#seafarers

IMG_6135 on Flickr.

長忌寸奥麻呂、詔に答ふる歌一首
Naga no Imiki Okimaro, one verse in response to an imperial command

3-238 大宮之　内二手所聞　網引為跡　網子調流　海人之呼声
大宮の　内まで聞こゆ　網引すと　網子ととのふる　海人の呼び声
Opomiya no           Within the walls of the palace, even,
Uti made kikoyu     they might be heard:
Abiki su to              “Pull up the net!”
Ago totonopuru      Ordering the net-wielders,
Ama no yobikowe   seafarers’ voices.

The poem is relatively simple, and yet its means of praising the imperial reign (either that of Monmu or Jito, it is not clear under whom Okimaro served but it is like to have been one of them, who presided over imperial processions to Naniwa where the observation of ama, or “seafarers” at work would have been possible) is striking: whereas in the kunimi poems at the beginning of book 1 depict prosperity in terms of kitchen-fires and throngs of birds over the ocean, rather abstract and wide-angle visions of the state of the realm, this focuses in on one single sound, the call of the fishermen to their “netmen,” to convey the same sentiment by having that very sound echo within the walls of the palace itself. The main thrust of the verse is of course that fishing is so prosperous and industry that their voices can even be heard tens of miles overland in the capital (which was not adjacent to the sea), but is a very apt poem for a procession to the shore and no doubt won Okimaro significant praise. The repetition of sounds /a/ and /to/, particularly in the third and fourth ku, creates a sort of “echo” effect, that carries through to the final word of the verse, kowe, or “voices.” In my translation I have attempted to retain the syntax of the original as much as possible, so as to allow for this effect, but ultimately my English ability fails here. This poem may seem to be very little on the surface, but its play with sounds and its highlighting of the work of common folk in an imperial praise poem, and the contrast between the opomiya (palace) and the ama (seafarers), create an intricate effect that drew me in.
Photo is from October 2008, Martha’s Vineyard. Wish I had some photos of sea-towns in Japan, but alas as one afraid of fish, I rarely seek out such places :p