Hyakunin Isshu No.60 of Yoga Promenade
Like the poem No.55, the poem No.60 was engraved on a bench, and it is hard to read. The poem is: 大江山 いく野の道の 遠ければ まだふみもみず 天の橋立
The poet is Koshikibu-no Naishi. Koshikibu means “small Shikibu.” It means she is a daughter of Izumi-shikibu. Naishi means a lady-in-waiting who serves the inner palace.
There is an episode behind this poem. Koshikibu-no Naishi made many good poems, but some people rumored that her mother Izumi Shikibu had composed the poems for her. One day, Fujiwara-no Sadayori teased her who was attending a poem competition, “Did you get a letter from your mother?” At that time, Izumi Shikibu was living with her husband in Tango, near Ama-no-hashidate, a little far from Kyoto. He meant that she was waiting for a letter with poems composed by her mother for the competition. Her reply was this poem. The poem is very technical. It has at least two double-meaning words: one is “Ikuno” (name of a place on the way to Tango/field to go), and the second is “fumi” (letter/put one's feet on the ground). Mt.Oe may be the third double-meaning word, because Izumi Shikibu came from Oe family. It means “The way to go through Ikuno around Mt.Oe is too far. I never have been to Ama-no-hashidate./I have never received a letter form Ama-no-hashidate.” According to the custom at the time, it was expected that someone who receive a poem would return another poem. But Sadayori was too surprised and was unable to return a poem. It was very embarrassing for a well-known poet like him (he is the poet No. 64).
Hyakunin Isshu No.60 of Yoga Promenade
Like the poem No.55, the poem No.60 was engraved on a bench, and it is hard to read. The poem is: 大江山 いく野の道の 遠ければ まだふみもみず 天の橋立
The poet is Koshikibu-no Naishi. Koshikibu means “small Shikibu.” It means she is a daughter of Izumi-shikibu. Naishi means a lady-in-waiting who serves the inner palace.
There is an episode behind this poem. Koshikibu-no Naishi made many good poems, but some people rumored that her mother Izumi Shikibu had composed the poems for her. One day, Fujiwara-no Sadayori teased her who was attending a poem competition, “Did you get a letter from your mother?” At that time, Izumi Shikibu was living with her husband in Tango, near Ama-no-hashidate, a little far from Kyoto. He meant that she was waiting for a letter with poems composed by her mother for the competition. Her reply was this poem. The poem is very technical. It has at least two double-meaning words: one is “Ikuno” (name of a place on the way to Tango/field to go), and the second is “fumi” (letter/put one's feet on the ground). Mt.Oe may be the third double-meaning word, because Izumi Shikibu came from Oe family. It means “The way to go through Ikuno around Mt.Oe is too far. I never have been to Ama-no-hashidate./I have never received a letter form Ama-no-hashidate.” According to the custom at the time, it was expected that someone who receive a poem would return another poem. But Sadayori was too surprised and was unable to return a poem. It was very embarrassing for a well-known poet like him (he is the poet No. 64).