Although the Wind

[dragonyphoenix]

Although the wind By Izumi Shikibu; English version by Jane Hirshfield

Although the wind
blows terribly here,
the moonlight also leaks
between the roof planks
of this ruined house.


Izumi Shikibu is one of the towering figures of Japanese literature. She lived in Kyoto and was an official companion to the empress. She married young, but scandalized the court by abandoning her husband to become the lover of one of the empress's sons. When the prince died a few years later, she took a series of other lovers before eventually marrying for a second time.

She was a social rebel, but willing to be fully engaged in her life. And, like her personal life, Shikibu's poetry mixes elements of eros with the deep awareness that comes from Buddhist meditative practice.

Comments

[maramcreates]

I really enjoyed this, thank you for posting it. I'm particularly fond of "moonlight leaking," a wistful image, especially in the context of the whole. Very moving.

[dragonyphoenix]

I like the idea of the gaps between the planks, not for themselves so much but that they let in both the moonlight and the wind, the wanted and the unwanted.

[maramcreates]

Yes, I agree :)

I wish I could remember where I read/heard this, but there was an interview question made to Hayao Miyazaki (of Studio Ghibli fame) regarding the details of simple moments in his animated films. His response was that scenes were like clapping; the moment when the palms meet and a sound is made and the moment when the palms part in silence -- it's not clapping without both.

[dragonyphoenix]

That's an excellent image.

[jjhunter]

Here via maramcreates - what an exquisite translation, and exquisite original to beget it. I was unfamiliar with Izumi Shikibu, and your introduction here makes me want to seek out more by her.

[dragonyphoenix]

I was introduced to her work - this poem - in Robert Hass' Now and Then. When Hass was the US' Poet Laureate, his thoughts on poems were published in newspapers. The book collects some of them. It's an excellent read.

[jjhunter]

I'll see if I can find it from the library - thank you for the rec!

[dragonyphoenix]

You're welcome. I own a copy now but did first read it from the library.

[untonuggan]

basking in the poem over here

[dragonyphoenix]

Aw, thank you. That's such a lovely way to describe it.