I chose poems from Spring II
because the book discusses the end of Spring. The poems in the Kokinshu about
the seasons focus mainly on imagery and double meanings of words to emphasize
both the transience of the seasons and the transience of life. I chose to analyze
some of the middle poems because, while they are technically about the end of
spring, they are also about the reactions of others to the end of spring. The
series of poems I chose are specifically about the mountain thrush’s cry of
despair at the end of spring.
105
The lament of the
Mountain thrush fills each meadow—
And as I draw near
I discover the faded
Blossoms tossed upon the wind
Anonymous
I chose to begin with this poem
because it is the first poem in a sequence about the mountain thrush. The first
two lines appropriately describe the cry of the thrush. The poet’s use of the
word “lament” to describe the cry points to the idea that the thrush is unhappy
at the conclusion of the season. The reader further learns the reason of the sadness
in the fifth line, where the image of faded cherry blossoms is depicted. Using
the word “faded” implies that the blossoms have been dead for a long time.
Furthermore, the idea of the blossoms being “tossed” by the wind evokes a sad
feeling from the poem, for the beautiful cherry blossoms that are the image of
Spring are now dead and being thrown around. This poem is very melancholy,
between the crying thrush and the faded blossoms, and I felt sadness reading
this because it reminded me of the end of the season.
106
Oh mountain thrush
Address your reproaches to
The ravaging winds—
For I would not dare even
Brush these blossoms with my hand
Anonymous
This poem continues the sequence by
also speaking of the thrush and by continuing the image of the strong winds
blowing the cherry blossoms around. The tone of this poem suggests that the
poet is asking the thrush to not blame him for the falling blossoms, but to
blame the wind instead. The last two lines suggest reverence for the blossoms
because the poet states that he wouldn’t even touch the blossoms because of
their beauty. The wind is shown to be bad in this poem, just as it was in the
first poem, because it causes the blossoms to fall and signals the continuation
of the season. This poem develops the cry of the mountain thrush more, implying
that the thrush does not want the season to end and cries at the falling of the
blossoms.
107
If weeping for the
falling flowers could keep them
securely on the
branches my cries would rival
the song of the mountain thrush
Fujiwara no Amaneiko
This poem is a continuation of the “crying”
theme, but this focuses more on the crying of the poet than that of the thrush.
The poet claims that the thrush’s crying might cause the blossoms to stop
falling, and that he would also cry to stop their fall. The first line uses the
word “weeping” instead of “crying” to emphasize the pain the poet feels. The
act of weeping has always been associated with extreme pain and desolation,
something the poet feels as he witnesses the death of the cherry blossoms. The
poem also contains the theme of the falling blossoms, something that is closely
associated with the conclusion of Spring. While the poet wishes he could stop
the movement of time, he knows he cannot, which is why he says “if” and “could”
instead of “will” and “can.” The poet is aware that time will continue to pass
and the season will end.
108
Surely it is the
falling of the blossoms that
he mourns the mountain
thrush cries on Mount Tatsuta
where spring mists drift skyward
Fujiwara no Nochikage
This poem brings in the imagery of
the spring mists, along with continuing the thrush and the blossom motifs. This
continues the progression of narrating the end of Spring. The image of the
mists drifting upward implies that the season is moving on and will end soon. The
poet comments on the crying of the thrush as mourning the falling blossoms,
which also feeds the poem sequence’s theme that the thrush is crying over the
end of the season and the death of the cherry blossoms.
109
Fluttering now from
Tree to tree the mountain thrush
Scatters petals as
He passes who does he berate
Crying so persistently
Sosei
While this poem is not the
conclusion of the sequence on the mountain thrush, it does have an image of
ending. The thrush fluttering to different branches shows that the bird has
become desperate to keep the season from ending, and is making efforts to keep
the blossoms on the trees. However, the act of moving from tree to tree is
actually causing the blossoms to fall. The poet raises the question on who the
bird blames for the falling blossoms. On one hand, the blossoms’ falling is the
bird’s fault. On the other hand, the bird is trying to blame the shift of the seasons,
something that he cannot truly blame. The poet is asking the question to make
the reader think about the end of the season, which brings a conclusion to the
theme of the season ending and the falling blossoms.
The second
book of Spring focuses on the second half of Spring and how it gradually
transitions into Summer. This sequence of poems emphasizes this idea with two
main images: the falling cherry blossoms and the crying mountain thrush. The
cherry blossom is a symbol of Spring because they bloom when Spring begins and
fall when Spring ends. The crying thrush is associated with sadness and
conclusions because of the tone of the bird’s cry. When the two ideas are
brought together, they depict a melancholy feeling at the conclusion of the
season. The poems are all associated by this idea, and they progress from the
first time the thrush is heard and the blossoms are seen, to witnessing the
thrush causing the blossoms to fall. While the poems all speak of the same
event, they also each have their own individual aspects, which is why they are
put in this specific sequence. Each poem gradually depicts a further aspect of
the conclusion of the season, accomplishing the goal of the arrangement.
