A few days ago on my History of Today post, I featured this haiku. Today I want to re-feature it specifically for this group and I also want to dive into the historic details of this really interesting kigo (season word).
寝白粉香にたちにけり虎が雨
ne shiroi ko ni tachi ni keri tora ga ame
the fragrance
her white night powder—
rain of the lady tora
—Hino Sojo
(trans. David LaSpina[1])
We might also translate that line tears of the lady tora. Literally that last line tora no ame says "Tiger's rain", and it's a really interesting kigo.
In the epic Soga Monogatari, the Lady Tora was the lover of the tragic hero, Juro Sukenari. In that story he avenges his father by killing his father's killer, his cousin Suketsune. But as these things go, he also was killed in the conflict. When the Lady Tora heard the news she shaved her head and became a monk at Koraiji-san in Oiso. It is said that she cries every year on the anniversary of the death of Juro, on May 28th, and her tears become the rain that falls on Oiso town and much of Japan every year on this date.
That is May 28th on the old calendar. The old calendar was a lunar calendar so the exact date changes every year, but it's usually around the end of June on the modern calendar. Coincidently that also happens to be when rainy season is, which gives a more plausible reason why it is often raining on that date, but as the saying goes, never let facts interfere in a good story.
Soga Monogatari is a pretty wild story. It is usually considered the last great war story in classical Japanese literature, telling the tale of two brothers in the 12th century. It takes place during the Gempei War, the most famous war in Japanese history which is featured in The Tale of the Heike, but it doesn't have anything to do with that war. It may be based on true events, but historians are divided on that.
Without getting too much into it and boring all of you, it is your typical tale of revenge and tragedy, where most of the people—good and bad alike—die. It's not entirely cut and dry and is a little like the Tale of the Forty-Seven Ronin in the mixed messages. It's a fun story anyway and is well worth your read if you happen across it in the library. It's been translated into English at least once.
At any rate, it was a very popular story and showed up in a lot of places, including many ukiyo-e prints. Some of the characters still show up in modern media. Of the story, the tale of the Lady Tora lamenting her lover with such intensity every year that the heavens joined her tears was a potent enough image that it entered haiku as a kigo (season word) for midsummer. It calls to mind not only the rains of rainy season, but something of the sadness of this story.
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| David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. |
That is, me! If you like this translation, feel free to use it. Just credit me. Also link here if you can. ↩