as I am aware, there is no complete Chihayafuru anime (Crunchyroll) translation of this poem. Therefore everything between After many, many years and now bloom inside the nine-fold palace has been added at my own discretion.
1 Takashina no Narinobu was nephew of Takashina no Kishi [Takako] 高階貴子 (?−996; Hyakunin Isshu 54), cousin of Fujiwara no Korechika 藤原伊周 (974−1010) and Fujiwara no Teishi [Sadako] 藤原定子 (976−1000). He is better known by his religious name Jōren 乗蓮, which he used after taking religious orders in 1031.
2 Kokiden Junior Consort Seishi (弘徽殿女御生子 Kokiden nyōgo Seishi) refers to Fujiwara no Seishi [Nariko] 藤原生子 (1014−1068) − daughter of Fujiwara no Norimichi 藤原教通 (996−1075), granddaughter of Fujiwara no Michinaga on paternal and Fujiwara no Kintō 藤原公任 (966–1041; Hyakunin Isshu 55) on maternal side. She was a junior consort (女御nyōgo) of Emperor Gosuzaku (後朱雀天皇 Gosuzaku tennō; 1009−1045), who himself was son of Emperor Ichijō (一条天皇 Ichijō tennō; 980−1011) and Jōtōmon-in Shōshi, therefore a grandson of Michinaga on maternal side.
3 Imperial Princess Yūshi (祐子内親王 Yūshi naishinnō; 1038−1105) was daughter of Emperor Gosuzaku. Her mother Fujiwara no Genshi [Motoko] 藤原嫄子 (1016−1039) was an adopted daughter of Michinaga’s son Fujiwara no Yorimichi 藤原頼通 (992−1074).
4 Empress (皇后 Kōgō) here refers to Fujiwara no Kanshi [Hiroko] 藤原寛子 (1036−1127), first daughter of Fujiwara no Yorimichi and consort of Emperor Goreizei (後冷泉天皇 Goreizei tennō; 1025−1068). She is sometimes referred to as Sanjō no kisaki 四条后 (Third Ward Empress).
Illustrations
Square illustration: Nobunaga kontseruto 信長協奏曲〈コンツェルト〉, dir. Fujikawa Yuusuke 冨士川祐輔, Fuji TV, 2014. / Edited by author of the blog.
Poet card: Ise no Taifu by Katsukawa Shunshō 勝川春章 1775, carved and pained by David Bull in 1990.
Poem sheet: Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel − I. Presage Flower, dir. Sudō Tomonori 須藤友徳, Ufotable, 2017. / Edited by author of the blog.