ada nari to / na ni koso tatere / sakurabana / toshi ni marenaru / hito mo machikeri

One of the details I'm finding fascinating, as I work through the Kokinshu, is the little historical dramas that peep through the cracks. For example, over here, we have the first Fujiwara (and first commoner) to become regent, to his grandson Emperor Seiwa. Over there we have an imperial prince who was displaced in favor of his younger half-brother, Seiwa, and became a religious recluse. Next to the first we have a courtier who lost his patron when said prince retired from court life, with the result that he had to scramble for patronage for the rest of his life -- but was also freed to write in one of the most distinctive personal styles of the whole collection. Over yonder is a poet from a clan displaced by the Fujiwaras when they took control of the court -- one who, like the Fujiwara above, is grandfather to an emperor, but whose clan was powerful enough he is otherwise a completely obscure person. Brief glimpses of a random commoner amid the courtier aristocrats, an interesting lady-in-waiting or two, and a legendary beauty.

And then there's such bits as aristocratic snark, breakups badly handled, emo monks, and the previously discussed cinematic romanticism. Not to mention bad puns, tired conceits, witty repartee, and moments of great beauty.

The collection may be brief fragments concreted together of a refined world, and limited by that refinement, but within those limits it depicts a lot of life. With much to like.

---L.